Spark reignited: A decade after she graduated, nutritionist Shannon Miller ’15, BSN ’27, has returned to Saint Mary's to pursue nursing. She credits the neonatal nurses she met during pregnancy as inspiration. / Photo by Francis Tatem
Inspired by NICU Nurses, a Saint Mary’s Alum is Answering the Call
In Their Own Words: After earning a BS in Business and becoming a nutritionist and mother, Shannon Miller ’15, BSN ’27 has returned to join the new nursing program. Miller explains why she sees it “becoming the gold standard.”
In Their Own Words is a series in which we introduce you to the Gaels you need to meet—students, alums, faculty, and staff—and let them tell their stories, in their own words.
Meet Shannon Miller ’15, BSN ’27: a certified health coach and nutritionist who graduated from Saint Mary’s in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. In 2018, she earned her Master’s in Holistic Health Education and Nutrition and has run her own wellness business ever since.
In Spring 2026, Miller returned to SMC as part of the second cohort in the newly established Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Her desire to pursue nursing was sparked, in part, by her experience as a mother of three. Now Miller’s on track to earn her nursing degree in Summer 2027.
A call toward care
Growing up, most of my family worked in healthcare. My dad is a surgeon, my mom works in healthcare policy, and my sister is a nurse practitioner. I considered nursing school after high school, but I didn’t know there were four-year degree options at the time. I went to Saint Mary’s and graduated with a Business degree in 2015. Three years later, I earned my Master’s in Holistic Health Education and Nutrition at nearby John F. Kennedy University.
For the last 10 years, I’ve worked as a nutritionist and a health educator. During that time, my partner and I had three kids, all boys. My younger two were both premature. I spent a lot of time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with them, and that’s kind of when this spark reignited.
I saw the care the nurses took with not just my kids, but with me and my husband. The doctors were fantastic, of course. But the nurses were with us every day, eight hours a day. During our time there, I was very involved in my sons’ care, and our nurses often commented on how I seemed comfortable and proficient in the environment. Some even assumed I worked in healthcare.
Because of those experiences, I felt a strong calling to look into nursing school again.
Gael again
I kept coming back to asking myself: “Can I do it? Is now the best time?” But it just would not get off my heart. I felt God was telling me this was the direction He wanted me to go. I started doing my prerequisite work and looking at different places to apply. My brother, Collin Pugh ’05, who works at Saint Mary’s as the Assistant Director of Tutoring Services, let me know the school was starting a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; it felt like the timing lined up too perfectly to be accidental. I loved my undergraduate experience at Saint Mary’s, and I love the campus. I knew if I got in, I’d definitely go back to Saint Mary’s—and that’s how I landed back as a Gael.
Balancing motherhood has made me very disciplined in how I approach my schoolwork. While I had my own nutrition practice, I was still pretty much a full-time mom, and starting the nursing program has been a big shift. I have to keep in mind that I’m doing this process because I want to do something fulfilling and something I’m very passionate about, while also giving my kids more in life. They can see their mom is doing something really hard, but she’s proud of it. I feel like it’s modeling for them.
As much as I love motherhood, I knew I needed something that’s mine. That’s also what this has been about: reclaiming who I am apart from being a mom.
Learning by doing
When my cohort and I first walked into the new Phelan Simulation Lab, it felt like walking into a little hospital; we now call it Saint Mary’s Hospital because that’s what it looks like!
It’s almost like triage—an ER setup—with hospital beds, patient rooms, and a classroom. We also have talking, AI-powered mannequins. You can hear their breath, heart, and even their digestion sounds. You can even hook them up to an IV. They’re very state-of-the-art.
I think there’s a misconception that nurses just follow doctors’ orders. The doctor orders something, and the nurse does it, right? That’s part of the job, but the real point of nursing is clinical judgment, reasoning, and using what we know about our patient. It’s being able to look at the patient and understand—or even anticipate—what they need, and what’s going to happen. That’s what the simulation is really about. It’s not so much about practicing how to start an IV; it’s about reading what’s going on with our patient and taking the next step to keep them safe. The simulation lab is kind of incredible.
“Our system has a lot of gaps, and it’s important to acknowledge the need for nurses who really care. For many of us in healthcare, it’s not about the paycheck, but about being an agent of change. Seeing the brokenness and helping make things a little better—that’s the goal.”
Hands-on exploration
So far, I’ve had the chance to complete a few clinical rotations. In summer 2026, we did our fundamentals at John Muir Health in Walnut Creek, and this year we’ve begun our mental health rotations. We work with adults, adolescents, and children, each of them vastly different.
Clinical experiences just make me more excited. The classroom’s great; we get to learn, and that’s important, but going into hospitals and working with patients is when it all comes together. It reaffirms why I want to be there. It also lets us discover our place in the field. I always thought labor and delivery or the NICU was my only direction, and now I don’t know; emergency medicine is piquing my interest. It’s been cool to get to explore all the options available to me.
During our rotations, we also see that our healthcare system isn’t perfect. Our system has a lot of gaps, and it’s important to acknowledge the need for nurses who really care. For many of us in healthcare, it’s not about the paycheck, but about being an agent of change. Seeing the brokenness and helping make things a little better—that’s the goal.
Culture of care
Being part of the first two cohorts has been a unique opportunity. At the start, there were about 20 of us, but now the cohorts will be full with around 50 students. The cohorts are together for every class, and many of us are doing different clinical rotations together as well. Working long hours together is good preparation not just for nursing, but for life. It’s a good way to learn how to work with somebody, no matter what.
We have a pretty awesome faculty, too. I know they’re my professors, but sometimes I have to remind myself that “Oh, they’re not my friends!” Nursing Research Instructor Nicole Vance, the program's Clinical Coordinator Jessica Delgado, and Clinical Instructor Nenita Bernardo have all either spoken with me one-on-one after class or made sure we get the information and support we need. Since this is a new program, the professors have also put into practice a shared governance model, collaborating with us to evolve the program based on our experience. That’s truly unique, I think.
Saint Mary’s feels like a second home to me. I really do see this nursing program and patient-centered approach becoming the gold standard—the Bay Area nursing school that everybody wants to attend.
Margaret Hamlin is a Student Writer in the Office of Marketing and Communications at Saint Mary’s College.
