The first clue that nursing would be Lianna Partee’s future profession turned up when she was a child. She would clean scrapes, mend relationships and help anyone in need.

“I would volunteer to assist my teachers, friends and family members, and it would truly fill me with joy,” Partee says.

Partee came to UMass Lowell and enrolled in the nursing program, earning her bachelor of science in 2016. After one year of working as a registered nurse, she returned to her alma mater to earn a master’s degree in gerontological nursing. She recently passed her boards, which paves the way for her to become a nurse practitioner, a role that will allow her to deliver preventative care.

“Becoming a nurse practitioner was always my calling,” says Partee. “I longed for the ability to diagnose illnesses and diseases, prescribe medications, write orders and evaluate that plan of care that I initiated. I thrive in an environment where I can intervene when it is most crucial to the health of the individual.”

Her goal is to find a job in an internal medicine facility, which she experienced during one of her primary care rotations in graduate school.

“At the outpatient Shapiro Clinic at Beth Israel Hospital, I truly fell in love with providing patient care with goals to promote health and wellness in the community while attempting to keep patients out of the hospital,” she says.

Partee says that UML prepared her for a career that she’s passionate about.

“Throughout the six years of schooling at UMass Lowell, I can honestly say that I would not change anything about it. The nursing faculty, the support and the resources are what make this university so undeniably phenomenal,” she says.

With small class sizes and dedicated faculty, the UML master’s program in nursing fostered Partee’s success inside and outside the classroom.

“The UML nurse practitioner program were the two best and most intense years of my life so far,” she says. “The professors believed in me, pushed me to my fullest potential and constantly provided the support and resources that I needed to evolve into the practitioner I am today.”