Gerrie Grant - A Nursing Student Homecoming
Gerrie Grant was part of the first nursing graduating class from California State University, Long Beach’s 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in 1965. Her memories of the classes and experiences in this program are unique.
“When I went here, we had one room,” Gerrie recalls. “I remember certain things, even though it was a long time ago. We were a close-knit group in the nursing program and we still see each other today.”
In 1961 a new program was added at CSULB -- providing an opportunity for the first class of students to take all the basic nursing classes, along with the college degree classes at the university to become a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Prior to that, for several years, the university had a program for students who were already Registered Nurses – usually by being trained in a nursing school or junior college and wanting to get a college degree. Gerrie was one of about 54 students who started the 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in 1961 straight out of high school. The first graduating class was 13 students.
“Our college classes started with Miss Dorothy Walsh teaching about the rich history of nursing. We were reminded of the history, precision, and responsibility of our chosen profession. Every tight bedsheet was there for a reason. People’s lives were dependent on our care, honesty, privacy and respect,” Gerrie says.
Those same values ring true for the CSULB School of Nursing (SON) today. Just as California State University, Long Beach was established in 1949 to help meet the state’s workforce needs, the university established the nursing program to assist in elevating the educational level of nurses by starting the RN-BSN completion program. Since that time, CSULB SON has grown to offer pre-licensure BSN degrees, RN-BSN completion degrees and graduate degrees with multiple specialty areas.
“After leaving school, I was a public health nurse in Compton and Long Beach between 1965 and 2005, making over a thousand home visits,” Gerrie says. Her Compton Public Health experience was right after the Watts Riots of 1965. She did mostly field visits, plus working in prenatal clinics, baby clinics and immunization clinics. “I had great on-the-job training from the brave nurses who stayed on during the Compton Riots.”
For Gerrie, being a nurse in Compton was followed by several years of family time raising her three daughters. She was a PTA Mom with award pins from Hughes Middle School and Longfellow Elementary, like many mothers of her day. She also enjoyed being a Camp Fire leader. She also taught prenatal care classes at the YMCA, worked in a cardiology office, and had several small jobs that fit her family schedule at the time.
Gerrie finally returned to devoting her time to the public health field full-time at the Long Beach Health Department in 1989, working there for the next 15 years. She did field visits and was Supervisor of the Black Infant Health Program, Prenatal Outreach Program and the Medi-Cal Outreach Program, in addition to serving as a liaison with Cal State University Public Health students. She then acquired administrative experience as the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Director for Long Beach – meeting regularly with other directors and agencies from all California counties. She also wrote the 5-year Maternal-Child Health Report – publishing statistics and programs for the women and children of Long Beach. She continued meeting locally with community groups from medical facilities, legal aid attorneys, Medi-Cal workers, medical insurance companies, state legislators and various volunteer groups until retiring in 2005.
“The nursing program at Long Beach State really prepared me for the skills needed in my career,” Gerrie says.
When Gerrie returned to the School of Nursing, visiting with School of Nursing Director Michael Williams, it was a sweet homecoming – see picture of Gerrie with Dr. Williams posed in front of the statue made in honor of the first school of nursing director. Gerrie says she still remembers that indelible moment of graduating from CSULB Nursing.
“We graduated on June 12, 1965 with all other CSULB majors at the Long Beach Convention Center. We wore traditional black gowns and matching tassels while our families cheered. It was a long-awaited day and well worth it.”
