Normal West’s beloved school nurse, Paula Birsa, will continue to care for West students well after her upcoming retirement.
Birsa’s own children grew up with her as their school nurse for all of their high school journey, just as she grew up with her mom being a high school school nurse.
“So, the big reason I became a school nurse was because my mother was a school nurse. She was a school nurse at district 87,” explained Birsa.
As a nurse, Birsa as impacted a variety of students.
“I traveled [at first], I went two days a week to Normal West and two days a week to Normal Community. I also had Carlock Elementary, and Parkside Elementary,” she noted.
She eventually settled working at West and enjoyed the work she got to do with the age group.
“What I like most about the high school is that I get to see students when they are a ninth grader, and it’s
(Ayushi Patel)
just nice to see how they grow and mature until graduation,” shared Birsa.
Birsa didn’t always want to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse, but she quickly found the work fulfilling.
“My mother was a nurse. All my sisters are nurses. My aunts were nurses. I, at first, didn’t want to go into nursing, just because I wanted to do something different, but I just didn’t know what that was,’ Birsa mentioned.
Birsa is the solo retiree of the school year, which came as a shock to her, as there are usually multiple people celebrated each year for their retirement.
“[I was] kind of hoping that there’d be someone else to share the spotlight with me,” Birsa added.
Despite the surprise, Birsa isn’t letting anything stop her from planning her upcoming retirement.
After she finishes out the school year, Birsa looks forward to many activities that she plans to fill her time with.
She has plans to travel to various places to visit her children and spend some quality time with her husband.
My husband and I like to hike, so we’re hoping to visit some more national parks,” Birsa shared.
Overall, she wants to spend time with her family and enjoy making memories throughout her retirement.
Birsa’s children, all being Normal West alumni, have all stepped out into their own fields of success.
The five Birsa children, who graduated between the years of 2010-2021, have gone on to fulfill their own dreams.
As Birsa’s career comes to an end, her children’s are just taking off.
