Langston University

A DREAM IS FOUND

Porsha Richardson had to be strong for her granny.

At 6 years old, going to Granny’s house after school was the norm. But when Porsha eagerly opened the door, she did not see Granny on the couch or in the kitchen; instead, Porsha heard her call from the bedroom.

Even though she knew Granny was sick, Porsha could not help but feel thrilled to be back in the bedroom with her. Porsha learned how to play Solitaire and Go-Fish in the room-filling king-sized bed Granny would be resting in. Granny’s bright smile always shined in her memories.

But as she walked into the bedroom, Porsha did not see card games strewn across the bed. Granny was not smiling.

“Come here Porsha, I need your help,” Granny said.

Granny was laying toward the foot of the bed. One leg dangling off the footboard, the other wrapped in a bandage.

“I need you to be strong for me, Porsha,” Granny said. “I need you to put medication on my new scar.”

Granny’s battle with diabetes lead to her having half her leg amputated.

Porsha grabbed the ointment and began to remove Granny’s bandage as instructed. As the cloth fell the fresh stitching revealed itself, traversing Granny’s new leg like train tracks. Porcha looked into the eyes of her Granny, and they pleaded for reassurance. Any apprehension Porsha felt at the time melted away. She knew she could not show Granny the fear that almost overcame her.

Porsha swallowed her final traces of dread and began applying the ointment to her Granny’s new wound.

After the ointment was applied and a bandage was wrapped neatly around the wound, Granny smiled at Porsha.

“You did a great job,” Granny said. “You should consider being a nurse one day.”

Porsha agreed.

A DREAM IS EARNED

When it came time for Porsha Richardson to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse, Langston University was the only choice that made sense. Not only is Richardson the daughter and younger sister of Langston University alumni, but the highly touted School of Nursing and Health Professions drew Richardson to Dear Langston.

As she first walked into her Fundamentals of Nursing class, Richardson knew she was home.

“I was super excited to finally get a chance to be a part of the program, and to go to a school that my father and older sister had also attended,” Richardson said. “My dad was super proud.”

But Richardson quickly found achieving her dream of becoming a nurse was not going to be easy.

Dr. Lynnie Skeen greeted Richardson at the door as she found her seat in the plain classroom. Later, she would begin taking classes with Dr. Teressa Hunter. These professors quickly became mentors to the young nursing major who, initially, only wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse.

“Soon I found out that this is work,” Richardson said. “This is real work. I was not expecting nursing to be hard for me. I was thinking it would be the easiest thing because I always loved it.

“So Dr. Hunter pushed me. She pushed me to be better. She pushed me to be great. She did not settle for just anything. You had to earn every point, and so I earned every point. To this day it means a lot to me that I earned that degree.”

Richardson earned her nursing degree from Langston University in 2005 and was ready for anything the profession could throw at her.

But it was Dr. Skeen who told Richardson to not only consider graduate school but convinced her to be hands-on in her studies and move to Georgia so Richardson could attend her graduate studies in-person.

“I just took Dr. Skeen’s advice,” Richardson said. “If it were not for her, I would not have applied to graduate school. She knew my strengths and continued to invest in me as a student. These are things that I have always admired about the nursing professors at Langston University. The ability to see each individual student as unique individuals who have strengths and abilities that even they themselves may not know of.”

Richardson earned her master’s degree in 2009, from Emory University, in Atlanta, GA.

A DREAM IS HANDED-DOWN

Richardson has owned her own medical practice since 2018. Located in Midwest City, Uptown Medical Center allows her to continue her dream of helping and nurturing patients. During the Fall 2022 semester, Richardson received a phone call from Dr. Hunter.

“Dr. Hunter said she needed a Women’s Health Instructor,” Richardson said. “I ask, ‘When do I start?’”

Richardson has always had a heart for service. From nursing her Granny at 6 years old to her medical practice today, she knew it was time to give to the next generation of Langston University nurses.

When it was time to be an adjunct professor at Langston University, Richardson answered the call to teach Childbearing (Women’s Health) and Psychosocial Nursing.

And she never forgot the treatment she received at Langston University. Dear Langston instilled in Richardson and all its nursing majors an unmatched worth ethic that persists throughout their careers. Richardson knows any of her patients can be trusted in the hands of Langston University School of Nursing and Health Sciences graduates. Nursing at Langston is not an easy major, but it will prepare you for the real world.

“I heavily believe in the nursing program at Langston University, and the foundation on which it stands,” Richardson said. “It has changed the trajectory of my life, and so I owe this program a lot. My school needed me, so it was the least I could do to answer the call. My professors and school helped me so much, and I wanted to give that same help back.

“I am still that same nurse that helped my Granny at 6 years old. Taking care of people is what I do, and I love what I do. I am contributing to my community, and I am helping it not only with my medical practice, but by teaching our future nursing students too. I am proud to be a Langston graduate.”