Be safe. Stay Strong. Memorial Day
PAGE 6 | THE VILLAGER • May 21, 2020
Helicopter pilot comes full circle to become a nurse Apache helicopter pilot and Littleton resident says nursing school was more challenging to get into than flight school BY DANA BRANDORFF
Eleven years ago, Erika Vaske was on a two-year waitlist to get into a nursing program. “A lot of my inspiration came from my mom, who has been a nurse’s aid for over 35 years,” she said. For Vaske, the wait was “interminable.” So she chose another path -- changed majors and earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. After college, she joined the Army where she was an aviation officer. “It was easier to get into flight school than nursing school,” said Vaske. She trained in Fort Riley, KS where she met her husband who is also a pilot. She flew Apaches; he flew Kiowas (no competition there!). The couple ended up in Germany where Vaske’s last assignment includ-
Erika Vaske
ed commanding soldiers. “I had the opportunity to go to some pretty neat places, see some cool stuff, lead soldiers and work with really great leaders,” said Vaske. Pregnant with her first child, Vaske hung up her wings and moved to Colorado with her family. “It seemed like a very good spot for us,” she said. Still determined to pursue a nursing degree, Vaske went back to school when her first-
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The Apache attack helicopter from it’s dangerous side. Erika as pilot of an Apache helicopter
born was four months old. Attending Red Rocks Community College, she obtained the prerequisites to apply to CU College of Nursing. Knowing how competitive nursing programs are, Vaske said, “I was certain I wasn’t going to get into the program.” So, when she received the acceptance email from Amy
@ newton middle school
Sturrock in Student Affairs, “My heart jumped out of my chest!” For the last two years, Vaske has diligently pursued her degree -- raising a toddler, giving birth to her second child, and working at UC Health in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). “The resiliency I gained and developed in the military helped with nursing,” she said. “It’s going to be important for us as nurses
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to be resilient, and to remember that we’re here to provide compassionate care to our patients especially during a pandemic and such a scary time.” As Vaske prepares to join the nursing workforce, she said she is hoping to work in critical care. “My experiences in ICU showed me that’s where I will thrive, and that’s the plan,” she said. Dana Brandorff is the director of marketing and communication for the University of Colorado College of Nursing.
Everything is fine with me…a “Big Red” soldier chronicles his survival in WW II BY TRINDA HIRSCHEY BISHOP
We as a country recently marked the 75th anniversary of the end of WW II with the Normandy Invasion (June 1944) and the Battle of the Bulge (January,1945). Trinda Hirschey Bishop, a Greenwood Village resident, recently published a book about her father, Ralph Hirschey’s survival with the Big Red One in every major battle of WW II. This Division was the first to touch hostile enemy sands in North Africa, on the front lines during the infamous D-Day invasion of Normandy and they were first to engage in every other major battle of WW II . “I had remembered these letters were stowed away on the top shelf of our home and I had always wondered about what they might contain,” said the author. I was motivated to get them chronologically sorted which eventually led to transcribing all 250 of my Continued on page 8
