A Nursing Student with a Love of Service

Ruth Gultie: "I want to give back what I have received"

Attending Catholic middle and high schools in Portland, Ore., Ruth Gultie developed a passion for helping others. One volunteer experience with the Blanchet House, which serves those experiencing homelessness, lasted seven years. 

“My service there opened my eyes to what it means to help others by treating them with dignity and respect,” says Gultie. “The people who run the organization have such a strong connection to the homeless community in Portland. They are not just there to hand out food, but to be present in their lives. It is very beautiful and meaningful.”

That understanding of service is what ultimately led Gultie to become a student in the Conway School of Nursing. “I didn’t think about what I wanted to do until my junior year when I started looking at colleges,” she explains. “I love science and I love helping others, and nursing jumped out. The more I read about the profession, I realized it offers so many different job opportunities in so many different areas. I liked that.”

Then she said she “stumbled” upon Catholic University and the Conway School of Nursing. The Catholic mission of the University and the values of the school spoke to her and she applied without visiting. It helped that she later learned one of her favorite high school teachers is a graduate of the University with a degree in theology. 

“Connecting with people through faith is important to me,” she says. “I want being a nurse to be more than my job. I want to give back what I have received. And I believe I can do that as part of the Conway community.”

Although a bit too far from home for her close-knit family’s liking, Catholic University offers everything she is looking for. A Conway Scholarship made it possible, and learning about the new nursing and sciences building was the icing on the cake.