Alexis Skjelbred dreamed at an early age of becoming a nurse. With academic struggles because of test anxiety, she gave up that idea during high school.
Even eight years ago, such a goal seemed distant. Skjelbred was entering her 40s while juggling being a single mom, working two jobs and starting at Spokane Community College. In 2013, a support line came from an unexpected source: Spokane Valley firefighters.
A group of those firefighters interviewed her for the Spokane Valley Fire Employees Scholarship funded largely by voluntary withdrawals from paychecks. After hearing of her passion to pursue a nursing degree, they gave her educational funds when she needed it most, Skjelbred said.
Hired as a cardiac care nurse at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in 2017, she’s since had the chance to care for some of those firefighters in the hospital while thanking each of them personally.