From her earliest memories, Karolina Domanska-Ksyt ‘22 always knew she wanted to be a nurse someday.   

“My mom was working in a hospital as a lunch lady and she brought me with her to work. I was always helping her and admired the nurses’ hard work and what they did with patients,” she says. 

Between fond moments of spending time with her mother at work, to witnessing the nurses’ compassionate care for her father shortly before his passing, Karolina was determined to follow in their footsteps. She found a unique pathway through Mohawk College. 

Karolina immigrated to Canada from Poland in 2014 and quickly realized her education did not transfer. She started over by enrolling in Mohawk’s Office Administration – Executive program in 2020 to familiarize herself with school after a decade-long break. 

“I started as a full-time student at Mohawk. I had smaller kids at that time, so I was able to manage family life and work. I enjoyed it,” she says. 

As Karolina made her way through her program, she was ready to become a nurse. She turned to Continuing Education in hopes of jumpstarting her pathway early. 

Karolina says, “Through CE, I started Medical Terminology courses so I can become more familiar with medical language in nursing. When I did that, I applied to the Practical Nursing program to see if I would be accepted with my credential from back home.” 

Mohawk’s Practical Nursing program offers students a collaborative learning environment to experience simulated and real-life opportunities in preparation for a rewarding career as a nurse. Students learn in a hybrid model with online theory classes, in-person labs and exams to support study-life balance, regardless of which stream of nursing they study for. 

To her delight, Karolina was accepted into Mohawk’s Practical Nursing program for the January 2021 intake to become a registered practical nurse (RPN). However, she had a problem: how was she supposed to finish two diploma programs at once?  

Karolina says, “I was worried I couldn’t manage both and had to resign, but one of my teachers in the CE course helped me manage. I accepted the offer for Practical Nursing full-time while completing a couple of courses per semester for Office Administration. I completed both programs by April 2022.” 

With this amazing feat under her belt, Karolina was proud of how far she had come. She was grateful to Mohawk for helping her balance two programs and family while achieving an education that would lead to her dream career, a few months post-graduation. 

“I always felt supported through my studies at Mohawk and the opportunities to learn in a hands-on environment helped my growth. Continuing Education is pretty self-paced and I liked how convenient it was, especially when pursing two diplomas at once,” she says. "My program manager for Office Administration, Janet Mann, helped me with coordinating both programs. I was able to finish that program through the CE pathway and took the remaining 7 courses I needed to graduate."

Today, Karolina works as an RPN for St. Joseph’s Health Systems. While she plans to do bridging in her education to become an RN someday, Karolina is enjoying the challenging work she does every day in her present role, which has changed since she began. 

Karolina says, “I was initially in geriatrics and complex care but now I am in the surgical unit, working on chest, head, neck and plastic surgery. It’s really great, challenging and unique. I enjoy it. I waited six months until I wanted to try something more acute and to help the transgender population as well with gender-affirming surgeries.” 

As one of Mohawk’s Future Ready Premium Employers, St. Joseph’s Health System is dedicated to training future ready graduates for the evolving healthcare workforce. Over 160 Mohawk alumni are currently employed with hospitals in the St. Joseph’s network and over 600 co-op placements were completed within the last calendar year. The employer also supports student awards and partners in collaborative projects such as City School. 

Karolina is one of many nurses thriving in the healthcare field, which is an ever-growing industry. For those wanting to pursue a career in this area, Karolina has some sage wisdom. 

“Stay motivated and never underestimate yourself. There’s such a variety of nursing jobs available, every day is different. That’s what I like about it. I enjoy the opportunity to help people in their most vulnerable moments, and I can achieve that no matter what unit I am in,” she says.