2025 Graduation at Madison College: Don’t Get Turned Around
Kimberly Walkes had to overcome several obstacles enroute to earning her associate’s nursing degree at Madison College, a lifetime dream of hers.
by Jonathan Gramling
Kimberly Walkes’ life growing up on Madison’s south side was like many others who grew up in the Lake Point-Bridge Road area. She had a good family life that gave her the basics of life in a good home given the limited economic resources that they had. But they made due with what they had.
“I didn’t grow up with a lot of money,” said Walkes who graduated from Madison College with a degree in nursing. “I was in a family that didn’t really advance their education. I didn’t have a lot of exposure to some things. But I don’t have any complaints about growing up even though we didn’t have a lot of money. I felt like I was able to be a kid. And I was outside enjoying myself and going to the Boys & Girls Club and just being a part of events that the Madison area provided like Juneteenth to children who may not be able to go to certain places. I went to neighborhood centers and block parties for Simpson Street when I was growing up.”
Walkes was determined to go to college. While she didn’t have people in her life who could guide her and tell her what it took to earn her dream of becoming a nurse, a dream she had since she was 11-years-old, Walkes was determined to get there. While Walkes began high school on time, the birth of her daughter caused her to drop out early.
“I went back to high school after I had my first born daughter,” Walkes said. “And then, I was like okay, ‘Well, I know myself, so I need to get on a path that is going to fit me and my child.’ I still wanted to be a nurse, so I went to Herzing University. I wasn’t really confident in taking the ACTs, so I tried to avoid schools that had that kind of entrance exam. And so I went to Herzing. Herzing had an exam, but it didn’t require me to do an SAT because testing is not my strong suit. Anything with tests makes me nervous. That’s my weakness. But I ended up testing and I tested high enough to get into Herzing University.’
Walkes was so close to the path that she needed to take, but then a road block detoured her from reaching her dream.
“I told them that I wanted to be a nurse,” Walkes recalled. “And then they were like, ‘Oh, well we don’t think that is a good idea. You have a young child. And what happens if your child gets sick and you miss X amount of days of the program, then we kick you out of the program. I was like, ‘That’s a bummer.’ So I walked out. That’s all that I wanted, so I guess that was my opportunity. In that moment, I didn’t know to go to other schools or reach out to other people. So I just felt that was the end of the road.”
Herzing later reached out to Walkes and told her they thought the medical assistant degree would be more suited for her circumstances. Walkes decided to enroll.
“I did not take that degree seriously,” Walkes admitted. “I was in there fooling around because that wasn’t something that I really wanted to do. I picked up classes and dropped classes. I was just being the worst student ever. And I was like, ‘Okay, you spent all this money. Go to the college, be serious and just get it done if anything.’ So I went to the college to get it done. I graduated. And then I worked as a medical assistant at UW Health and ended up liking it more than I thought, but it still wasn’t where I knew I wanted to be. But I did that for 10 years. I excelled in my position. And I had gained all of the knowledge that I needed to.”
Walkes decided the time was right to again work on her dream of becoming a nurse. Her children were older and she had real world experience in the medical field.
“I ended up going to Madison College for my liberal arts. They didn’t really take that seriously because I just knew that I needed to take some of those classes just to get to where I wanted to go. And I ended up taking a HESI to try to get into the nursing program. They didn’t take that serious. Again, testing isn’t my strong suit. I was super intimidated already. I didn’t have anyone to tell me how it went. So I reached out to a friend who ended up taking it. She passed and said, ‘Look, you study. You have to do your math. You have to do your biology.’ It had been years since I last completed my last anatomy and physiology class. So it was all new to me. But I just tried to navigate it blindly, to be honest. I didn’t have a cousin, I didn’t have a sister whom I could look to and say, ‘How do I do this the correct way?’ I ended up in debt. I maximized my student loans because it was my first time at Madison College and they were like, ‘You can get all of this money to help take care of you and your children while you are in school, so take what they give you.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ I took all of it and ended up not being able to afford my nursing program. That was a bummer.”
Walkes picked herself up and was informed by Madison College that they had a work study program, so that Walkes could pay as she went.
“It took me two years to get through the nursing program,” Walkes said. “I went right through. Again, I took this degree more seriously because this is where my passion is. I wasn’t taking any breaks. I wasn’t dropping any classes. I’m like, ‘This is where I am supposed to be and I am finishing on time.’”
Walkes still experienced bumps along the way, but it was different this time. She wasn’t alone. She had her Madison College family.
“I’ve had such a wonderful village within Madison College,” Walkes said. “No one was allowing me to be like, ‘Oh, I’m done.’ Every time I got hit with something out of the blue, they were like, ‘Well we’re going to figure this out. There’s a way around it. We’re going to help you.’ That’s another thing as well. Madison College has helped me abundantly in being successful.”
What made graduation really sweet for Walkes as she received her diploma on May 16th at the Alliant Energy Center was that her daughter received her degree in entrepreneurship. And Walkes knows that she has achieved her dream. Since January, Walkes has had a job lined up in the ER at UW Hospitals.
Walkes never let anything turn her around. She kept picking herself up and kept moving forward when life knocked her down. And now she has achieved her dream with a little help from here friends at Madison College.