UKIAH, Calif. – Nineteen new nursing students at Mendocino College are saying thank you to a group of generous donors who provided funding for each of them to purchase a new pair of required shoes.

“Nursing students have long shifts and do lots of walking. They need comfortable, supportive shoes to protect their feet and backs,” said Barbara French, director of nursing at Mendocino College.

“Thanks to the generosity of these donors, students might work one less shift on a job or just simply have a little extra money for car repairs or basic living expenses like buying groceries,” French said.

Nursing students are encouraged to buy good quality shoes, but the cost can be prohibitive.

That’s where the Mendocino College Foundation stepped in and created a campaign to buy a new nursing student their required shoes for $120.

With the assistance of local businessman Rod Johnson, the majority of the students were fitted and shoes were ordered at Rod’s Shoes, a longtime Ukiah retail store specializing in high quality footwear for men and women.

“Rod even loaned us a demo pair of shoes for display at the foundation’s annual fundraiser, Gala on the Green,” said Katie Fairbairn, executive director of the foundation.

According to Fairbairn, in addition to several anonymous donors, others who kindly gave their financial support included Larry and Jill Myers, Gary and Edelgard Smith, Lesa and Mathew McArdle, Larry and Doreen Venturi, Ed and Donna Berry, Ken and Brenda Hoek and the Mendocino College Foundation.

One of the lucky recipients is Nick Flynn, a warm and friendly 27-year-old who was raised in Missouri who recently moved to Ukiah to be near family.

Fairbairn had the opportunity to talk with Flynn and find out why he decided to become a nurse.

Tragically, in 2007 Flynn lost his beloved mother to cancer. That is where his journey to become a nurse began.

He recounted how the hospice workers lovingly cared for his mother and how it touched him at his core.

It wasn’t a stretch for Flynn to enter the medical profession with two aunts working as nurses and an uncle who is a practicing doctor in Arizona. Medicine has always been in the family, said the hardworking student.

Flynn wanted to express his gratitude to the donors. “I would like to take this time to reach out and say thank you to the people who provided this gift to the nursing students. The look on our faces when Barbara told us that shoes were no longer something that any of us had to worry about was a priceless moment, and you could hear the sigh of relief among the students. We are all so thankful and appreciate knowing that there are people out there who want us to succeed. These shoes not only helped us financially, but by believing in us, helped each one of us to work harder and stay motivated to do our best work.”

Each fall the Mendocino College Nursing program admits 18 new nursing students into the two-year program. The average student’s income drops upward of 47 percent due to the intensity of the program.

“French and the other nursing faculty are an exemplary group who through their expertise, hard work and determination are able to boast a state board examination pass rate of 96 percent, well above the statewide average of 86 percent,” said Mendocino College Interim Superintendent/President Roe Darnell.

Not only do Mendocino College’s nursing students overwhelmingly pass the exam on their first attempt, more than 84 percent of the school’s graduates stay and work in Lake or Mendocino counties.