After five years working as an elementary school nurse in the Salisbury School District, Ms. Barbara Smedley was ready for a change. When she saw the open health professional position at Southern Lehigh, she was ready to dive right in.

Ms. Smedley earned her nursing degree at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and worked in a hospital for ten years as a labor and delivery nurse. Sometime after, her son’s school needed help in the nurse’s office and she volunteered, which helped lead her along the path she’s on today.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was fun working in an elementary school,” Ms. Smedley said. “Little kids tell you way more than you want to know. But after a while, I knew I was ready for a change and wanted to work with older kids.”

Ms. Smedley used to work in an office alone, so she is excited to be around people on the daily. She’s met many people in the building and they have all been very welcoming.

School nurse Mrs. Merrilyn Pysher is also excited to have an additional nurse with her in the health room this year.

“Besides the fact that she is really nice and fun to work with, it’s very nice to have another nurse in our school because we can take better care of kids when there are more of us,” Mrs. Pysher said. “She is a big asset to our health room.”

Ms. Smedley’s favorite part about her job is getting to know all the students and being a good resource for them. Many students are just as excited to get to know her.

“I get sick very often so I know the nurses pretty well by the end of the year,” sophomore Breonna Giberson said. “I already could tell that she was a very nice person the moment I met her, and I’m very happy to have her in the school.”

When Ms. Smedley isn’t in the nurse’s office, she is either spending time with her friends and family or watching her 16-year old son, Kyle, and 17-year old son, Jake, play hockey. She also enjoys using her free time to watch her favorite show, “Criminal Minds,” collect sea shells, and go to concerts.

This year Ms. Smedley hopes to keep everybody as healthy as possible.

“Every day and every kid is an experience,” Ms. Smedley said. “You learn something new everyday, and I can’t wait to see how much I’ve learned by the end of this year.”