A Purpose in the Pain

In the face of tremendous hardship, it can take an extraordinary amount of fortitude to carry on in pursuit of a dream.

In the case of Hanna Eide, she already had fortitude in spades – and a critically-timed scholarship from a fellow nurse ensured that she could overcome incredible adversity to secure her master’s degree in nursing. A 2019 alum with her bachelor’s in nursing, Hanna’s undergraduate experience was a study in both learning and personal growth. In her first four years as a Jackrabbit at State, she soaked up countless meaningful collegiate experiences: she studied Spanish for a semester in Spain, gleaning skills that she’d someday employ when communicating with patients from Hispanic populations. She met her future husband, Lance, and quickly became a regular at Jackrabbit football games, cheering Lance on as he played with the team. She delved into all things nursing through SDSU’s simulation equipment and technology, eager to keep pace with the high standards of the program. Hanna even enjoyed being enrolled side-by-side with her mom, who was earning a degree in communications at the same time as Hanna was beginning her foray into the nursing realm.

Following graduation, Hanna pivoted right back to the SDSU nursing program, intent on pursuing her master’s degree. That all ground to a halt when she and Lance faced an unimaginable loss. Now married and expecting their first child, the couple had spent months in and out of the hospital in anticipation of the birth of their son. After just over a week in the NICU, the couple’s newborn son, Paxton, passed away due to medical complications.

Life for Hanna felt dark and bleak in the wake of that loss. Immersed in grief, she stepped back from the nursing program, unsure if she’d ever return to the field. Many key factors helped Hanna step back into the ring and continue her nursing education: the unwavering support of her loved ones, especially Lance; the understanding and compassion of the nursing department at SDSU; and the timely arrival of the Ardelle Kleinsasser Scholarship in Nursing, fueled by a fellow nurse believing in Hanna when she needed it most.

Ardelle and Hanna have much in common. Ardelle spent the majority of her nursing career working at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital, while Hanna is the daughter of veteran marines. They share a passion for education, with Ardelle serving as an education coordinator at the VA prior to her retirement and Hanna describing herself as a “policy and procedure” person, continually advocating for new training and equipment for the nurses in her orbit. Most of all, the two possess the grit, kindness, and determination to help others that’s inherent to nurses as a whole. “We are both nurses at our core, and that’s a personality trait, really,” Hanna explains.

Receiving Ardelle’s scholarship marked a special turning point for Hanna. Since she returned to nursing, Hanna’s balanced even more on her plate, working full-time as a labor and delivery nurse and raising her second son, Baylen, all while carrying on with her master’s degree.

With Hanna’s graduation just around the corner in May 2025, there’s no better way to describe her remarkable journey in nursing and in life than from the words of Hanna herself.

What inspired you to pursue a career in nursing?

During high school, I decided to take an anatomy class to begin exploring health careers. Health and wellness became very interesting to me, and I began to explore healthcare organizations like HOSA and started working as a patient care tech in the hospital with labor and delivery and postpartum care. I fell in love with the role of caring for people. We are there for people at their most vulnerable, sometimes on their worst days, and we have the greatest opportunity to positively influence that experience, and that is such an honor.

What’s your favorite thing about working as a nurse?

Right now, my favorite thing is watching the miracle of life being brought into the world. I love being the person who my patients trust and the one who can make all the difference for them during such important moments. Being a nurse is so hard sometimes, but it has the biggest rewards, too. Nurses are compassionate, empathetic, always willing to advocate for their patients, curious, a bit skeptical, focused on evidence-based interventions, and constantly wondering how they can do better. I love those qualities, and I love that being a nurse has taught me that.

How did your time at SDSU impact who you are today?

SDSU is home of my fondest memories. It’s where I grew up and learned who I wanted to be. SDSU gave me incredible opportunities – creating goals, chasing dreams. When I began going to SDSU at 18, I was very quiet, reserved, and was terrified of the changes and unknowns ahead. After a year at SDSU, I fell in love with the campus, the professors, the students, and I couldn’t have imagined being anywhere else.

What was your experience like, learning with SDSU’s nursing program and professors?

In my role now, I can immediately tell when I am working with a new nurse who graduated from SDSU – they are quick, motivated, and great critical thinkers. I know I can give credit to SDSU for preparing me as a nurse. The professors are relatable and were able to get us great experiences in the community and clinical experiences in the hospital. The simulations always seemed intimidating, but, looking back, I think that the high-quality simulation options at SDSU are very valuable. The home health simulation environment taught me to identify problems in a space and assess a room for any issues with patient care. Another simulation experience that stands out to me was a simulation with a new mom whose baby wouldn’t stop crying; in our debrief, the instructor explained to us we could offer to hold the baby. Now, I am always so quick to say, “Here, let me take them for a minute.” When I start rocking them or patting their back, the relief on the mom’s face is so evident. That simulation helped me think more about, “What is my patient feeling right now?” I think being able to ask yourself that will go far in taking care of patients.

How has Ardelle Kleinsasser’s generosity impacted your life? 

Ardelle’s kindness and willingness to support students continuing their education through scholarship has been a wonderful gift to my life. At the time that I received the scholarship from Ardelle, I was working as a full-time nurse, being a mom to my little guy, and trucking through my graduate program. When I received this scholarship, it was like God had told me, “See, it’ll be okay.” The timing and the difference it made was exactly what I needed, and I will always be grateful for that. It is with her generosity that I am able to balance work, my family, and school better and with less stress.

You’ve mentioned to Ardelle that there have been several times throughout your master’s degree where you’ve thought about giving up. What keeps you motivated to keep going?

I had a total crisis after I lost my son to a diaphragmatic hernia and heart defect, and the idea of going back to nursing and healthcare and returning to my life “before” felt impossible. My husband, Lance, deserves a lot of credit. He never let me give up, and he encouraged me to keep walking through the doors that I believe God opened for me. I had to take a semester off from school to grieve, and SDSU and my program were so incredibly understanding. When I talked about re-enrolling, they were very willing to let me jump back in. I could tell this was a calling on my life, and I knew that my experiences would make me more compassionate and a better provider, not a worse one.

Losing my son was a lot of grief that ended up sparking a passion for fertility, pregnancy, fetal outcomes, and pre-conception health. I had hope that there was a purpose in the pain, and perhaps I was meant to use my experience for good in the healthcare realm. Sometimes, when things get hard and I am struggling being away from my kiddo, I still think about giving up. There’s always something in me that says I can’t, though. It’s getting good grades on papers or exams even when I was exhausted and up all night with a newborn. It’s the unexpected scholarships that tell me, “Keep going, we’re rooting for you.”

Following her upcoming graduation, Hanna will take on a role with Sanford Health in Watertown, helping carry out the miracle of life she’s so in awe of on a daily basis. Moved by the generosity of a fellow nurse, she’s poised to not only follow in Ardelle’s footsteps by entering the nursing field, but by following Ardelle’s legacy in generosity. Each year on what would be their son’s birthday, Hanna and Lance find a way to honor Paxton’s memory, through small acts of kindness and charitable giving to different organizations. In the future, Hanna hopes to fund a scholarship of her own someday – named for Paxton, paving the way for aspiring nurses in need of a sign to carry on when their dreams seem impossibly out of reach.