Rebecca Hageman, a December 2022 graduate of Newman University, is ready for her next chapter.
The Garden Plain, Kansas, native accepted a job at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph as a postpartum nurse a couple of months ago and looks forward to using her skills to help mothers and babies.
“I’m super excited to be working with babies because ever since I can remember, I have always been a baby magnet,” she said. “My family would always joke and say that anywhere I go, if there is a baby in the room, I will be holding it before we leave.”
Hageman feels her time at Newman University aptly prepared her for this next step.
“Not only have I learned the knowledge it will take to pass the NCLEX exam, I have also learned the skills and compassion it takes to be a nurse,” she said.
Hageman initially chose to pursue nursing because she enjoys interacting with people and helping them better themselves.
“It’s hard to see someone you know suffer from an illness or sickness, so when their family or friends cannot be there to help, I want to be,” she said. “I would like to be the nurse that I would want someone I know or myself to be taken care of by. I would like to make a difference in someone’s life, and I know by doing this, it will also impact my life and help me grow as a person.”
While Hageman will start her career as a postpartum nurse, she’s also drawn to hospice nursing.
It’s hard to see someone you know suffer from an illness or sickness, so when their family or friends cannot be there to help, I want to be.
Rebecca Hageman, ’22 Newman nursing graduate
“I have a great interest for the very beginning and the very end of life,” she explained. “I think this is because these populations are so vulnerable and innocent in a way. It is so meaningful to me to take care of people during these times.”
Wherever her journey will take her, Hageman is grateful for the foundation she laid at Newman — a university she chose to attend for a number of reasons, including the fact that her two older sisters did.
She also appreciated the small campus and abundance of opportunities, like playing on the volleyball team. Hageman’s faith is extremely important to her, so Newman’s Catholic identity stood out to her, too, as did the reputation of its nursing program.
This coming June, Hageman will marry fellow Newman alum Jon Coufal, who played baseball during his four years at the university.
“That brings me into my favorite Newman memory, which was meeting him at my freshman luau,” Hageman said. “He was a junior and a resident assistant, so he helped run the event. We ended up meeting and playing ping pong together, and the rest, you could say, is history.”
She added, “I am so glad I was given the opportunity to attend Newman University and help transform society.”
Earn a nursing degree at Newman University
Newman University’s prestigious Nursing Program is accepted by the healthcare industry as one of the most-coveted programs in the Midwest.
