During her time as a nursing student at Hiram College, Javonne Woodland Gray ’11 gained incredible insights about herself both in and out of the classroom. “It was at Hiram during a medical sociology course that I realized that I wanted to support laboring women,” says Gray. Upon learning the mortality rates of women and children during delivery, particularly women and children of color, Gray knew where she wanted her education to take her. “I had to be one of the folks working to help women grow healthy babies, safely,” says Gray.

Having gained a sense of mission and urgency, Gray went on to earn her Master of Science in Nursing from Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky and began working in an intensive care unit. Gray also learned that she has a love of travel from her time at Hiram. She had studied abroad in Zambia during a three-week session and also completed a service-learning experience in the Dominican Republic. In order to pursue both her passion for travel and her desire to help others, Gray joined the Peace Corps and spent 20 months in Nicaragua.

Upon return to the United States, Gray entered into a midwifery program as a labor-and-delivery nurse to gain the experience she would need to care for women during delivery. And in 2019, Gray joined University Hospitals as a certified nurse midwife. In this position, she is able to support and educate women throughout their pregnancy and delivery while also addressing other health-related concerns for her patients.

Thanks to her time at Hiram, Gray learned to step into leadership roles and challenge herself with new experiences. “I have continued to use the things that I learned about myself and the way that I interact with others—while studying at Hiram—in a way that has helped me reach my goals,” said Gray.