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Joan Massalena-Bowen, MEd, was born in Shady Rest, Florida, on January 3, 1938. The youngest of three children, she grew up on a five-acre farm owned by her grandfather. Joan’s aunt was a midwife, which caused Joan to become interested in nursing at the tender age of six. However, when Joan was 13, her mother passed away. That tragic event left her with bittersweet thoughts about nursing.

Upon graduation from high school, Joan’s brother suggested that she come to live with him and his family and attend UNM. Her brother was a Second Lieutenant in the army and stationed at Sandia Base. Joan applied and was accepted at UNM. She thought that she would major in organic chemistry, but her brother wanted her to find a career that would guarantee a job so that she could always support herself. Joan began to consider nursing as a possibility again.

At the end of her sophomore year, Joan had two major events mark her life. Her father, who was a World War I and II veteran, died of cancer. During this same period, she married Raymond C. Bowen, a UNM graduate student. She and Raymond have been married for 48 years and have four children and five grandchildren.

After graduation from UNM College of Nursing, Joan became a staff nurse at Presbyterian Memorial Hospital. Throughout her career she has been in positions of authority at different hospitals throughout the country. She eventually went into higher education and ended her career as the Director of the Nursing Resource Center and Higher Education Associate at Queensborough Community College in New York in 1999. Now in retirement, she has become the consummate volunteer.

When asked about her best experiences at UNM College of Nursing, her responses go directly to the people she met at UNM. Mrs. Winifred Stamm Reiter, Alumni Association Director, gave her a job in the alumni office when finances were challenging. Joan also recalled Dean V. Mathany who determined that she was eligible for in-state tuition, $250/semester, and qualified for two scholarships.

Her best friends then and now are her UNM nursing classmates of 1961. This multicultural class was the third group to graduate from UNM’s College of Nursing. She describes her fellow ‘61 grads as “caring, [with] a deep love for each other and all humankind.” These alumni remain exceptionally close. They have had reunions every five years for the past 45 years!

Joan’s best advice for future nurses is “Develop good listening and observational skills. This is very basic but you will need them in a health care setting, your home, your employment, and in this unsafe world around you.” She also says not to “be afraid to embrace change.” Finally, Joan reminds us all that “learning is a life-long experience.”