Jo Anne Settles graduates with her doctorate
For more than five decades, Jo Anne Settles has inspired future nurses at Victoria College. This year, she added a new chapter to her own story: earning her doctorate from Texas A&M University at 78 years old.
Settles’ journey to her doctorate was anything but easy. After her husband’s passing, she decided to return to school. What followed was an eight-year path filled with challenges, including her sister’s cancer diagnosis and her own second battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Through it all, she pressed forward.
“What other choice do we have? We press on,” Settles said. “I had incredible role models growing up, like my mother — strong women who always found a way.”
Settles’ passion for nursing and teaching was sparked early in life. Growing up in Brownsville, she was inspired by her mother, a teacher, and her aunt, a nurse. Those role models guided her to Texas Women’s University, where she began her nursing education.
Her perseverance is a reflection of the same determination that has guided her nursing and teaching career. Settles began teaching in VC’s Vocational Nursing Program in 1969. After a brief time away, she returned in 1982 to teach short courses while also working in local hospitals. In 1995, she earned her master’s degree and became a full-time nursing instructor, a role she continues today.
For Settles, the joy of teaching is as strong today as it was when she first began.
“I love when a student finally gets it — when you can see that they’ve made a connection and the light bulb goes off in their head,” she said. “It’s like every semester I get a little box, and I get to open it and watch the seeds sprout and watch the students grow and bloom. That’s the fun part. I try to stay curious.”
Though she is proud of her professional accomplishments, Settles says her greatest pride comes from her children and grandchildren. Still, her impact at Victoria College is undeniable, not only in the classroom, but also in the example she has set of resilience, lifelong learning and the power of perseverance.
VC wants to hear from former and current Pirates. Visit VictoriaCollege.edu/ShareYourStory to submit a success story in honor of VC’s 100th anniversary.
Jo Anne Settles in her early days at VC