Steady Support Through Every Step: May’s Story
As a child, May Pachner dreamed of becoming a nurse, but she wasn’t sure she had what it would take.
“I’ve looked up to nurses ever since I was little,” she says. “They’re some of the most compassionate, toughest people I know. I never thought I would have what it takes to be one.”
But when May arrived at Southern Nazarene University, her dream started to feel achievable. A nursing major and member of the SNU track and field team, May quickly learned that balancing academics and athletics required extraordinary discipline. Each day demanded careful time management and resilience.
Then, during the second semester of her freshman year, everything changed.
At just her second indoor track meet, May suffered a devastating injury, breaking both her tibia and fibula. Surgery and a long recovery followed.
“It’s been a hard recovery process, and I’m still recovering,” May shares. “Being injured has really changed my mindset and forced me to slow down. It has taught me to appreciate the small victories.”
Returning to campus just two weeks after surgery, May faced an overwhelming new reality. She navigated campus on crutches, managing pain and swelling, and trying to catch up on missed coursework.
But she didn’t face it alone. From professors who offered encouragement to classmates who stepped in with support, May experienced firsthand the kind of community SNU strives to cultivate.
“The support from the SNU campus community was amazing,” she says. “All the help I was getting was the main reason I was able to get through that semester.”
That experience also sharpened her vision for the future.
Having been a patient herself, May now understands even more deeply the vulnerability people feel in a hospital setting. “After my surgery, I needed a lot of help, and the nurses were there for me every time,” she says. “I hope to be a nurse who is not only there for my patients’ physical needs but also their emotional needs.”
Today, May continues to balance nursing coursework, athletics, and physical therapy as she works toward her calling. Resources like the tutoring center, along with encouragement from professors and classmates, have helped her stay on track.
“It’s a huge challenge,” she says. “But because of these resources and support systems, I’m able to keep improving.”
For many students like May, this support system includes faithful donors like you, whose generosity sustains the resources, community, and opportunities that make her story possible.
Your gifts help ensure students have the support they need to keep moving forward, even when the road is difficult. And for May, that steady support means she can keep pursuing her calling: caring for others with the same compassion that helped her heal.
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