Alumni Spotlight: Shawna (O’Brien) Reed

Shawna (O’Brien) Reed, Class of 2001

BY SUE READY

As a parent and graduate of the Brainerd Schools (Class of 2001) Shawna (O’Brien) Reed’s strong commitment to her family, work and community is admirable.

From Shawna’s perspective as a parent, District 181 presence is felt within a strong close-knit community. “I feel fortunate that my kids are in a district that embraces tight social connections with good communication regarding school related activities, sports, community activities, events and other community opportunities. As a working full time parent there are many special people who have reached out and offered to help me with rides when needed, pick up, etc. All the teachers my kids have had in the Baxter Schools have been wonderful,” she said.

Shawna has seen opportunities evolve for children’s education over the last 30 years. “Children are reading at a younger age and the math curriculum is more advanced in the earlier grades. Technology advances in the schools have brought about significant changes. Apps such as ClassDojo, Remind and email have improved communication from school to home in effect making teachers very accessible to the parents.”

Looking back Shawna reflects on the wonderful experiences she had at BHS. She was very social and was voted most outgoing in her senior year. “I think these attributes helped me be more personable and caring, transferring over to my family and job. I was involved in a lot of art classes and triathlon in my senior year. Ms. Wise was one of my favorite caring teachers. She taught me perseverance goes a long way in my triathlon classes. Bob Johnson, who passed away several years ago, was my art teacher who really brought the creative side out of his students. I learned the value of punctuality from my varsity dance coach in grades 10-12, Cindy Clough. Her motto was “‘early is on time and on time was late.’”

Shawna took a non-traditional path in education. After high school graduation she went to CLC for one year. It was there she met her husband, Joe Reed. He had moved from Fargo to CLC on a golf scholarship. Later they both transferred to St. Cloud State. Shawna wanted to get into the nursing program but at that time they only took 30 students per year so she transferred back to CLC completing her LPN and RN there. Since that time she has enrolled at The College of St. Scholastica working on a bachelor’s degree with a focus in nursing. Shawna will graduate in December 2021.

Currently Shawna is the nurse lead clinician at Minneapolis Heart Institute in Baxter/Crosby. She finds the job a gratifying experience working with a wonderful team that provides a high level of cardiology care. Shawna’s job includes assistance with clinic visits, triage, stress tests and CT scans. She also works with a group of sub specialists via telehealth and in person. With continuing COVID concerns, she sees future needs for more telehealth and telemedicine to be offered to patients.

Shawna and her coworkers faced many work challenges initially with the pandemic. Diagnostic and elective procedures were paused. They found policies and practices were constantly changing in the beginning and there was a concerning PPE shortage.

Shawna noted, “Today all staff continue to wear masks all day and goggles when providing direct patient care. We are a small clinic and at the beginning of the pandemic if one person tested positive and had direct contact with other members of the team then many staff members would have to be quarantined. In a small practice there isn’t much bandwidth to substitute multiple members of the team being out. We needed to protect the practice, staff and patients.”

During the pandemic Shawna found it emotionally taxing to have children home during this time. At work she was creating, implementing and revising COVID-19 policies. Following directions from the mothership, Abbott Northwestern part of Allina Health and trying to stay updated with the ever changing COVID-19 algorithm proved to be a challenge finding the right balance between work and home life. “I found continuing my patient care at the clinic, then coming home at night I thought there was the possibility I was jeopardizing my family’s safety. And at the same time I realized I had a commitment to be at my job and help with the everyday needs of the clinic.”

If the world has to return to a lockdown mode Shawna thought some things might be easier the next go around. “Distance learning is no longer new to our family so that piece would be easier. It is reassuring to know grocery delivery and pick up is available. And to enjoy the calm and quiet of being at home certainly is appealing. It gives me a huge sense of relief to know that my parents, grandparents, husband and myself are all vaccinated.”

I have lived all of my life in the Brainerd area. It has been a great place to raise a family. We feel fortunate to be a part of a school district that provides The Reed family, Shawna, Joe, an educational foundation that Collin, 10, and Carter, 8, relish nurtures our children’s growth family and outdoor activities with a variety of opportunities including fishing and running. for parent involvement “It gives me a lot of satisfaction -Shawna Reed watching the boys play sports. BHS Class of 2001 I recently started playing golf,” Shawna said. “I have lived all of my life in the Brainerd area. It has been a great place to raise a family. We feel fortunate to be a part of a school district that provides an educational foundation that nurtures our children’s growth with a variety of opportunities for parent involvement,” she said.