Tim Van Pelt

Student

“This has been my chance to be the student I never was. I mean, if my kids got the grades I got in high school, I’d kill ’em!”

For many years, ‘success’ for Tim Van Pelt meant getting a call from his agent and being told, ‘You got the part!’ But that has changed. “I’ll always be an actor,” says Tim. “But before I came to SMC, I’d have some 20-year-old kid deciding whether or not I could go to work. Now, I’ll make that decision.” Being in the Nursing program at SMC has given Tim the control he never quite felt he had in the creative field. “This has been a real turnaround in my life,” he says. “It really has been about finding my way to what I was meant to do. I mean, it sounds very noble, but it’s really kind of selfish. There’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when you’re able to change the course of someone’s illness and help to get them back on their feet.”

Just about to graduate, Tim reports, “I just got a job in the ER at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, ten blocks from my home. And as soon as I graduate, I’ll take my NCLEX exam to get my RN license, and I’ll hopefully have carved out a permanent place for myself at the hospital by then.” A former Air Force medic, Tim says that the SMC Nursing program has opened countless vistas for him.

“The opportunities in nursing are endless,” he says. “You can work in hospitals, offices, homes, and ICUs, or you can be an anesthetist: It’s just wide open for us. And the people at SMC are very supportive of us older students. There’s a great support system, tutoring, and people your own age who can relate to the stresses of a career change.” Tim’s definition of ‘success’ now? “Connecting to that part of yourself that brings you the most satisfaction. Then, extending that to your loved ones… and beyond.” 

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