Meet Cheri Willard
BBA - Healthcare Management

Taking the Pulse of Educational Opportunities

Evanston, Wyoming needs people like Cheri Willard. The former Emergency Room nurse, who has also worked as a Labor & Delivery nurse, always makes it a priority to help friends, family, neighbors and others in this picturesque western community.

Cheri began her healthcare career as a receptionist, answering phones in a pediatrician’s office. “But he convinced me I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life and I signed up for nursing school. Boy, was he right.”

After earning her nursing degree, Cheri stayed at the Evanston hospital for several years, before taking a job as a nurse at Tender Heart Home Care/Hospice. Soon afterward, she leveraged inspiration from both her husband and father (each of whom owns and operates his own business), then added her own measure of dedication and hard work, resulting in the purchase of Tender Heart two years ago. At the time, she was just 27 years old.

“It was a difficult decision to make, giving up the security of a regular paycheck and assuming so many additional responsibilities, but I have no doubt it was worth it.” But Cheri isn’t resting on her laurels, even as a successful business owner. Once she completes her bachelor’s degree, which she is pursuing at American InterContinental University Online, the state of Wyoming will allow her to expand her business into an around-the-clock, professional skilled nursing and rehab facility.

Owning a business is never a simple proposition, but Cheri’s AIU Online classes are teaching her things she can immediately apply to real-life situations. After her Decision Making class, she changed her company’s communication and meeting policies. “That class was pertinent to pretty much everything. It totally changed the way I looked at things, allowing me to know why I make the decisions I do.”

Even her mentors are tapping into her newfound knowledge. “My father and my husband are both always asking me what the latest and greatest things I’ve learned in class are. I’ve helped their businesses out just as much as I have my own!”

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