KWU Collaboration Helps Hill Sisters Succeed On and Off the Court

Inside the Salina Regional Health Center emergency room, the medical staff's days and nights are long. Every 12-hour shift has its high-intensity moments, and no two days are ever the same.

The fast-paced environment is the right fit for a pair of ER nurses - Amanda (Hill) Storms '21 and her younger sister, Caila Hill '23. Having spent their whole lives together, they are accustomed to working as a team. While majoring in Nursing at Kansas Wesleyan University, the duo also shared the court as members of the KWU women's basketball team.

When looking back at what inspired them to become nurses, the siblings point to one singular event.

On the night of Nov. 5, 2016, their father, Brian Hill, was working as a homicide detective in Topeka, Kan. As he approached the scene of an armed robbery, the suspect engaged him in a gunfight, shooting him four times. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital for emergency surgery. Brian's wife and daughters met him there - waiting, hoping and praying for good news.

To help the sisters take their mind off the night's events, one nurse gave them a tour of the healthcare facility.

"She let us tour the ER and took us down to their school of nursing, where their labs were," Caila said.

Meanwhile, the surgical team worked to help their father.

"They saved his life that night," Amanda said.

Brian made a full recovery, retired as a Topeka police detective in 2017 and is now serving as the Shawnee County sheriff. However, his road to recovery was filled with more hospital visits, an experience that fueled his daughters' passion for nursing.

"It was such an impactful moment in both our lives," Amanda said. "I think it drew us to become interested in the field and want to help others the same way those nurses helped us."

Amanda chose KWU when she realized she could pursue both her passions - basketball and nursing. Two years later, Caila followed suit, citing the ability to combine her interests as a top priority.

"There weren't many colleges close to home that let you do both nursing school and basketball together," Caila said. "So, Kansas Wesleyan appealed to me in that way."

Much like Amanda and Caila were teammates, KWU Athletics and the Nursing program have teamed together over the years. Through this collaboration, KWU coaches and professors communicate frequently, ensuring student-athletes in the Nursing program remain on task while playing the sport they love.

"We would meet with our coaches and professors at the same time to discuss grades and go over scheduling," Caila recalled. "I don't think very many schools do anything like that."

There were also times when clinicals and games fell on the same day. In those instances, an assistant coach would wait patiently for Amanda and Caila to complete their fieldwork before driving them to the contest.

"Our coaches knew how important it was to us that we keep our major and not delay things just to play basketball," Caila said. "They worked really well with us."

While the Hill sisters' coaches played a huge role in making sure they could pursue their passions, KWU's professors were also in their corner.

"A few of my nursing school instructors were my biggest fans," Amanda said. "Andrea Picklesimer came to many of my basketball games to cheer me on. The professors even made giant signs for me and another one of my teammates who was in nursing school at the time."

After graduating in 2021, Amanda was awarded a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Life only got busier, as she worked nights at Salina Regional, took MBA courses online and continued playing basketball.

"That year was kind of a blur," Amanda said with a chuckle. "I would get off work at 7 a.m. Then I would go home and sleep for as long as I could and wake up at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon so that I could go to practice."

Through it all, Amanda's coaches and professors continued to support her. She finished her collegiate career in 2022 as KWU's all-time leading scorer with 1,770 points.

Caila capped her time with the Coyotes the following season (2022-23) before reuniting with her older sister at Salina Regional.

"[Amanda] definitely was more experienced when I first started in the ER," Caila said. "I was just learning from her and the people that she started with, as well."

A few years into their respective careers, Amanda and Caila know they would not be where they are today without an unwavering support system around them.

"Going through nursing school while playing sports is not for the faint of heart," Amanda said. "But our coaches, teammates, teachers and family supported us so that we were able to thrive."

Story by Eric Brown