Nicole Van Vonderen’s journey to a career in healthcare began when she was just 10 years old.  

She spent time taking care of her grandmother, who lived in an assisted living facility. At the end of her life, she had been unresponsive for three days when she briefly awoke and asked for her granddaughter.  

Nicole went to her grandmother, and her grandmother told her she loved her and said goodbye, and then she was gone.  

After that, Nicole decided her future was in healthcare. She enrolled in the surgical technologist program at NTC and graduated in 2013. She became the first person in her family to go to college, an accomplishment she is very proud of.  

She took a job out of town and left the area for a while before returning to Wausau to work at Aspirus. Then one day, someone suggested she become an instructor in the surgical technologist program at NTC.  

“I thought, ‘Do I really want to be a teacher?’” she said. “Everyone said to me that I’d be so good at teaching, and I really care about students.”  

She took the job at NTC and hasn’t looked back since. When she walks into the classroom, she doesn’t just see rows of students; she sees a version of herself. For Nicole, teaching isn’t just about passing along knowledge - it’s about lighting a spark. 

“It’s the best decision that I have made,” Nicole said. “I love teaching. I love that you can see when you’re teaching them something and it clicks.”  

She guides future surgical technologists with a passion that comes from experience.  

“I am able to give real life examples of what I've experienced and gone through,” Nicole said. “I have a passion for the profession, and I can spread that passion on to the next group going out into the field.”  

NTC’s Surgical Technologist program prepares students to become vital members of surgical teams, working closely with surgeons to ensure safe and successful operations. Students gain skills in sterile techniques, surgical procedures, instrumentation and patient safety - all in a simulated operating room environment that mirrors real-world conditions. With small class sizes and experienced instructors, students receive personalized support from day one. 

They are responsible for setting up the instruments the surgeon will need and making sure other equipment is available if necessary. Surgical technologists have to know the procedures very well and are there from start to finish. 

“Surgical technologists are part of the backbone of the operating room,” she said. “We are like the copilots to the surgeon.”  

To learn more about NTC’s Surgical Technology Associate Degree, visit: www.ntc.edu/academics-training/programs/all/associate-degree/surgical-technology