Pitching, Pivots and Patients

Year One – The First Inning

Kelsie Williams ’26 once imagined her future from the pitcher’s circle. Now, she sees it in the fast-paced environment of an emergency room, helping patients during some of their most vulnerable moments.

Arriving from Sammamish, Washington, Kelsie’s first year looked very different: an exercise science major, a pitcher on the softball team and a student who imagined her future on the sidelines as an athletic trainer.

“I thought I would play all four years of softball, complete my exercise science degree and then go on to get a master’s,” she said. “I saw myself working with athletes and working in healthcare to some degree.”

Athletic training, especially kinesiology, felt like a natural fit with the hands‑on nature of being on the field and responding to injuries in real time.

“Growing up as an athlete, I always loved the idea of going into sports medicine and helping those who are injured,” she said. “I loved the adrenaline and problem solving that came with injury assessment and diagnosis.”

But the path she was on shifted quickly.

Year Two — Pivoting

In her second year, Kelsie was working as an athletic training student and serving as a biology teaching assistant. She loved the movement, the problem solving and the constant flow of people coming through the training room. But that same year, she faced a setback that would change everything: a wrist surgery that forced her to retire from softball.

“That was and still is something that is very hard,” she said. “It was not at all what I wanted, but I feel so blessed to have a great relationship with my coach. He let me help out at practices, come to games and even travel with the team. Being able to still be involved was so beneficial, and I am forever grateful for it.”

Losing the sport she’d played for years was painful, but it also opened up space for something new. She joined Alpha Phi, eventually stepping into a leadership role, and kept working in athletic training. After a few months, however, she realized something important: she wanted more.

“After working at games and practices, I learned that I loved when I had to run out on the field and help someone at that moment,” she said. “Those were my favorite, and I knew I wanted to do that all the time.”

She realized she was drawn less to rehabilitation and more to the fast-paced, high-pressure moments of patient care.

“I still love learning about injuries and sports medicine,” she said. “But once I couldn’t play softball anymore, I felt called to the nursing program.”

Her exercise science background set her up well for a transition to nursing. She needed only two additional prerequisite classes, before transferring into Linfield’s School of Nursing. She then took two remaining LC classes online over the summer to stay on track.

Year Three – Community and Finding a Passion

In her third year, Kelsie made another unexpected choice: she decided to live on the McMinnville campus and commute to Portland for nursing classes.

“The community!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t want to leave all my friends and wanted to finish out my four-year college experience. I wanted to stay involved in my sorority and continue to work with athletes. It was the best choice I could have made.”

Staying connected to both campuses allowed Kelsie to continue building relationships while pursuing the clinical experiences that would shape her future career.

The commute became part of her identity.

“These last two years have taught me that doing different things is okay,” she said. “I love doing things that other people think are too hard to do. It’s something I pride myself in now.”

Her clinical experiences pushed her even further. A rotation in inpatient psychiatry at the Oregon State Hospital expanded her understanding of patient care, but it was the emergency department that lit her up.

“I absolutely LOVED it,” she said. “I wish I could’ve done more and stayed for days at the hospital. It definitely challenged me, but that challenge was what made me fall in love with it.”

During January Term, she also studied abroad in New Zealand, where she explored global healthcare systems and approaches to patient care.

“Their maternity care was so awesome,” she said. “We went to a birth center and saw how they care for mothers and babies. It made my heart so happy.”

That same year, she joined the Linfield Student Nurses Association (LSNA) and became the membership coordinator. The role helped her build confidence as a leader while connecting with peers and healthcare professionals across the Portland campus.

Year Four – Stronger and Prepared

As a member of LSNA, Kelsie represented Linfield at the National Student Nurses Association Convention in Texas.

“Joining LSNA was a really great opportunity,” she said. “It gave me confidence in my leadership skills and my ability to network and grow my professional practice.”

During Jan Term, she was able to study abroad once again, this time in Germany and Austria, to study health history and the impact of nursing during the Holocaust.

Now, as she prepares to graduate, her story is one of reinvention — not because she lost her original path, but because she kept following the parts of herself that want more: more challenge, more connection and more purpose.

“Each event has led me to where I am,” she said. “Sophomore year was full of change, but it was good change.”

She’s proud of what she built.

“I am proudest of my commitment to helping those around me,” she said. “I’m also proud that I switched my major, didn’t have to take an extra semester and continued to work and stay involved. Those are things many people see as difficult, but for me there was no other option.”