Working in respiratory therapy for nearly 30 years, Amy Lovenguth was used to taking care of others.
She looked to Wilmington University to provide the education that would empower her to have a healthy career, the completion degree she needed to thrive in the job market.
“The hospital where I was working wanted respiratory therapists with a bachelor’s degree, not an associate degree,” she says.
Soon after her enrollment, she was diagnosed with breast cancer that would require surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Amy reached out to Angela Herman, Chair of the Health Sciences Program in the College of Health Professions.
“Everyone at the university was incredibly helpful,” she recalls. “They allowed me to take a leave of absence and everything was waiting for me when I came back.”
When Amy returned, she took online classes, as well as in-class instruction at WilmU campuses in Wilmington and Dover in Delaware and Mount Laurel and Vineland in New Jersey.
“The school is very flexible, student friendly and cost effective for a working adult,” she says.
Her co-op experience was transformative, inspiring her to shift her career path. She worked at the American Lung Association’s Open Airways program in Wilmington, educating young people with asthma on how to properly use their medications and recognize asthma triggers to avoid future attacks.
She maintained a 4.0 GPA and received the COHP undergrad academic award when she completed her bachelor’s degree.
Today, she works at United Methodist Care in southern New Jersey, where she focuses on rehabilitative care and educating patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“Public health became an interest for me through my co-op,” she says. “My goal is to keep going to school and one day get my master’s in public health.”