11.1.2017 – Faces of Marian: Rachael Pekarske-Siers

Rachael Pekarske-Siers is a junior majoring in nursing, minoring in Spanish. She is also a student mentor.

“I’m from Appleton, Wisconsin. I’m an only child. I live in Fond du Lac, but when I go home for the summer I live with my mom and dad. When off of school, I work in Oshkosh as a CNA.

I went to Xavier High School in Appleton. It’s a catholic, private, college prep school. High school wasn’t my favorite thing….I kind of just went. I danced in high school so many of my friends were through that. Dance took up a lot of my time. I did like football games. I do really like the learning part of school.

It’s a funny story about how I got to Marian. I received an email from Marian saying “look at Marian”, “great scholarships”. I deleted it. However, my mom got it too. She told me to at least take a look at Marian. I knew I wanted something small. My mom dragged me here for a tour. I had my tour with a nursing student…I ended up really liking it! The campus was nice and it was easy to walk everywhere. Class sizes were small. Nursing program had a good reputation. It was just the right distance from home, too.

I really like Marian because the teachers are here to teach. They do what they love. I really like it that the nursing program is concept-based. The teachers are here to teach and share, versus only doing research.

My advice to people considering Marian it check it out. Marian does a great job of finding the leader in each person. Get involved. You might not know what your leadership path is, but people at Marian want to help you find it.”