When Luke Johnson ’25 enrolled in the Presentation Sisters Department of Nursing program at St. Çï¿ûÊÓƵ, he never imagined it would lead him to a job at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota.
“I figured I would probably stay in Iowa, or go back to Illinois,” the Joliet, Illinois, native said.
But that’s the beauty of nursing, according to Johnson. The options are expansive. “It wasn’t hard to look for a job. I’m so blessed to work in a field where they need people everywhere.”
Johnson said he received many job offers in addition to the position he will begin in August 2025. Though the job outlook for his field is positive, he credits the opportunities afforded him through the nursing program with this chance to work at one of the country's most renowned hospitals.
“The simulations and the preceptorship for sure have prepared me,” Johnson said of his St. Ambrose education.
Students in the St. Ambrose nursing program complete 50 hours of high-fidelity simulation and 50 hours of low-fidelity simulation, in addition to 442 off-campus clinical hours in real-world healthcare settings. These simulations offer students the opportunity to step into the role of a nurse, managing realistic patient care scenarios across a range of environments from home health to emergency care; and patient populations, from pediatrics to end-of-life care.
The department updates its simulation scenarios annually and regularly audits its equipment to ensure students train with tools and technologies reflective of those used in actual clinical practice.
St. Ambrose students are able to complete clinicals and preceptorships at a number of area hospitals, including the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Johnson said he was able to obtain valuable skills working in Iowa’s medical intensive care unit.
“It was really awesome to be able to do a lot of these tasks. I learned how to titrate drips. I helped doctors, surgeons, whoever was there. That really helped me put my education into action and re-engulf a flame in my heart for nursing.”
He describes the experience working in the ICU as powerful. Johnson cared for one or two patients at a time which allowed him more time to focus more on their needs.
“It was super intense,” Johnson said. “I had to think about ten different things. Sometimes even moving a patient could impact their condition. It was a really powerful experience.”
Called to nursing
Johnson knew sitting behind a desk wasn’t for him. As he chose a major, he felt called to a job that was not only active, but impactful. His dad was a firefighter and paramedic, and his brother is a nurse. Though he considered becoming a doctor, veterinarian, or lawyer, Johnson felt nursing was where he could really impact a person’s life.
“Helping people who are suffering really stuck out to me,” Johnson said. “In nursing, you’re actively working with the person versus a doctor who only sees the patient for a little bit. My sole purpose is being with these people for 12 hours at a time.”
The human aspect of the work is important to Johnson. Being there at people’s most vulnerable moments is something he cherishes deeply. But it can also bring stress and challenges, a couple factors contributing to the nationwide nursing shortage.
Johnson says he knows how to combat the stress that comes with the job. He leans on his faith, both inside a patient’s room and at home. At St. Ambrose, Johnson was the co-leader of the Nursing Christian Fellowship. The group meets once a week to discuss scripture or a devotional.
“We create questions to help students dig deeper and ask themselves how scripture or devotional can impact their life. Not only outside of nursing school, but in nursing school. You don’t know the stress and emotions unless you’re in it. So, we try to help ease that stress.”
Being a light to others
Johnson found comfort in faith during his last two years of high school, a time he deemed an existential crisis. “The whole world came collapsing in on me,” Johnson recalled.
A life all-consumed by football came to a crashing halt three games into his senior year when he tore his shoulder. Around the time of his injury, Johnson lost his grandfather to a long battle with cancer, and his mother began treatment for breast cancer. It was a lot to bear.
He needed to find meaning in suffering, and he didn’t know where to turn. He began to pray, not expecting much.
“Nothing happened,” Johnson recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever, sure, God exists, but it’s just something people do.’” But Johnson kept at it. After a few weeks, something happened.
“I can’t even really explain it,” Johnson said. “Call it God, call it the Holy Spirit, I just felt that movement within my heart after a few weeks. And I was like, ‘This is what people talk about. This is real. I'm not lying to myself, not joking.’”
Since then, his faith has continued to grow. And it has deeply influenced his approach to caring for others.
“I just want to be that light to other people,” he said. “Sometimes at the end of their life, people have regrets, but I can be that person to say, ‘You’re not alone. I’m here, I’m taking care of you, you’re okay.’ It’s really cool to see how God works in that, through other people, through nurses.”
Support at SAU
Johnson’s newly discovered faith played a significant role in his decision to pursue a St. Ambrose education.
“I wanted to go to a Catholic college,” Johnson said. “I didn’t go to Catholic school growing up, so when I was looking at colleges, I wanted something faith based.”
Though he visited many schools in the Midwest, Johnson said St. Ambrose was the one that stuck out.
“It just seemed like a good community to grow in,” he recalled.
During his time at SAU, Johnson was involved in Campus Ministry, served as a Peer Campus Minister, and volunteered at a local food pantry, Cafe on Vine. He also took advantage of spiritual advising.
"Sometimes you just need someone to bounce ideas off of, and it's nice that St. Ambrose has spiritual guidance through the church. If I had questions about faith, or, ‘I’m here in life. What should I be thinking about?’ They helped me on that path.”
Outside of faith-based activities, Johnson enjoyed playing intramural sports and utilizing the university’s fitness center to weight-lift.
Johnson said he felt supported every step of the way at SAU and appreciated being in a major where the professors care about you as a whole person, not just a nursing student.
“They truly care about our success. Every nursing professor is pretty amazing. They all want that one-on-one connection with you and are willing to let you in on their life too.”
As Johnson prepares to tackle his first job working in a medical intensive care unit at Mayo Clinic, he does so with confidence in the education and tangible skills he’s acquired through the Presentation Sisters Department of Nursing, and he looks forward to this next chapter.
“It’s wild to take a step back and look at the past four years. And it's really cool to finally see the finish line of something I worked hard for. College is ending, now I’m about to start the next journey, and it’s only going to keep going from there. It’s just really cool.”
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