We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at campusnews@csufresno.edu.

Name: Kathleen Rindahl
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Nursing
Academic Degree(s):

• BSN, Cal State Los Angeles
• MSN, Fresno State
• DNP Western University of Health Sciences

What branch of the military did you serve in, how many years, and what was your military occupation?
Navy, four years active, two reserve as a Hospital Corpsman (Navy Medic).

Why did you join the military?
I always wanted to be a nurse, but the thought of going to college scared me, and I could not afford college. At the time I enlisted, the Navy had a program where corpsman could be trained to be a registered nurse. So I wanted to go that route. Only problem was when I was in boot camp, the program ended up being canceled. So, when I got out of the Navy I went to LAC/USC School of Nursing and earned my diploma in nursing. I met my husband there as well.

How has your military experience helped to shape your current career?
Towards the end of my military time, I was assigned to a Rapid Medical Deployment Force team. While on this team, I learned how to turn a vacant field into a fully functional hospital. If you have ever seen the TV program M.A.S.H., it is like that but with inflatable buildings instead of tents.

How long have you worked at Fresno State and which offices have you worked in?
I came in 2013, as nursing faculty.

Are you a Valley native? If not, what brought you to the area? And Fresno State.
No, I am from Los Angeles. My husband got a job up here in 1995, and we have been here ever since.

Are you a Bulldog family with generations of Bulldog graduates or current students?
I am a Bulldog alumni. All three of our daughters went to different colleges down in Southern California. However, they all went to University High School, and took some classes on campus.

Do you have a campus mentor or someone who has helped you in your career?
Yes, Dr. Catherine Jackson in kinesiology. She is an amazing individual and has helped me tremendously.

Tell us about your department and what people may not know about it.
Most of the tenured/tenure track nursing faculty have professions outside of the university. Meaning we are nurse practitioners in urgent care clinics, nurse midwives, pediatric nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and psych-mental health providers. We log clinical hours to maintain our expertise and keep our national certifications. Becoming faculty is our second career.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?
Implementing the Mobile Health program here on campus. It started as a two year Song-Brown grant, and we are now into our eighth year. The program not only provides clinical training sites for our students, but its focus is the underserved communities through Fresno County.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?
Community health. I enjoy meeting and serving people in their environment. It is like I am a guest in their home, and I get to see the real person and what their life is like. When working as a nurse in the hospital, you really do not get to see this part of the individual.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job?
It's hard to pick just one. I have had several; standing guard duty with an M16 rifle, but recently I diagnosed an 11-year-old boy with Type 1 diabetes. It is a devastating diagnosis, and I was thankful that it was me that made the diagnosis, so I could share some personal insight.

What is a memorable moment you had in class?
Maybe not in class, but out on the Mobile Unit, I have witnessed the spark of passion for nursing ignite in several students. Truly, an awesome sight. I just love seeing some of the "Aha" moments out there, it is really fun.

What is your teaching style?
Hmmm, depends entirely on what I am teaching, so I can't say that I have a particular style. However, I am a fan of "see one, do one, teach one" as I had learned while in the military.

What is your favorite quote or saying?
I have a motto: Do not tell me no, tell me how.

What is the most interesting or unusual job you've ever had?
I have always worked in health care, which is interesting in itself, but I think I have to say when I worked in the operating room while in the Navy. Maybe because I was so young at the time. I was 18 years old and it was my job to fill the anesthesia machines with the two types of gases that are used to put people to sleep. I was also responsible for mixing and drawing up the medications used by the MD to paralyze people when they put the tube down their throat prior to surgery. Some of the time the MDs had me put the tube down their throats. Also, there were many occasions I was also told to "close" the incision. Which meant either suture or staple the skin back together, depending on the wound. Crazy, I was 18. It was always, "see one, do one, teach one." It didn't matter how old you were.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
Travel with my husband. I always have a bag packed and ready to go.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?
I am a Type 1 diabetic, and have a service dog named Riley. He is amazing, lets me know when my blood sugar is high or low 20-30 minutes before my glucose monitor alarms. Best part, he even wakes me up at night. He has literally saved my life on many occasions.

Is there something else you would like to share that was not asked?
I am living my childhood dream, being a nurse.