Name: Rebecca (Becky) Hovarter
Position at UWGB: Nursing and Health Studies Lecturer
Summary of what you do: Assist registered nurses in their journey from being a nurse with an associate degree (skills based) to a nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree
How long have you been employed: I have been in the nursing field for 41 years
Brief history of employment with UWGB: I started at UWGB part time in 2009 and full time in 2013. It is the combination of two of my life long goals: to be a teacher and be a nurse.
Three words that describe you: Sincere, Passion, Dedicated
Personal interests: Flower gardens, grandchildren, reading
Random facts/interests: I earned a college degree every decade since the 1990’s.
Describe what you were like at age 10. Tallest kid in my class (!), wore glasses, book worm
If you could be anyone from any time period who would it be and why? Lillian Wald- early 1900’s. Lillian coined the term public health nurse and worked with immigrants, school kids, and all other aspects of community health and was a leader of the profession. I envy what she did.
Top 3 life highlights? Being married to David for 42 years, birth of my son, my three grandchildren
What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most? When students have an “aha” moment
What book did you read last? I am usually reading/listening to two or three at a time: Janet Evanovich Hard Core Twenty Four, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Modern Mexican Art.
What did you want to be when growing up? A teacher and a nurse
What do you like most about your job? Sharing my passion for public health with students
What is the first concert you attended? Chicago in about 1973
What would people never guess you do in your role? Observing students doing dental and vision checks in an outdoor school on the side of a ravine in Mexico; Observing students teach Roma Health Mediators how to make rat traps out of water bottles in Slovakia.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? Fried grasshoppers
Where is your favorite place to eat? Koreana’s
Where is your home town? Glidden and Ashland Wisconsin