Kerri Hines, department chair of nursing at San Jacinto College North Campus, once walked the halls as San Jacinto College student herself, studying to earn her associate degree of nursing.

The North Shore High School graduate has come full circle and working to lead others into a profession that is experiencing a shortage. After San Jacinto College, Hines earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix. She gained experience as a nurse working at Houston Methodist Hospital on the medical surgical unit and the bone marrow transplant unit. She later worked for MD Anderson in their bone marrow transplant unit.

“It was there that I had the privilege of working with nursing students and decided to become an educator in nursing,” said Hines.

In 2005, Hines took the step to apply to become an adjunct professor at the San Jacinto College South Campus and was hired to teach fundamentals in nursing and go with students to their clinicals. In 2006, she began teaching full time at the North Campus and became the nursing program director in 2014 and department chair in 2015. She is currently working on a doctorate degree in education from Capella University.

“The students are the future of nursing, and we have to give them the best we can to take care of patients,” said Hines. “I think that community colleges can produce nurses with their associate degrees, which allows them to enter the workforce fast and transfer into universities for their bachelor of science in nursing.”