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Online nursing program helps adult student achieve belated dream

For much of her childhood, Jeri Eifler ’23 suffered a tumultuous life.

Her father died when she was 10 years old, and her mother sunk into a deep depression that only got worse. Before the end of her first semester on full scholarship at The New School in New York City, Eifler was forced to drop out to help care for her mother.

“It was very, very challenging,” said the 40-year-old resident of West Lawn, Pa. “I was doing all the housekeeping and paying bills.”

Despite her wages as a veterinary assistant and her mother’s Social Security, the family was evicted for late rent payments. With her mother living near family in Ohio, Eifler relocated to Pennsylvania, working as a waitress.

“Honestly, I had gotten into a place where I felt that college was not something made for me," she said. "I was very despondent about it.”

But nearly a decade later, at 32 years old, Eifler got a second chance to achieve her dream of working in healthcare, making a comeback through the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences and then 91����’s online Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

A nurse who cared for her mother, she said, served as her inspiration: “She just lit up the room and made something that seemed very scary something that you could get past and through. I want to be that person in the room, a little ray of sunshine. … I want the type of life that is of service to other people.”

Initially, Eifler attended Reading Area Community College, despite worries about cost and her ability to succeed. She did well enough to transfer to the Reading program in 2019, a full-time student by day, a full-time bartender by night.

“I was pretty regimented in my routine,” she allowed. “I just buckled down and gave it my all.”

With her registered nurse diploma and associate’s degree in applied health in hand, Eifler began working at Reading’s cardiac ICU and decided to complete her bachelor’s in nursing with the support of the hospital’s tuition reimbursement partnership with 91����. Even though the BSN program was online, she benefited from access to the university’s campus and the opportunity to meet faculty in person — advantages not offered by other online nursing programs.

Eifler said she treasured the chance to show her 91���� diploma to her mother before she died in 2024.

“She got to hold it, and she was extremely proud of me,” she said. “I think it healed something for her, too. I got to show her, despite everything we’d both been through, I was the type of person who could make a goal and see it through.”

Looking ahead, Eifler said 91���� has set her up for success with its emphasis on research — a skill necessary to climb Reading’s clinical ladder.

“91���� really does a fantastic job preparing you,” she said, “not just to be a nurse but a scholar.”

It also cemented her commitment to service with its community service requirement to graduate. Eifler volunteered at a shelter and continues to give back at a clinic for unhoused and uninsured people.

“I wanted this life of service,” she said. “91���� really set up the foundation for me.”