Claudine Samanic

From Population Health to Personal Health

After a career in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, Claudine Samanic was ready for something new.  

“I think I got a little frustrated sitting behind the computer calculating numbers,” she said. “I wanted to work directly with people.”

That desire led her to AACC, where she’s pursuing a nursing degree and a Spanish certificate. While there are many similarities between her previous work and nursing, such as collecting and interpreting data, she is enjoying the immediacy of working directly with patients.  

“It's very rewarding,” she said. “You get immediate feedback, as opposed to working on a long-term research study where you may never know if the results had any positive impact.”

In addition to transitioning to a new career, Samanic is also adjusting to a life outside of the uniformed services.

As a peer navigator in AACC’s Military/Veteran Resource Center, she helps fellow veterans making that same transition. 

“We're here to interact with other veteran students and help them figure out where they need to go to get what they need,” she said. 

Samanic knows starting over can be tough, but AACC gave her the tools and support to move forward. And now, she’s doing the same for others.