By CAPRI GAHR, Student Reporter
A freshman from Cherokee has the goal of making you tired.
Shelby Bender, a freshman in the nursing department, wants to be an anesthesiologist after completing her Bachelors in Science and Nursing here at NWOSU. After finishing the nursing program here at Northwestern, Shelby wants to continue schooling in Houston Texas at the Baylor College of Medicine, and plans on specializing as an anesthesiologist and work with weight loss surgeons. “I just find it fascinating,” she mentioned as we watched a surgery being performed on one of her favorite shows, “My Six Hundred Pound Life” in her dorm Thursday evening.
Shelby is a graduate of Cherokee High school and she was the salutatorian in her class. In 2015, she competed for and won the title, Miss Cherokee. While in high school, she participated in Speech and Debate, yearbook, and was even a cheerleader for a couple years. Shelby loved competing in Speech and Debate and went on to place in regionals for two years and placed 5th in the state her junior year. Her senior year, she attended the Northwest Technology Center to complete their program to be Certified Nursing Assistant. Shelby focused on taking as many concurrent classes as she could, allowing her to come into NWOSU already having 27 credit hours. This has helped her a lot in her transition to a college student and given her that extra step in her classes.
As a student of NWOSU, she is part of the sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha, a member of the Presidents Leadership Class, and spends a lot of her free time socializing and studying for her many science classes. Shelby is an employee at Gambino’s, the pizza place right next to the college, and can be seen taking orders and straightening up the dining area, some nights during the week.
Shelby’s parents, Todd and Jamie Bender, reside in Cherokee with their dog Waylon and cats Lizzy and JuJu. If Shelby isn’t working at Gambino’s or socializing with friends, she is home spending time with her parents and pets.