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After earning her first master’s degree in fine arts, Stephanie Manning, MS ’25, is now a community health nurse practitioner and will be the graduate speaker at this year’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences Commencement.

During the 2008 U.S. recession, Manning lost her job as a professional stage manager and teacher in the Finger Lakes region. Her thoughts for a new career path turned to nursing.

“The director of the department where I worked was an emergency room physician. He told me he thought I’d be a great nurse. Everything kind of stemmed from there,” she said.

Manning became a registered nurse (RN) in 2012 and worked for 10 years, although she wanted to become a nurse practitioner. Paying off her first two degrees, she spent her time in emergency medicine and critical care.

Does working in emergency medicine and critical care sound stressful? Not to Manning.

“I like the variety that’s available. My degree is also in community health, so it’s a great opportunity for me to also have outreach and direct connection with our community,” she said.

When deciding to return to school for a master’s degree, ���ϲ����� was Manning’s top choice.

“I had already done the RN to bachelor of science (BS) program at Binghamton. I understood the department and felt like it was a good place to be challenged and well taken care of at the same time,” she said.

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Nursing Programs Nicole Rouhana influenced Manning’s decision: “I spoke with Dr. Rouhana for quite some time when I was looking at the program, and she answered my questions. She was incredibly approachable and informative.”

Rouhana helped Manning in her initial decision-making and throughout her time at Binghamton.

“She always helped me find ways to achieve higher, push myself further and find out what it was that I wanted to do,” she said.

While reflecting on the courses she took during her program, Manning has two that stand out: an epidemiology course taught by Yvonne Johnston, associate professor and the founding director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program, and a course designed for HRSA students on managing opioid use disorders, taught by Susan Glodstein, program coordinator of the Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program.

“Dr. Johnston’s epidemiology class was challenging and eye-opening. It took statistics and public health and merged them together. It gave me great insight, especially as an emerging community health provider,” Manning said.

“Dr. Glodstein’s seminar course collaborated with the opioid disorder clinic in Ithaca and allowed me to get certified prescribing suboxone. That’ll be very beneficial for me, particularly in the emergency room.”

Glodstein said Manning was a standout student: “She asked a ton of questions to guest lecturers and took the material seriously. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to see her grow and am excited to see the lives she touches in her future practice as a community nursing NP.”

Mother, nurse, student and theatre director — how does Manning do it all? She attributes her success to the amazing family members who have supported her every step of the way.

“Without them, without my small community of helpers, we wouldn’t be able to do all the wonderful things that my family gets to do — including me going to school. We operate under a sort of organized chaos,” she said.

After graduation, Manning will work as a nurse practitioner in the emergency department at Guthrie Corning Hospital and Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital.

As a speaker for the 2025 Decker Commencement, Manning hopes to impress upon her colleagues that although there is uncertainty and confusion, making connections with others is more important than ever.

“Regardless of if they’re a patient, friend, colleague or stranger, nurses can be the difference in someone’s day, in somebody’s moment. That’s an important task to carry out, but it’s so necessary,” she said.