The family tradition continues at ASU
Natalie Glatt was inspired by her mother, a 1991 ASU alumna, to pursue her nursing degree as a Sun Devil
Editor's note: This is part of a series of profiles of fall 2018 incoming ASU students.
So many of Natalie Glatt’s family members have graduated from Arizona State University — her mother, all four of her aunts, her brother — that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue the tradition or try something completely different.
“In the end,” she said, “I realized ASU is a great school and decided to go for it.”
But picking up the Sun Devil mantle isn’t the only legacy she’s upholding — when Glatt begins her freshman year at the College of Nursing and Health Innovation on the Downtown Phoenix campus this fall, she’ll be following in the footsteps of all the women in her family who were nurses before her.
“It surprised me when she chose that field because she had always talked about going into theater,” Mary McDonough said of her daughter, who recently graduated from Arizona School for the Arts. “I was overjoyed.”
McDonough came to Phoenix in the 1980s to further her education after earning her LPN and practicing as a nurse for five years in Oregon. She joined her sisters, who were already at ASU, and the five of them shared a house near Dobson Road, biking along now-paved backroads onto campus every day.
“The camaraderie at the college of nursing was really great and the learning opportunities were just phenomenal,” she said. “What I learned then propelled me into what I’m doing now.”
What McDonough is doing now is running her own in-home care agency for seniors, Nightingale Homecare, which she founded in 1994, only a few years after graduating from ASU with her BSN.
While she said she finds serenity and purpose in guiding people on their final journey in life, Glatt hopes to guide people on their very first journey in life, as an obstetrics nurse. Below, she shared with ASU Now about her influences and hopes for the future.
Question: Why did you choose ASU?
Answer: It came down to ASU and (University of Arizona). I chose ASU because there’s so much going on in Phoenix and it’s such a beautiful city. Every night there’s something different. Plus, the nursing program is really great and this is where all the hospitals are. And at ASU, even though it has five campuses, so it’s big in that way, each campus is really intimate as well.
Q: What drew you to nursing?
A: My aunts are all nurses and my mom is a nurse, so it felt kind of natural. I got interested in obstetrics because that’s what my aunt does, and she was telling me about it and how there’s something about getting to know your patients during such an important time in their life that is so powerful. To be able to help bring someone into the world, that’s just really cool to me.
Q: What are you most excited to experience at ASU?
A: High school was great but I’m really excited to get to meet new people. My school was really small, so we all got to know each other pretty intimately but sometimes you just need to branch out. So I’m excited to start new classes and meet new people and make a lot of friends.
Q: What do you like to brag about to friends about ASU?
A: There’s so much going on just within the campus itself. I used to hang out with my brother, who also went to ASU, and he showed me all these cool cafés and stuff. My favorite coffee shop, The Grand, is right across the street.
Q: What talents and skills are you bringing to the ASU community?
A: I think I have a lot to bring to the nursing program because of my experience growing up around my mom and her home care business. I kind of already have a base of knowledge instead of just starting brand new, so I think that’s gong help me a lot.
Q: What’s your favorite TV show right now?
A: My boyfriend and I are watching a show called "Sugar Rush" on Netflix. It’s a new show. We love watching our cooking shows.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your time at ASU?
A: In addition to getting good grades, college is a time to make yourself. You get to experience what it’s like to live on your own for the first time, and there’s always so much going on at ASU, with clubs and organizations. So it’s really a time to kind of pick and choose what you want to experience to help shape yourself into who you’re going to be in the future.
Q: What’s one interesting fact about yourself that only your friends know?
A: I like to bake when I have the time. Senior year really kicked my butt so I didn’t have a lot of time for it. My signature dish is my grammy’s recipe, apple cake. I used to have it memorized but I haven’t made it in a while.
Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem in our world, what would you choose?
A: It would probably be something to do with the environment. I think people are really kind of messing the planet up. There are people in the government who have so much power to change how much waste we make and how we deal with that waste. And then there’s the problem of energy, too.
Q: Predictions on the final score for this year’s Territorial Cup game?
A: ASU, always.
Top photo: Incoming nursing freshman Natalie Glatt, left, and her mother, Mary McDonough, a 1991 ASU nursing alumna, pose on the balcony of the Mercado in downtown Phoenix, on July 19, 2018. Glatt was inspired by her mother and aunts to pursue a career in nursing. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU Now
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