On Thursday Oct. 13, Tarleton State University’s ROTC organization was visited by CPT Katrina Clark, a nurse counselor from the 5th Brigade in the US Army Cadet Command.

Currently, Clark travels to eight different states in the United States, including Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Arizona. Clark and a colleague visit 37 schools with nursing programs where they talk with students enrolled in both ROTC and nursing. Clark helps counsel ROTC nursing students throughout their transition into active duty.

Clark graduated from the University of Akron in Ohio, and proceeded to go to Fort Gordon in Georgia. She was deployed to Afghanistan for six months and came back to attend critical care courses.

Clark was then sent to Germany as a staff nurse in the ICU, and eventually got promoted to Head Nurse of the Mother/Baby unit. After returning to the US, Clark started working with students.

“I work with course students, along with networking in my community. I am asked by Medical Trade to do conferences, and am a spokesperson for both high school and college students,” Clark said. “In the summers I go to Fort Knox and attend advanced camp for cadets to help better train them.”

Clark was a single mom who didn’t think she would be able to pay her way through college, but was able to with the help of the ROTC program. She explained that she’s passionate about helping others that are in the same situation that she was in.

“Many people believe that civilian nurses make a lot more than army nurses and that’s very false. Sometimes that’s why so many either choose to go that route or maybe they just aren’t aware,” Clark said.

“The army is able to support you well and provides you with so much more valuable experiences which is something that I think people should know.”