Christina Lenfest '12

Meet Cristina: Science Lover and School Nurse

Cristina Lenfest graduated from BCC's ADN program in 2012. She is the school nurse at Richmond Consolidated School and the loving mother of two children.

Cristina grew up in Lee and graduated from Lee High School in '97 before she obtained her Dual Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Communication at UMass Amherst. She decided to move to New York City and go into sales in the pharmaceutical industry. She was working at One Penn Plaza during 9/11 in 2001: "When the first plane hit the tower, it drew all of us in the office to watch through the window of our building. Then, when the second plane hit, we knew immediately this wasn't a coincidence. I was able to make a quick phone call to my mother who at the time was working in Lenox to let her know I was okay before the phones didn't work anymore in New York City. After that, we had to run down 23 flights of stairs. It was total chaos and exactly what you saw in the media. From that point on for months, we were evacuated quite a bit from the building due to threats. It was a stressful time to live in. Just going through that experience, I knew that I didn't want to live in New York City lifelong."

Cristina then moved to Boston for a couple of years before relocating back to the Berkshires. During this time, after being in the pharmaceutical industry for many years, she decided to obtain her RN licensure.

"I always loved science. I also loved living in the Berkshires and wanted to make a good decision on choosing a next career in terms of availability of jobs, cost of living and being satisfied in my next role. That's why I chose the nursing program at BCC. I started chipping away on the prerequisites. I knew it was a highly competitive program. It was very challenging and I am not naturally an A student, so I utilized resources at BCC. I obtained a tutor for math and that was phenomenal. It helped me get to where I needed to go in order to get into the program."

Once she was accepted into the nursing program, Cristina recalls that study groups with peers were essential: "It was a small group of people and you really were able to gain those peer relationships fast. When I did require extra help, I would go to a teacher and they were always available. The resources are there, you just have to utilize them to be successful. Everybody wants you to be successful! The climate is similar to here (at Richmond Consolidated School), everybody wants you to do well in school, you just got to ask for help." During the time Cristina was accepted to the nursing program at BCC, she also wanted to grow her family. She had to ask herself, "Do I want to place my life on hold or do I go to nursing school? I have learned that you can have that big plan when you're in your early twenties but then life just happens. After discussing my goals with my husband, I decided 'I'm going to do both.' I ended up having my son, Christopher in December of my first year in the program. I took a final exam while I was in early contractions and two days later, I gave birth to my son!"

Cristina also was pregnant for her second child when she graduated in May 2012. "I wanted to do both. I wanted to be a mom and I wanted to be a nurse. You just have to try. I am so glad that I did because I love this job. I love being a school nurse. It's so much fun with the kids and I feel that I really make an impact on them. And that is very gratifying." Cristina emphasized that it was not easy. "I had a great experience with the nursing program. It's a very hard program but I think we are all very prepared when we graduate from it. The entire staff was really supportive. The clinical groups were anywhere between six and eight with one clinical instructor. You are paired up with a floor nurse and they help you develop the skills for you to succeed. If you were struggling with any sort of skill, they would work one-on-one with you and would give you that personal attention that maybe you would not get at a bigger school. You didn't get lost in the mix."

After Cristina graduated from BCC with her Associates Degree in Nursing, she worked for a few years before she earned her BSN online at Western Governors University. When the opportunity came to apply for the position as the school nurse at Berkshire Country Day School, she gave it a try. "To become a school nurse in Massachusetts they want you to have the DESE licensure and the BSN, which I didn't have yet at that time. I thought, maybe I will just try." When BCD gave her the opportunity, she knew quickly that she had found her calling. "I love working with kids. I create a very comfortable and soothing atmosphere in my office with calming music that makes the kids feel at ease so they can heal and get back to class. You get to know these kids so well. Our goal is to get these kids through the day in a healthy and supportive way so they can learn. I treat kids with band-aides and icepacks for sure, very typical of what one would think a school nurse does. However, there's a lot more to the job that meets the eye. I wouldn't want it any other way." The impact that Cristina has on our Berkshire community and its most vulnerable members makes us proud and grateful to be able to call her a BCC alumna.

I love working with kids. I create a very comfortable and soothing atmosphere in my office with calming music that makes the kids feel at ease so they can heal and get back to class. You get to know these kids so well. Our goal is to get these kids through the day in a healthy and supportive way so they can learn. I treat kids with band-aides and icepacks for sure, very typical of what one would think a school nurse does. However, there's a lot more to the job that meets the eye. I wouldn't want it any other way.