(SWEETWATER, Texas) – Seeing childhood friends will be a normal occurrence for Roby’s Kaycie Hills.

Hills, who graduated this spring from Texas State Technical College with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Nursing, was recently hired at Fisher County Hospital. Hills is also following in the footsteps of her mother, who has worked at the hospital for 26 years.

“I enjoy working in my hometown. I see a lot of people from my childhood, and they tell me how proud they are of me. That makes me feel good,” she said.

Hills said she wanted to be a nurse like her mother and worked to reach that goal.

“I was working three jobs and realized that I wanted a career,” she said. “I wanted to provide for my son.”

Hills admitted that she struggled in some of her classes at TSTC, but she feels a sense of accomplishment about finishing her degree requirements.

“It feels really good to be graduating,” she said. “The instructors really came through for me and helped me.”

It was not only with classwork that Hills said instructors helped her.

“They would always call and ask how we were doing and if I needed anything,” she said. “That is what I appreciated the most. They really care about their students. They are a huge part of my life now.”

Completing the registered nursing courses taught Hills lessons she will use daily.

“The program really dove deep into the entire disease process,” she said. “It helped me learn what the patient needs, and I can better care for my patients with that knowledge.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

-#-