As a child, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian because I loved helping animals. Over time, that passion evolved into a career focused on helping people.
Today, I’m a speech therapist, literacy intervention specialist and reading specialist at No Stone Unturned in Manhattan, Kansas. I enjoy working with my students, improving their reading comprehension, and teaching them how to read, write and spell.
I always knew I wanted to work with kids. Today, I’m doing just that as a board-certified behavior analyst at No Stone Unturned in Manhattan. I work with kids who are diagnosed with autism to lessen their maladaptive behaviors. Maladaptive behaviors are actions that stop someone from facing new or challenging situations in a healthy way. I teach my patients techniques for practicing more appropriate, alternative behaviors. I also work with caregivers and train them on how to help children use those same skills in other areas of their lives.
Growing up, I always wanted to be in the medical field. I initially considered working with animals like my mom, but I soon realized I wanted to help people directly and communicate with my patients to understand exactly where they hurt.
In high school, I didn’t have access to the courses that would’ve directly prepared me for this career. It wasn’t until I attended a local community college that I took relevant classes like anatomy and microbiology, which really helped shape my path.
I started working in health care when I was 18 years old. I always spent a lot of time in nursing facilities because my mom worked in nursing homes, so it felt like a natural fit. Starting at that young age and for the next several years, I had a bunch of different roles, including a certified nursing assistant, certified medical assistant, social service designee and more. But eventually, I decided to complete nursing school and pursue a license as a registered nurse.
My name is Jana Rosich, and I’m a registered nurse at Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan, Kansas. Growing up fascinated with all things weather, I originally thought I might become a meteorologist someday. It wasn’t until entering my college years that I realized I was more passionate about health care than anything else.
When I was in college majoring in biology, my summer job was working with kids at a YMCA camp. It was there I realized how much I enjoyed working with kids and their families. I started to wonder how I could pursue a career where I’d get those same interactions, but I didn’t love the thought of teaching — I liked the idea of working with kids and parents in a less formal way. Since I was already interested in science (biology was my major, after all!), I figured I could combine those two passions through a career in pediatric nursing.
My mom got sick when I was very young. During that time, we played “doctor” and pretended she was my patient. So, I’ve been interested in the medical field since the beginning. I lost my mom when I was eight years old, and after her passing, my dream of getting into health care intensified, but I didn’t have a clue where to start.
As a child, I was never sure what I wanted to be when I grew up. I came from a very poor, poverty-stricken family in a large city. I knew what I didn’t want to become.
Episode #20 | Emporia
As a single mom, I wanted to find a career that would allow me to provide for my daughter and give her everything she needed. I chose to pursue a radiology technologist program, which was especially good for me because I was able to attend night classes (with tons of help from family and friends) to complete the training and education. Radiology is also great because of the many paths you can take, like working on computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, ultrasounds and more.