As director, Weaver will manage overall operations for its associate degree program and oversee its curricular outcomes. She looks forward to collaborating with faculty, staff, and students to ensure its curriculum is continuously improving, she said.

鈥淣ursing is a calling, and I think nursing education is even more so,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have a great program and faculty here, and I鈥檓 excited to continue developing future nurses who provide exceptional care for their communities.鈥�

Since joining the school in April 2023, Weaver has served as faculty, academic advisor, and mentor. She was instrumental in course development, student evaluation, and faculty onboarding, according to a from the school.

From 2019 to 2023, she served as a faculty member for the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing, where she led courses across multiple specialties and contributed to its re-accreditation. In addition to a BSN, Weaver holds an MSN with a nurse educator focus from Chamberlain University.

Rebecca Stoudt, associate dean for nursing student education at the Geisinger College of Health Sciences, said Weaver brings a wealth of experience in nursing education, clinical practice, and academic leadership. 鈥淚 am confident she will continue to make our school of nursing the first choice for aspiring nurses looking for hands-on education that prioritizes their own communities鈥� health and well-being,鈥� she said in the release.

Heeding the call

For as long as she can remember, Weaver says, her grandmother lived with multiple sclerosis. 鈥淚 watched my grandfather really care for her,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I started to gravitate toward health care, specifically nursing.鈥�

She was already well-acquainted with 黑料正能量 and its nursing program. Her older brother,聽Joshua Byler 鈥�07, was majoring in elementary education, and her aunt,聽Lynda Byler Miller 鈥�74, had graduated with a BSN. 鈥淚 had heard some great things about 黑料正能量, and I knew from others that it had a strong nursing program,鈥� Weaver said.

The summer before her senior year at 黑料正能量, Weaver completed a nurse externship at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital (then known as Lewistown Hospital) and remembers feeling that she had been adequately prepared by her education. 鈥淚t felt like I had a solid foundation of knowledge,鈥� she said.

Sometimes, when she鈥檚 teaching nursing students during clinicals, she reminisces about her own days as a nursing student. One of her instructors liked to read over a patient鈥檚 health history and physical and quiz her on some of the more difficult words. 鈥淎t the time, I don鈥檛 think I enjoyed that,鈥� she joked, 鈥渂ut looking back, it was a really helpful learning tool.鈥�