When Keisha Dean spoke to the hundreds of students and donors gathered at the Ozarks Technical Community College donor reception in April, she discussed what her OTC education would mean for her family.
“I know there is a well-paved path of livelihood for my children and my husband because of what I have gained at OTC,” Keisha said.
The following month, Keisha graduated with an associate degree in respiratory therapy, but at 40, she was nearly twice the age of many of her fellow graduates. But those decades of experience have provided her with a lifetime of experiences that led Keisha to her chosen career.
When Keisha graduated from high school in the small central Missouri town of Salisbury in 2001, she bounced between a few four-year colleges. She never settled on a major, but she met the man she would eventually marry while attending Southwest Missouri State University.
He is a lighting engineer for live music shows, and they ended up in the Music City of Nashville, Tennessee. At that point, Keisha found her calling and earned a bachelor’s in social work at Middle Tennessee State University in 2010. She was pregnant with her oldest child when she graduated, but unfortunately, Keisha and her baby both became sick.
“She was born early and had some challenges,” Keisha said. “I’ve been a stay-at-home mom ever since.”
Keisha’s other two children, a daughter and a son, were also born prematurely, and Keisha tended to their healthcare needs, which included respiratory illnesses.
With three children with medical needs, the Deans relocated back to Springfield to be near family who could help. When her youngest child started kindergarten, Keisha thought about returning to school.
“I had a lot of experience in respiratory care,” Keisha said. “I’d been through it three times with my children.”
With a bachelor’s degree, Keisha only had to complete a few prerequisite classes before starting OTC’s respiratory therapy program in the summer of 2022. Despite all of the college education in her background, Keisha admits that the respiratory therapy program was challenging.
“These were the hardest classes I’ve ever taken in my life,” Keisha said.
With her life experience and background caring for children with respiratory challenges, Keisha had an excellent bedside manner and a talent for communicating with patients, especially children.
“Keisha was able to balance motherhood with the nearly 900 hours of clinical and laboratory practicums required to graduate from the respiratory therapy program,” said Brandon Burk, OTC program director for respiratory therapy. “Caring for her children instilled resilience in Keisha, and I know they were the primary motivation for earning her respiratory therapy degree.”
Thankfully, Keisha’s children are healthy, attending school and playing sports. Armed with her respiratory therapy degree, she is excited about what a second income can mean for her family.
“Money has always been such a worry,” Keisha said. “I look forward to living our lives free of that concern.”