Whether someone has a cold, a nosebleed, or just really needs to take a nap during their lunch break, one thing students can count on is that they will always be taken care of in the nurse’s’ office. This year, Mrs. Lauren Wieder is joining the Southern Lehigh High School staff as a school nurse.

“I think [Southern Lehigh] is awesome,” Mrs. Wieder said. “I think the staff and the students, everyone has been so welcoming and so nice and i’m so excited to be here”.

Mrs. Wieder grew up nearby in Wilson, Pennsylvania. She went to Northampton Community College for her Associate’s degree and received her Bachelor’s degree at Ottoman University Hospital in Philadelphia. Mrs. Wieder then went to Kutztown University to become a certified school nurse. She recently received her Masters’ degree from Walden University.

“I’ve always knew since I was a child that I wanted to be a nurse. It was always just the path I wanted to go on. The area of nursing [I wanted to pursue] has changed many times since I have graduated,” she said.

Before coming to Southern Lehigh, Mrs. Wieder spent nine years as an elementary school nurse for Easton School District. She worked at Forks Elementary School before transferring to Southern Lehigh.

“I felt like since I’ve gotten my masters, I wanted to be able to talk with the kids and try and help you guys. So I decided I needed a change,” Mrs. Wieder said. “I wanted to help an older age group, which is why I came to this high school.”

Besides the different age bracket, Mrs. Wieder also notes that the atmosphere is also very different between the two school districts.

“I came from Easton, which is a very large school district,” she said. “With Southern Lehigh, it’s smaller, its closer knit school, and it seems like stuff works together really well.”

At Southern Lehigh, much of Mrs. Wieder’s job entails processing paperwork and working directly with students. In the nurse’s’ office, she works with another school nurse, Ms. Barbara Bracalente. Together, they manage and assist with medical issues throughout the school.

“She is very capable of doing the job, very confident, and super compassionate with the kids,” Ms. Barbara Bracalente said. “She knows how to be a nurse and she knows how to be in charge of the room. She’s doing a really good job.”

Mrs. Wieder’s favorite part of the job is working with students. She oversees the health of hundreds of students in grades nine through twelve.

“The nurses were really nice,” sophomore Joyce Sundo said. “When I came in they were really kind and helped me a lot.”

Outside of school, Mrs. Wieder describes her life as one of a “taxi mom.” She has two children, a son who is a freshman in college and a daughter who is a sophomore in high school. Her daughter plays field hockey, so she spends many afternoons driving her daughter to and from practice.

Overall, Mrs. Wieder is very excited to be working in a high school setting for the first time. She encourages students to visit anytime if they ever have a problem.

“My door is always open,” Mrs. Wieder said. “One piece of advice I have for teens is to make smart decisions. Making healthy choices is really important.”