Alamo Community Colleges News & Events

St. Philip's College Husband and Wife Graduate from Nursing Program

CONTACT: John Dendy, Public Information Officer
(210) 531-3259
Email: jdendy@mail.accd.edu

SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 7, 2007) --- When the husband and wife team of John and La Deana Hasty graduate together as nursing students from St. Philip’s College Dec. 14, they’ll line up with medical classmates who are young enough to be their grandchildren.

The Hasty couple has been married 33 years, and has strong ties to the healthcare world. In fact, the married couple quit their jobs in Oregon and moved to Texas, specifically to enroll in the vocational nursing program here at St. Philip’s College. The college’s vocational nursing program is one of the oldest in the state, producing vocational nurses since 1949.

“After much prayer and consideration, we decided to come to Texas to attend nursing school, where we both have family,” La Deana Hasty said. “On Dec. 14 we will complete a journey we began three-and-a-half years ago.”

For 19 years, the Hasty’s lived in the Oregon town of Hillsboro where they owned an adult day care facility. They had two children, five grandchildren and a passion for healthcare that led them to study a long way from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

“We agree becoming nurses has been the most difficult task we have ever accomplished, but definitely the most rewarding,” said Johnny Hasty. “We love working together as best friends.”

The best friends came to Texas after making some difficult decisions. The Hasty’s put their lives on hold, closed their business, sold their home and moved to Seguin to attend the St. Philip's College Licensed Vocational Nursing program. They graduated in 2005. And their nursing education didn’t end there. The long-time married couple then decided to work at Baptist Medical Center while continuing at the college to complete pre-requisites for its Registered Nursing program. Finally, the couple began the RN program in January.

The Hasty family’s quest for nursing credentials reaches a pinnacle when they receive their diplomas on Friday, Dec. 14.