{"id":19114,"date":"2025-11-14T09:28:47","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=19114"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:16:22","slug":"award-winning-veteran-nurse-applauds-wilmus-military-student-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/14\/award-winning-veteran-nurse-applauds-wilmus-military-student-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Award-Winning Veteran Nurse Applauds WilmU\u2019s Military Student Services\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column19114_470470-33{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column19114_470470-33 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column19114_470470-33\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p>Retired Col. <strong>Gwyn Parris-Atwell<\/strong> jokes she bleeds green for her love of Wilmington University, calling its nursing program \u201cthe best on the earth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The faculty \u201csupported me as a mom, as a military member, as a full-time working person,\u201d she says, adding that \u201cI\u2019ve sent loads of people here, and everybody says to me, \u2018Gwyn, you were right.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Compassionate Caregiver With Three WilmU Nursing Degrees\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Col. Parris-Atwell&#8217;s military career began in 1991 as an Army Reserve nurse. She deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany as an Air Force reservist, later joining the Delaware Air National Guard and retiring as the 166th Airlift Wing\u2019s medical group commander in 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the homefront, Col. Parris-Atwell has spent more than 27 years caring for patients at Penn Medicine, Inspira Health and Jefferson Health \u2014 New Jersey. A board-certified family nurse practitioner, certified emergency nurse and Academy of Emergency Nursing fellow, she earned three degrees from WilmU: a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/health\/nursing.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bachelor of Science in Nursing<\/a> (BSN), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/health\/nursing-practitioner-master.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Master of Science in Nursing<\/a> (MSN) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/health\/dnp.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Doctor of Nursing Practice<\/a> (DNP).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was such a better professional nurse for it,\u201d Col. Parris-Atwell says. \u201cMy leadership skills were enhanced, and I met amazing people\u201d at the University.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Military Friendly School\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>She values WilmU&#8217;s \u201cfamily-like environment,\u201d affordability and dedicated professors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe faculty, to this day, I still see them at conferences, and I tell them, \u2018Thank you for getting me through this,\u2019\u201d Col. Parris-Atwell says, recalling how they allowed her to pause her dissertation during active duty. \u201cThey said Gwyn, your active duty is important. Take care of that first, and when you come back, we will take care of getting you finished.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She counts Dr. Aaron Sebach, dean of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/health\/indexh.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">College of Health Professions and Natural Sciences<\/a>, among her WilmU mentors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would describe Gwyn as a consummate professional and steadfast advocate for nurses,\u201d Dr. Sebach says. \u201cShe is a decorated United States Air Force colonel who is down to earth and an all-around great person. I am fortunate that our paths crossed and am thankful for our friendship.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Humble Servant-Leader\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Col. Parris-Atwell is happy to \u201cpay it back\u201d \u2014 guiding other nurses and volunteering with organizations such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirecc.va.gov\/visn19\/togetherwithveterans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Together With Veterans<\/a>, which focuses on suicide prevention; the Wilmington University Nursing Advisory Board; Salem Community College Board of Trustees; Salem County Commission on Women; and Salem American Legion Band. Her many distinctions include the U.S. Armed Forces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afpc.af.mil\/Fact-Sheets\/Display\/Article\/421937\/legion-of-merit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legion of Merit<\/a> award, Emergency Nurses Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and Rowan College of South Jersey and Wilmington University Distinguished Alumni Awards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reflecting on her time at WilmU, she says, \u201cI knew it was the place for me. It\u2019s all about lifelong learning, and if you don\u2019t do that in your career, you\u2019re not going to succeed. It\u2019s hard work, but you\u2019ve got to do it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-wrap.wp-block-kadence-rowlayout.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b{margin-top:0em;}.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:center;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:center;}.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );max-width:var( --global-content-width, 1290px );padding-left:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-right:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-top:0em;padding-right:0em;padding-bottom:0em;padding-left:0em;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr) minmax(0, 2fr);}.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr) minmax(0, 2fr);}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}.kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}}.wu-text-col,.wu-img-col {\tmin-height: 114px;}.wu-text-col &gt; div,.wu-img-col &gt; div {\tflex: 1;}<\/style><div class=\"kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id19114_d3927c-7b alignnone FULL wp-block-kadence-rowlayout\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-2-columns kt-row-layout-right-golden kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-middle kb-theme-content-width\">\n<style>.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:var(--global-palette9, #ffffff);}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}}.kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 figure.image-is-svg {-webkit-margin-after: 1em;  margin-block-end: 1em;}img[src$=\".svg\"] {  max-width: 220px;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column19114_a5e8eb-b1 kb-section-dir-horizontal wu-img-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.kb-image19114_a2b27f-e2:not(.kb-image-is-ratio-size) .kb-img, .kb-image19114_a2b27f-e2.kb-image-is-ratio-size{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.kb-image19114_a2b27f-e2 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image19114_a2b27f-e2 size-large image-is-svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WilmU-logo-vertical.svg\" alt=\"WilmU logo\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-13537\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:stretch;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery{align-self:stretch;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{align-self:center;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{align-self:auto;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:#eeeeee;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{align-self:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{align-self:auto;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{align-self:center;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04{align-self:auto;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}}.kt-row-column-wrap &gt; .wp-block-kadence-column {align-self: stretch;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 &gt; div {  padding-block: 1em;}.kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 p:last-of-type {  -webkit-margin-after: 0;  margin-block-end: 0;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column19114_1c653c-04 kb-section-dir-vertical wu-text-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p class=\"NoMargin\" style=\"font-size:1rem\"><em>Discover how Wilmington University supports the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/military\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>military community<\/em><\/a><em> with flexibility, convenience and affordability, earning the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/20\/wilmu-once-again-named-a-military-friendly-gold-award-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>2025-2026 Military Friendly Schools Award Gold-Level distinction<\/em><\/a><em> \u2014 its 14th consecutive Military Friendly recognition.&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"NoMargin\" style=\"font-size:1rem\"><em>Launch or advance your nursing career at Wilmington University, with bachelor\u2019s, master\u2019s and doctoral programs from the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/health\/indexh.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>College of Health Professions and Natural Sciences<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Retired Col. Gwyn Parris-Atwell jokes she bleeds green for her love of Wilmington University, calling its nursing program \u201cthe best on the earth.\u201d\u00a0 The faculty&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[8,1054,104,14,15],"class_list":["post-19114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-news","tag-college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","tag-health-and-nursing-degrees","tag-military-friendly-school","tag-wilmington-university","tag-wilmu"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":145,"label":"ALUMNI NEWS"}],"post_tag":[{"value":8,"label":"College of Nursing and Health Sciences"},{"value":1054,"label":"Health and Nursing Degrees"},{"value":104,"label":"Military Friendly School"},{"value":14,"label":"Wilmington University"},{"value":15,"label":"WilmU"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Col-Parris-Atwell_-480x480.jpg",480,480,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Mckayla Imperatrice","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/mckayla\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":145,"name":"ALUMNI NEWS","slug":"alumni-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":702,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":113,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":145,"category_count":113,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ALUMNI NEWS","category_nicename":"alumni-news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":8,"name":"College of Nursing and Health Sciences","slug":"college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":565,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":110,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1054,"name":"Health and Nursing Degrees","slug":"health-and-nursing-degrees","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1611,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":104,"name":"Military Friendly School","slug":"military-friendly-school","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":661,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":14,"name":"Wilmington University","slug":"wilmington-university","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":571,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":357,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":15,"name":"WilmU","slug":"wilmu","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":572,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":291,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19115,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19114\/revisions\/19115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}