Karissa Maddox, RN, BSN, CM, Elk City Coordinator and Living Choice Program Director for the OU College of Nursing Case Management Program, altered her career path and fell in love with nursing after working as a nurse aide her first semester of college. Her passion and love for caring for people took over to which she has never looked back. Maddox understands nurses wear many hats and no day is the same. To her, making sure people are taken care of, providing education to empower patients to make better and healthier choices and showing compassion to those who need it most is why she loves being a nurse. Maddox has been working as a nurse case manager for the College of Nursing for 14 years and she would advise an aspiring nurse to, “listen to your patients, be an advocate for those who cannot and love what you choose to do in your nursing career".