Purpose Taking Shape

Nursing program director leads with perspective shaped by opportunity

Angela Burge knows firsthand that life rarely follows a straight line, especially when it comes to education. 

Balancing work, family and financial realities while pursuing a new career shaped her perspective long before she stepped into leadership. When deciding to make that career change, Angela said she wasn’t looking for a leadership position and didn’t expect to work in academia.  

But today, as director of the Nursing Program at Laramie County Community College, Angela holds a position she has come to value deeply. An alumna of LCCC’s Nursing Program, Angela returned to the college professionally after building her career, eventually stepping into leadership of the same program where she began. 

“I never planned to work in academia, and I definitely didn’t see myself in a nurse leadership role,” Angela said. “But one opportunity led to another, and I realized this is where I can make the biggest difference. I see myself in our students, and I really do love the work.” 

After spending two decades working in human resources, including leadership roles in health care settings, Angela decided to pursue a new career in nursing. Returning to school meant navigating a demanding transition that included full-time work, family responsibilities and the financial realities of changing professions later in life. 

While completing the program, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center worked with Angela in her human resources role to accommodate her schedule, adjusting her hours so she could balance work, coursework and clinical requirements. 

In addition, LCCC offered flexibility, academic rigor and the scholarship support she needed to move forward. Over time, that connection deepened, first as a student, then as an adjunct instructor for one and a half years, followed by two and a half years as a full-time clinical coordinator and nursing instructor, and eventually as program director. 

“Returning to LCCC as a professional in the same nursing program where I began my journey feels like coming full circle,” Angela said. “It’s an honor to give back to the program that shaped my career and help prepare future nurses for the same opportunity I was given.” 

Nursing school brought challenges that extended far beyond the classroom. Learning happened wherever space could be found, sometimes at home, where anatomy labs spilled into evenings and weekends. 

“It feels like your whole world gets turned upside down,” Angela said. 

Scholarships helped stabilize that period, easing financial pressure and allowing her to stay focused on finishing the program. 

“I had a family, a house, kids in sports and I was earning less money while I was finishing nursing school,” Angela said. “Having that scholarship support made it possible to keep going.” 

Even as she navigated the demands of returning to school, Angela knew LCCC was the right place to begin that transition. Long before enrolling, she had seen the quality of LCCC’s nursing graduates firsthand while working in healthcare settings and trusted the program’s standards, which include full approval by state and national accrediting bodies and consistently strong licensure and job placement outcomes. 

Teaching was not part of the career change Angela envisioned when she returned to school, and leadership was never the goal. Adjunct teaching offered a way to give back to the program that had supported her, allowing her to work with students facing many of the same challenges she had experienced. Those opportunities came at the encouragement of Dr. Karen Bowen, now Health Sciences & Wellness dean at LCCC, who even before leading the college recognized Angela’s strengths and urged her to consider roles she hadn’t been seeking out. 

“Karen kept bringing opportunities to my attention and telling me they would be a good fit, even when I didn’t see it myself,” Angela said. 

Today, Angela’s approach to leadership is rooted in empathy and accountability. She understands how easily life can derail even motivated students, while remaining clear about the responsibility of preparing future nurses. 

“Being a graduate of the program gives me a unique perspective,” Angela said. “I understand firsthand the challenges and expectations our students face, which drives me to create a supportive learning environment while maintaining the high standards that prepared me for my own nursing career.” 

Those students, Angela said, are going to be “caring for real people, so the expectations have to be high.” 

As a student, Angela relied on scholarships to help manage the financial strain of returning to school while supporting her family. Now, she helps students access Foundation funds that can give them a boost as they complete licensure requirements and enter the workforce. 

“Someone invested in me when I was trying to change direction,” Angela said. “Now I get to do that for our students, helping them stay in the program when things get hard and make it across the finish line.”