I AM UAA: Nancy Cumberland

B.S. Nursing '86
Hometown: Anchorage, AK
Fun Fact: Teaches skiing during the winter months

UAA nursing alumna Nancy Cumberland '86 is a living, breathing "Nurse Nancy." Born in Michigan in 1953, Nancy was named after the Nurse Nancy cultural icon, popular among children in the 1950s.

During her early years, Nancy spent countless hours by the side of her aging grandmother's bed, providing the best, most loving care a child could offer. She realized at a young age that nursing would be her calling in life.

"I grew up being a person who cared for others," Nancy said. "Nursing has always been the innate choice for me."

As a young adult, Nancy dabbled in several jobs, including cosmetology, but she eventually followed her calling and became an LPN in 1972. Soon after, she moved north to Alaska for a job in nursing. "I liked the fact that I could get a job anywhere as a nurse," she said. "It's always been a big draw for me."

After several years in scrubs, Nancy noticed a shift in the workplace: she and many of her colleagues were encouraged to pursue advanced degrees to keep up with the changing health care industry. "It was a very strong statement," Nancy said.

She took note and embarked on the journey to earn her bachelor's degree in nursing. She enrolled in courses at UAA in 1979 and earned her B.S. in 1986. "It was a long road, but I just kept plugging away."

Looking back, Nancy remembers "just scraping by" through school. Though it was a long and bumpy road, she says UAA was always supportive of her. "It took everybody at UAA to get me through," she said jokingly.

Through the nursing program, Nancy made friends and colleagues that she still stays in touch with today. "We developed a strong and wonderful bond," she said.

With her hard-earned degree in hand, Nancy continued her career in nursing at Providence Alaska Medical Center, where she worked in multiple fields ranging from obstetrics to mother-baby and surgery to progressive care. She spent the bulk of her years working in long-term rehab until she discovered the world of home health care.

"I fell in love with home health care," Nancy said. "I enjoyed the autonomy of it, being able to make decisions on my own. All of the skills I learned over the years came together. It was really a blast." She continued working in home health care until her retirement from Providence in 2000.

Though retired, Nancy went on to become a parish nurse with her church, St. Mark Lutheran, where she currently works. She also teaches basic life support courses at Providence, the Alaska WWAMI Biomedical Program and in the community.

Now in a position to give back, Nancy and her husband, Dr. Paul A. Peterson, an interventional cardiologist at Alaska Heart Institute, established the Nursing Students in Need Scholarship at UAA in 2006 to help nursing students in the final stretch of their studies with critical expenses, like costly testing fees, for example. To date, over 30 students have benefitted from the scholarship and have gone on to successfully finish nursing school and begin their careers.

Nancy and Paul often get letters of thanks from the grateful students who are recipients of the scholarship. "It's positive reinforcement that, yes, this is the right thing to do," Nancy said. "Our university has filled a huge gap in the health care workforce and we feel that it's important to give back."

The couple plans to continue supporting UAA and will look to UAA to expand its role in educating Alaskans for many years to come.

The Cumberland/Peterson duo has four children and a one-year-old goldendoodle puppy named "Indy," who they hope will become a great service dog for their patients one day. Nancy, a downhill-skiing fanatic, is a ski instructor at Alyeska Resort during the snowy months.