Accelerated BSN Student Spotlight: Garrett Colby
Posted on January 6, 2025 by College of Nursing
Garrett Colby completed three undergraduate degrees in biochemistry, ACS chemistry and applied mathematics at the University of South Alabama before pursuing a nursing career. After exploring what he could do with these degrees, he eventually decided to return to South to study nursing in the accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. On Dec. 13, Colby and his classmates were recognized at fall 2024 Commencement.
Born on a military base in Germany, Colby moved to Mobile with his family shortly after he turned 1 year old. While completing his first two bachelor’s degrees, Colby volunteered locally with Wilmer Hall Children’s Home where he assisted in tutoring children that attended after school care. With his love for mathematics and helping others, this came easy to Colby and easily helped him set the scene for his future.
“It was usually kindergarten through high school that I helped with through my volunteer program. I primarily helped tutor and teach middle and high school boys with my areas of expertise being math and science,” Colby said.
While Colby has many degrees under his belt, he decided to apply for the accelerated nursing program due to his passion for helping others and problem solving.
Though the program can be more intense and different when it comes to learning material and taking exams compared to all of his previous undergraduate classes, Colby appreciates all that he has learned. While working at clinical rotations, Colby grew closer with his professors who continuously encouraged him and his peers to succeed.
“Nursing in ‘real life’ can be very different from school tests. When you look at nursing and look at patients, there isn’t one right answer. Looking at a patient and their background information makes you wonder what the correct answer is, but the truth is that all solutions are the right answer,” Colby said. “It all just depends on what takes over the priority. I feel like critical thinking is very important in healthcare since you are dealing with actual people and people’s lives.”
When he started the program, Colby’s first patient was extremely memorable. He learned that while getting hands-on experience is important, it is also equally as important to be able to know when to step back and learn by watching others. During his time in clinicals, Colby was able to experience and learn many different things that he never thought that he would have an interest in.
“I got to go to labor and delivery, and I got to see a baby being born! That was great. I loved that. I was nervous and worried because I want to do neuro, not babies, but I got to experience that and once you’re in the room it becomes so patient focused that all worries and nerves go away,” Colby stated. “This kind of showed me that really is what nursing is. When you’re focused on your patient, all of your nerves fade away and it becomes about them.”
When Colby isn’t busy with work and school, he spends the majority of his free time with his girlfriend and her children. Spending time with them has been a great joy for Colby along with his own personal hobbies. He enjoys doing any sort of puzzle, such as escape rooms and Rubik’s Cubes, in order to keep his brain busy. Writing poetry is also something that Colby got into in order to take care of his own mental health while going through school.
Like any nursing student, he had to find a balance between school work and real life. Attention to detail is something that Colby takes pride in and feels that it helps him not only in his everyday life but within nursing as well. It gives him the ability to be freer creatively while also applying it to his academic career.
Following graduation, Colby hopes to go into neurology. While working as a certified nursing assistant for three years at a local hospital, Colby worked within the neuro intensive care unit and has had a general passion for studying neurology throughout his academic career. Finding it fascinating to learn the inner workings of the brain, Colby thinks that neurology helps him appreciate the miracle of life. After applying his learned skills within the field of neurology for a while, he plans to go back to school to become a nurse practitioner with a specialty in neurology.
What mantra/motto inspires you each day?
“When I was a CNA (certified nursing assistant), I printed this off and put it on my locker. It’s from The Lorax, ‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.’ and I really love that quote because I feel like it shows me what nursing really is. You need to show care and compassion because unless someone like you cares a lot about your patient, they aren’t going to get better,” Colby said.
What is your best advice to incoming freshmen?
“Make sure you have your ducks in a row,” Colby laughed. “You need to take it seriously and you need to make sure you’re studying. Take breaks for your mental health but make sure you take it seriously since this is a professional program. What you’re feeling in the program is what other people have felt too, so you aren’t alone!”
What is a fun fact about yourself?
“I can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 59 seconds,” Colby said.