When she was a first grader, Haleigh Funk helped her dad beat cancer, and he helped her learn about compassion and courage . That set her on a path to a nursing career that continues with a walk in Germanna's Spring Commencement

Haleigh Funk

Her father’s battle with cancer started Haleigh Funk on her way to becoming a nurse.
“My dad had cancer when I was in the first grade,” Funk said. “And he let me inject shots into his stomach. Since then, everybody has said I ought to be a nurse.”
Funk’s father, 47-year-old  Brian Funk, recovered and is doing well. But Haleigh Funk didn’t forget the experience.
At 18, she completed  Germanna Community College’s  Practical Nursing program at Eastern View High School in Culpeper and became an LPN.
At 19, she graduated from Germanna’s Registered Nursing program on Thursday, May 8 at the Fredericksburg Expo Center.  A total of 562 students were to receive 981 associate’s degrees and certificates.
 “The sky  is the limit for this talented young woman,” Germanna  Dean of Nursing and Health Technologies Mary Gilkey said.
 “It’s definitely been a journey, and there’s been a lot of hard work,” Haleigh Funk said. But it’s been rewarding.”
 She hopes to work at Culpeper Regional Hospital, plans to eventually get her bachelor’s degree and would like to specialize in geriatric nurse.