Erika Nicol

Junior and L.P.N. graduate, College of Technology nursing program

What’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to you?
Getting into L.P.N. school and graduating. One hundred and fifty people applied and 20 got in.

Tell me your experience with nursing at the College of Technology.
I just graduated from the Licensed Practical Nursing program and am preparing to apply to the Registered Nursing program. It only took me three semesters before I graduated with my L.P.N. -- one semester of prerequisites and then the L.P.N. program was only two semesters long. I really recommend the program here. The L.P.N. is hard to get into and you go through a rigorous process to apply, but it’s really worth it. This summer I’m taking some of the prerequisites you need for the R.N. program.

How long will the R.N. portion of the program take you?
Only two more semesters.

Have you had other majors before this one?
I was at the School of Education for three years before I changed my mind.

What’s the best course you’ve taken on campus?
Med/Surg. It was so fast-paced, but I learned so much.

So that’s Medical Surgery?
It’s pathology. You go over the systems, diseases of the systems, stuff like that.

How do you study?
I am a procrastinator. I leave it till the end, then cram it in.

Do you recommend that as a method of studying?
No, probably not, but you can’t tell someone how to study. Some people need to go home after lecture and re-write their notes -- good for them! They’re not nearly as frantic as I am before a test.

What’s your favorite all-night study location?
My couch.

What’s your favorite study diversion or snack?
Wine.

What’s your best tip for saving money in college?
Stay away from the bars.

If you were going to do a celebrity endorsement of a local product or business, which one would you choose?
I really like Staggering Ox sandwiches.

What’s the strangest place you’ve ever been to in Montana?
I was invited bear hunting with a group of people, but instead it turned out to be a mudding event up near Gold Creek. There were big trucks going through the mud. There were guns and beer and kids shooting at cans of WD-40. It was weird.

What’s your favorite Montana body of water?
The Bitterroot River.

Do you have any good parking stories?
I almost got run over by Carroll O’Connor once. I was taking a summer class and he was teaching a drama class. His class started right after mine. I was getting into my car and apparently he was late. He almost ran me over. All I thought was, "Oh my gosh, it’s Archie Bunker!"

If you became President, what’s the first thing you would do?
Who would want to be President? What an awful job. I’d start with reforming the health care system.

Are you an organ donor?
Yes.

Why?
The ability to give life after death speaks for itself. That’s amazing.

What’s the highest cell phone bill you’ve ever had?
About four hundred dollars. That only happened once!

What’s your greatest hidden talent?
My gardening skills.

If you could be any animal, which one would you be?
I’d like to be a cat. They’ve got an easy life: Sit around, get loved -- yeah, I’d be a cat.

If you could light anything on fire, what would it be?
A fire under myself right now to send my applications out for L.P.N. positions.

-- Interview and photography by Winona Sorensen