Nov 23

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COA Alumni

Home » Alumnx » COA Alumni

Aoife O’Brien

Class Year

05

Current Hometown:

Ireland and Maine

Job and Employer

Certified Nurse Midwife, Mid Coast Hospital

Graduate School

Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Entry to Practice Accelerate Program, Columbia University School of Nursing

Senior project:

Opening the Spiral: A Study of Mam Midwives in Guatemala

Internship:

Island Community Midwives, Bar Harbor, ME

Human ecology in action:

COA taught me to have vision and not to compromise my values in pursuit of my goals. Even if not contemporary, any goal is achievable. This affects my career today because I have achieved the dream I began actively pursuing during my time at COA. I am not afraid to be persistent, yet humble. I want to share my knowledge and be a lifelong learner.

A COA experience that was particularly significant or memorable:

I came to visit my best friend at the school before I was a student. There just happened to be two Mayan midwives visiting from Guatemala, and I saw them speak. I was breathless, awestruck. I later lived with those two women and twelve other Mayan midwives in Guatemala where I caught babies for the first time. They told me I was a midwife, and now I am.

Considerations for prospective students:

COA is a fantastic community and it continues to be such long after you graduate. I still have so many friends from my time there, and there is an instant connection when you meet other alums. Every time I set foot on campus it feels like coming home.