UMSL support turned tears of uncertainty into tears of joy for nursing graduate

UMSL support turned tears of uncertainty into tears of joy for nursing graduate

by Dave Benson | Jul 27, 2026

Kayla McKissack crossed the commencement stage at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in May and was confident she was ready to begin caring for pediatric patients.

Her belief in her own abilities had been buoyed over four years by faculty members such as Diane Saleska and Michelle Barrier, who encouraged her to meet every challenge on the way to earning her degree from the College of Nursing.

But McKissack had not always been so self-assured. She remembers initially struggling to navigate the unfamiliar campus. The college workload also was unlike anything she had previously experienced. The uncertainty that came with being a first-generation student at one point pushed her to tears.

"Having to deal with all of the work, and then also kind of living on my own, it was just a lot sometimes," McKissack said. "When I was feeling overwhelmed, some teachers I would go to, and I would literally sit down in their office and cry. I really appreciate the ones that would talk to me and give me encouragement and support."

Emboldened by her UMSL community - including other faculty members such as Kim Baldus, Amanda Finley, Christine DiRie, Paula Linden, Laurie Vining and Tonya Haynes - McKissack began orientation on June 2 in her new career as a nurse for a specialty pediatric rehabilitation hospital in the St. Louis area. McKissack helps provide care for children ages 3 and up who are showing improvement but still require around-the-clock attention.

"These are kids who don't need extensive hospital resources, but they need a little bit more medical care before they can go home," McKissack said. "Sometimes that can range from weeks to months. Some people have been there for a couple years. It just depends."

That potential for long-term care aligned perfectly with the type of nurse that McKissack said she wants to be.

Over the course of her many rotations, clinicals and externships while at UMSL, McKissack gained experience in a variety of healthcare settings, and she discovered that while she enjoyed the fast pace of emergency medicine, she found the greatest fulfillment in spending time with patients and their families. That realization ultimately led her to pediatric rehabilitation, where she can build lasting relationships while helping children gain the strength to return home.

"I'll be able to build a rapport with the children and their families, get to know their moms, dads, sisters, friends who come up to see them," McKissack said. "I think that could be the best part of the job. It's different from the ER, where I see somebody for just two, three, four hours, and then it's on to the next patient. I'm going to get to know them, get to know their story and see how their journey progresses."

As for McKissack's journey to becoming a nurse, the seed was initially planted by an older sister who had expressed interest in the medical field. While in high school, McKissack applied to HOSA-Future Health Professionals, an international student organization that promotes careers in the healthcare industry, and during the second semester of her senior year, she shadowed a nurse at DePaul Hospital on the medical-surgery and labor-and-delivery floors.

"I liked seeing the nurses do certain things, such as getting blood, and I saw a C-section for the first time during this program," she said. "It really got me interested in the skills part of nursing, being able to do things with patients like that, and that drove me into wanting to be a nurse."

Through her participation in Girls Inc. during middle school and high school, McKissack was able to tour several regional campuses, including UMSL, which gave her an early introduction to the updated facilities at Seton Center Hall. As she neared high school graduation and became more serious about her goal of a career in nursing, McKissack said UMSL loomed as a compelling choice, but financial obstacles stood in the way.

Fortunately, a friend told McKissack about the Opportunity Scholars Program, a four-year scholarship and support program housed in UMSL's Pierre Laclede Honors College that helps academically accomplished students, particularly first-generation college students and those who have faced barriers to higher education, succeed both in and out of the classroom. Along with a full-ride scholarship, participants receive faculty and peer mentoring, career development opportunities, leadership experiences and a close-knit cohort that prepares them for graduate school and professional careers.

McKissack applied for the scholarship, and she was studying at the library when she got the phone call telling her that she had been accepted.

"I was shocked," McKissack said. "When I got home, I told my mom that I had won, and we both started crying. It was a good moment. I felt proud of myself, and she was really proud of me, too. So, it was really emotional finding out I was accepted, and it was also a huge relief off my back, knowing that I wouldn't have to pay for college."

Four years later, the emotions flowed once again for McKissack, this time from the realization that she had finished what she started.

"It still doesn't feel real, but it did make me feel good for my family and my community," McKissack said. "A lot of people in my extended family don't have college degrees, to be honest, so being able to set the example for them, it was nice."

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