Nursing Grad at SHU's St. Vincent's College Embodies SHU's Mission

FAIRFIELD, Conn.—In his mid-40s, Joe McGuigan ’98, ’20 SVC, was not the typical nursing student at Sacred Heart University’s St. Vincent’s College.

In 1998, McGuigan actually earned his bachelor’s degree in media studies from Sacred Heart and went on to work for the TV station News 12 Connecticut in Norwalk as a studio technician and tape operator.

“I realized I didn’t like waiting for the news to come to me,” McGuigan said, looking back. “I wanted to be a part of making the news.” In 2000, while he worked as a video editor, he used his off-time to train as a cameraman.

It was during McGuigan’s first month of work in 2001 as a cameraman when 9/11 happened. Switching on the radio news program during his drive to work that morning, he learned planes had hit the Twin Towers in New York City, and the country was in chaos. Nevertheless, his producer sent him on an assignment to interview a local political candidate. Even though he only had a few news assignments under his belt as a cameraman, he felt he could have been more useful elsewhere.

Two years later, McGuigan moved to Boston, to work for the Fox affiliate station. There, he honed his craft winning an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award for his camera work.

That brought him to the Boston Marathon in 2013, when terrorists set off bombs at the finish line. McGuigan was on scene filming within 30 minutes after the second bomb went off. Fighting his own fear, he continued to do his job and set about interviewing devastated runners confused why they couldn’t cross the historic finish line. “My co-worker was filming at the finish line when the bombs went off, I watched the raw video that he shot. It was gruesome. It was scary. But it was also amazing,” he said. “You saw all these people running away from the blast area, but you also saw just as many people running toward it.”

“There was a triage center at the finish line, with doctors and nurses on site. They were able to run over and begin treating people immediately. Citizens stayed behind to help. They saved an incredible number of lives,” McGuigan continued. He compared that with his job at the time. “I was running around putting my camera in terrified people’s faces and asking them for their thoughts.”

This dichotomy planted a seed. McGuigan wanted to be one of the people running to help the wounded. “I realized that I wanted to make more of an impact in the daily lives of people,” he said.

Life happened, as it so often does, and McGuigan was not able to act on his realization immediately. He was married, and he had a small child. The thought of changing careers was scary, especially when that meant going back to school.

When his marriage ended, he knew it was time to make the change. In 2016, he moved back to Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood, where he grew up, and enrolled in some core classes at Housatonic Community College (his science and math credits had expired). Within two years, he was able to begin his studies in St. Vincent’s College’s nursing program. “When Sacred Heart acquired St. Vincent’s, I felt like it was fate. All my higher education would come from SHU,” McGuigan said.

He was hired per diem as a student technician on the cardiology floor of St. Vincent’s Medical Center in his second semester—a fortuitous situation that provided experience closely related to his studies.

Then COVID-19 hit. “Some of our patients had symptoms, but the testing was extremely limited. St. Vincent’s did a great job with what they had. However, early on because of the limited amount of test kits available we had patients on our floor who had the virus but didn’t get tested until they declined rapidly,” said McGuigan. In early March, staff entered rooms without protective gear, he said, but by mid-March, “we gowned up for everybody.”

At that point, McGuigan had a serious decision to make. He had kept his work hours down to 20-25 per week while attending school. “But COVID is this generation’s 9/11. I can’t have witnessed that and the Boston bombing and not step up during this crisis. I increased my schedule to 40-50 hours a week, 12-16-hour days, because my co-workers were getting sick.”

His 9-year-old daughter, Olivia, lives in New Hampshire with her mother. “I’ve never missed a weekend picking up my daughter, ever. It’s what I look forward to,” said McGuigan. Because of his high level of exposure, however, McGuigan knew he had to sacrifice seeing his daughter in person because she has asthma. While they talked over FaceTime regularly, he was unable to see her in person for more than two months.

It was no surprise when McGuigan contracted COVID-19. “I didn’t have to be intubated, but it was bad,” he said. Even though he is a runner and former personal trainer, he found the smallest tasks exhausting. Finishing his schoolwork and maintaining a high GPA was difficult; he fell behind and wound up taking an extension on one assignment.

To McGuigan’s amazement, his neighbors were leaving him dinners while he was sick and thanking him for his service. “I’ve never experienced anything like that. It’s humbling and really touches you,” he said. This solidified what he already knew—nursing was the right decision.

“Joe McGuigan is the adult learner every college and every profession yearns to attract,” said Maryanne Davidson, dean of St. Vincent’s College. “He brings to his new profession maturity, experience and wisdom that pushes all those around him to pursue creative and novel ways of thinking that improves health care for all.”

McGuigan also donated plasma in early June, in the hopes of saving more lives. He plans to continue his education at SHU by earning his bachelor’s degree at the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing.

“Every single day, I get to go into work and have a real impact on somebody’s life. Nothing compares to nursing,” he said.

The Pioneer spirit runs in McGuigan’s family. His father, also named Joe, was the first All-American athlete in Sacred Heart history when he played soccer for the University from 1968-1972. He then went on to represent the United States in the 1971 Pan American Games and the 1972 Olympic Games. In 1984, the elder McGuigan began his 20-year career as Sacred Heart University men’s soccer coach.

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About Sacred Heart University

As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 385 Colleges–2020 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best 252 Business Schools–2019 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theater. www.sacredheart.edu

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Submitted by Fairfield, CT

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