Nursing a Passion for Nursing

As February rolls in, we take the opportunity to uplift Black Excellence in our Albertus Magnus community.

For the first thirteen years of his life, Woobensky Ostagne ‘27 grew up in Haiti where his mother worked as a nurse. He describes how “nurses in Haiti, they do everything. They give birth, they suture, they give medications…so a nurse in Haiti just learns everything and puts it in practice.”

A young Woobensky was fascinated. “She would come home every day and tell us stories about what she was doing in the ICU or the emergency room.” When Haiti was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in 2010, his mom was an essential worker and first responder. 

Inspired by his mother, Woobensky is now pursuing a degree in nursing at Albertus Magnus – a program he is very passionate about. He was named a nursing ambassador for his cohort and is very involved on campus. This wasn’t always the case though. Woobensky started his educational journey at a different college before transferring to Albertus to be closer to home.

In transferring schools, he found a new kind of home and community. “The school I went to before,” he says, “I was never involved in anything.” Now, he wants to make a difference. “I just feel like…if I could personally make a difference, why not?” “This is a very strong nursing program, very strong candidates, and very strong faculty members willing to help and do anything.”

Woobensky’s future career aspirations include graduating from the Albertus nursing program, spending two years in the ICU, and then continuing his education by becoming a CRNA or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

“That’s what’s great with nursing,” he explains. “You can just be a nurse, but you could be so much more…you have so many different options…and you get to really interact with your patients, and you just get to make a really good difference.” From making a difference at Albertus to making a difference in his future patients’ lives, we can’t wait to see what Woobensky Ostagne will do next.

Contributed by: Kelly Hansen