Ashlee Gifford, Class of 2009, Watertown, NY

What are you up to? Currently, I am an RN at the Children's Home of Jefferson County in Watertown, New York (yes, I moved 280 miles from Watertown to Watertown). I am a mom to about 20+ kids from ages 9-17 who have been removed from their homes for a variety of reasons. I am happily married to the love of my life since May 23rd, 2015 and have a beautiful 2-month old daughter named Madison Rose.

How'd you get here? I graduated from CCSU in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I met my husband on Facebook in December 2014 while he was stationed in Germany working as Military Police in the U.S Army. Six months later we were married! We moved to the North Country where he was stationed at Fort Drum and, after a long road to finding a nursing job as a new graduate with no experience in the middle of nowhere, here I am!

What are your goals? We are unsure of where my husband's military career will take us next, but I plan to embrace the challenge and I look forward to the opportunities that I will face as we PCS. I plan to continue to see exactly where my place is in the nursing field and continue to love the road to figuring that out.

Advice for WHS Students? Expect the unexpected, embrace the challenge, prepare for the obstacles, know that nothing comes easy, but it's always worth it.