Age is just a number

“I am not too old”

Now 55, Horton is sporting her 4.0 on applications to family nurse practitioner (FNP) programs. (UOPX does not offer its FNP program in Horton’s home state of North Carolina; if it did, she says, she would have applied.) Horton also works out, stays healthy and feels young. Age is just a number to her.

She has lived this out to her grandkids, as well. Especially her youngest and possibly most precocious one.

“When she was 6, Giselle said, ‘Mimi, why are you going to school? You’re too old,’” Horton says. “I said, ‘I am not too old. I am teaching you that we can learn no matter what age we are.’”

And learn she has, both in the classroom of college and in the classroom of life.

In 2007, Horton became an LPN (licensed practical nurse) through a community college. It wasn’t at the level of what she wanted to do, but the waitlists for registered nurse (RN) programs were long at that time. She carried a professional presence and knowledge into home health settings, long-term care facilities and doctor’s offices. Although she wanted to further her education, she was 39, divorced and raising two kids. It seemed like a project for someday.

Finally, in 2014, someday came. Horton decided to go back to school. She faced obstacles that nearly halted her plans, including losing her grandmother — also a nurse and her inspiration. Horton also was in a rear-end collision, which forced a break in her program due to serious headaches from a concussion and memory loss. She just wanted to quit, but her grandmother’s voice kept her going.

She resumed classes, finished her initial nursing education (at another school) and received her RN license. She then began working in a Level I trauma hospital, where she gained experience in orthopedic trauma, post-surgical recovery, women’s health and pediatric nursing. 

Back to the books

Looking back, it was grueling. In 2018, she remembers being online, doing schoolwork the day before her father’s funeral. Months later, during her mom’s surgery to remove lung cancer, she sat in the waiting room and finished homework.

She put her head down and got it done. 

“With new levels, there are new devils”

Now, as Horton looks toward starting school in January 2024 to pursue a master’s degree in a family nurse practitioner program, her ultimate goal is to continue to help others learn. She is specifically passionate about providing care for individuals from underserved communities — building relationships in a family medicine office that will allow her to work with pediatric through geriatric populations.

“I see the disparities within [historically marginalized communities], both in terms of access to care and in knowledge about their health. It’s a two-part blow: affordability and understanding,” she says. “My main goal is to close that gap and help them understand their disease processes and how they can be in control of their health.”

For now, she continues to work as a clinical manager and in direct patient care, helping to educate patients about disease management in order to prevent re-hospitalization. “We talk about meds, signs and symptoms — it’s a lot of education,” she says.

Education.

The thing that makes her heart beat.

Barring unforeseen obstacles, Horton will be 57 or 58 years old when she finishes her program and receives her FNP certification. At almost 60, she’ll have student loans to pay off. She also took a peek at the required classes — advanced pharmacology, advanced pathophysiology, advanced economics, etc. — and she has nerves about going back to school, again.

“With new levels, there are new devils,” she says.

So, she did what she’s always done. She researched.

“I bought an advanced pathophysiology book and blindly took a test at the end of a chapter. I got eight out of 10 right without reading the chapter,” she says.

“I’m ready.”

For her, it’s time to begin her dream career. Because, for her, age is just a number. And she’s just getting started.