VCU news

By Joan Tupponce

Emily Smith’s life and work are driven by her desire to help others. That’s why she joined the Army Reserves and enrolled in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Nursing.

The cadet, an undergraduate senior, has had a longstanding interest in the medical field. Along with her desire to become a nurse, she was drawn to the Reserves based on the flexibility it provided and her interest in field care.

“I thought it was a good skill set to have,” Cadet Smith said. “I started looking into the military and found that I could come out with an EMT certification as a medic.”

She joined the Reserves in 2020 while attending community college part time and working full time as a medical assistant in a pediatrics practice.

“I had some great providers at the pediatric office that inspired me,” she said.

Cadet Smith served as a medic in the Reserves for more than four years. During that time, she provided medical support for Tradewinds, an Army U.S. Southern Command-sponsored annual exercise promoting regional security cooperation among partner nations, primarily the Caribbean Basin, the U.S., Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

“I got to meet with military members from different countries and learn about their culture,” she said, adding that her military experiences overall have fostered personal growth. “They have changed a lot about me for the better. I’ve learned to take ownership and have improved my leadership skills. I am more confident and well-spoken.”

When Cadet Smith decided to pursue her nursing degree, she discovered the Army’s Simultaneous Membership Program, which allows students to serve in the Reserves and be a member of their college’s ROTC program.

“The benefit of that program is you are getting paid through college,” she said. “Your time in military service does start when you graduate.”

Everything fell into place when Cadet Smith applied to VCU and was accepted.

“I enrolled in ROTC,” she said. “The Army has paid for all of my education.”

Smith currently works as a patient care technician in the labor and delivery unit in VCU Medical Center, where she praised her nurse manager, Holly DeBernard.

“She is the true meaning of a selfless leader,” Cadet Smith said. “She is well-spoken and extremely professional. That is something I would like to model for myself in the Army.”

This past summer, Cadet Smith spent a month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, providing nursing care while being shadowed by an RN.

“It was a real experience. I got through every nursing specialty in the hospital. I’m thankful for it,” she said. “It’s something you don’t get just going to nursing school.”

She also had the opportunity to learn more about White House nursing, which provides care to the executive branch of the government.

“It was really cool. It helped me decide where I want to be in the nursing field,” she said.

Cadet Smith has an interest in working in the Army’s Civil Affairs field, in which personnel work with communities around the world to increase stability, support local governments and improve quality of life for civilians.

“That is ultimately what I want to do,” she said. “We are going into an area or country where we don’t have a strong military relationship and establishing a positive relationship with them. We provide some sort of need while we are in their area.”

As a reservist, Cadet Smith has the opportunity to deploy.

“For me, that would be medical support missions,” she said. “I would like to deploy.”

Cadet Smith, who is minoring in public management and policy, is remaining flexible about her future. She is considering graduate school, potentially to earn a doctoral degree in academics or research. She may also pursue a nurse practitioner degree.

“Whatever opportunities come my way and whatever feels right to me is how I feel about it,” she said. “I want to educate myself on issues and things that are good to know. But the main thing is, I’m going to help someone else.”