Jade Ramsdell

“My mom was a single parent. While she worked, I often spent time with older relatives and neighbors, helping them out. This taught me to be a caretaker at an early age. I always imagined myself going into nursing. I volunteered in high school assisting people with disabilities. Then one day in tenth grade I came across an article about occupational therapy (OT), and I thought that might be the perfect fit. 

After high school, I moved to Missouri to begin pursuing the OT path, but within the first two weeks I was away from home, I was in a devastating apartment fire and I decided to move home to Topeka. Then I saw Washburn offered an OT assistant program, so that seemed like a good place to start.

While I was in classes at Washburn, I got patient experience at Stormont Vail. After I graduated, I was hired on as a COTA (certified occupational therapy assistant). As I worked with patients in their recovery, I started to realize how much I enjoyed educating people. I took advantage of training and began taking on leadership roles within my unit. Then, I finished my bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration through Stormont Vail’s tuition reimbursement program.

Today I work for Stormont Vail’s Learning and Talent Acquisition Department as a learning management system (LMS) administrator. I provide technical leadership in support of the health system’s learning management system so Stormont Vail staff so they can grow their own professional skills.

I’m a learner, and I’m continually seeking new ways to improve myself and what I do. Stormont Vail’s tuition reimbursement benefit is phenomenal. I’m now using it to help fund my master’s in human resources from Baker University."