A quarter past eight in the morning, and two female Point Park University students waited in the health services office, located on the second floor of Thayer Hall, to be examined for health problems. One student displayed symptoms of the flu while the other was in search of a heating pad. The two waited patiently in an office populated by inspirational posters, a secretary’s desk and a weight scale.Moments later, Jeanne Beveridge, Point Park’s nurse, entered the office’s waiting room and greeted the students with a smiling face and warm welcome. The petite woman wore a traditional white coat accented with her nametag. She flipped through the file of one of the patients and began her diagnosis by questioning one of the girls.Beveridge’s job is to help students, and she has performed that job for almost 10 years as Point Park’s nurse. Although Beveridge had not planned to become a nurse, she admitted the career choice has proven to be very rewarding and fulfilling.While growing up in Pittsburgh, Beveridge was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life.”When I was younger, I didn’t have something that grabbed me,” Beveridge said. “I always envied those people who knew what they wanted to do.”The then uncertain 23-year-old, Pittsburgh native decided to flee the Steel City and move to a warmer climate in Florida. There, over the next 10 years, she worked as a waitress, a bartender, a florist and a car salesman.These odd jobs did not keep her from wanting to return to Pennsylvania, however, and she eventually moved back to Pittsburgh.Beveridge then decided it was time to seriously consider her future. At the age of 34, she married her present husband, who is self-employed and involved in trading stocks. She enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to become a registered nurse and to obtain her Bachelor’s of Science in nursing. After working as a laboratory technician, Beveridge decided to further her career and become involved in nursing. Although that choice was not originally part of her plans, those close to her said she could not have picked a better job.”People that I’ve known through life, even as a young person in high school, have said, ‘Oh yeah, this is you. You are a nurse because you’ve always been taking care of people,'” Beveridge said.Beveridge’s nursing experience includes working in hospitals, nursing homes and industrial sites such as steel and glass mills. This work led to an opportunity for Beveridge to become Point Park’s school nurse. She took the job and has enjoyed her time at the school ever since.”I love the kids and their age group,” Beveridge said. “I watch them come in as freshmen. I am able to have an ongoing relationship with them, and then I get to watch them graduate.”She takes a personal approach to her students. Instead of telling them what to do, she works to understand each of their issues and then presents options for solving those problems.Jocelyn Wright, a freshman ballet major, had a positive experience with Beveridge’s method when she sought advice for exhaustion.”Nurse Jeanne was very nice and kind when I saw her,” Wright said. “I explained my issues and what I thought should be done. She agreed and stated what a mature … young lady she thought I was.”Freshman acting major Taylor Schulz has had equally enjoyable experiences when she has discussed health concerns with the nurse. Each time, she found Beveridge to be accommodating and motherly, as well as trying everything possible to help.Students have returned to Point Park after graduation and thanked the nurse for her help. Beveridge emphasized that this lasting communication with current and former students is one of the most rewarding aspects of her job.Along with such rewards, however, have come challenges for Beveridge as Point Park’s nurse. She admitted that, at times, her work can be trying.”I want to be able to help every student that comes in with every problem that [he or she has], but that’s not possible,” Beveridge said. “It is frustrating that I have to say I can’t help someone, but I have limited resources and some problems I cannot fix.”Nevertheless, the nurse finds her job enjoyable, enough that she continues her work at home. Beveridge and her husband, who recently celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary this past Valentine’s Day, have taken up bike riding as a hobby. Because she discusses exercise and nutrition with her students, she “tries to practice what [she] preaches.”Beveridge said she hopes to return to Florida when she reaches retirement, but lives her life enjoying the moments she has been given in the meantime. She stressed the importance of seizing opportunities as key to leading a fulfilled llife.”Anytime something promising presented itself, I took it,” she said. “You really never know where there’s an opportunity.”