Pediatric nurse finds new home with college faculty
Mary Holter, one of OCCC’s newest nursing professors, was once involved in the pediatrics field, which involves the care of sick children. Photo by Carrie Cronk
OCCC has added another faculty member to its roster this semester — nursing Professor Mary Holter.
Holter has worked in pediatrics, which involves the care of sick children, throughout her career. In addition, she has 23 years of experience working for the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Before joining OCCC full-time, Holter worked as a clinical adjunct professor, which is a nurse who works in the clinical arena, not in a classroom. She worked for the University of Oklahoma and for Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.
Most recently, Holter was a full-time faculty member at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. Holter spent the last four years teaching at Salt Lake Community College but decided to move back to Oklahoma to be closer to family and friends.
“We moved to Utah for the mountains and moved back for the grandbabies,” she said.
Holter said her first experience with nursing was in grade school when she met a public health nurse who had come to her school to give student immunization shots.
Holter said she looked up to the nurse and thought she might want to be a nurse when she grew up.
Years later, during her senior year of high school, Holter ran into that same public health nurse and decided she wanted to study for a career in nursing.
Holter currently teaches Nursing Process 3, which includes psychiatric nursing as well as medical/surgical nursing and pediatric care.
Nursing Process 3 is the third of the four levels in the nursing program.
Nursing Process 3 student and president of the Nursing Student Association Steven Braudway said he is excited to have Holter as a professor.
“Mary Holter is very personable, intelligent and knowledgeable,” Braudway said. “Her class is challenging but extremely rewarding.”
Holter said she enjoys working at OCCC and said she has found her colleagues to be supportive, interesting and professional.
