Daughter Graduates From Nursing School Mother Created

Image: Shaquita Bandy and her mother, Dr. Dorothy Miller

Graduating from nursing school is an impressive accomplishment. One that both students and their families should be proud of. Dr. Dorothy Miller’s daughter, Shaquita Bandy, just graduated from St. Andrews University – the nursing program that Miller created.  

After giving birth to her daughter at 15, Miller went on to earn her BSN, MSN, and PhD. “We came from a lower socioeconomic background,” Miller said. “When I got pregnant, I was in ninth grade.” 

Miller credits her success to her mother. She watched after Bandy during school hours so Miller could graduate on time. She even took care of Bandy when she left to join the military. 

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“I got my associate degree, and then I got my bachelor's degree and my master's, and then I got my PhD, and then another master's. So I haven't stopped going to school at any point,” she added. 

Miller is now the department chair of health sciences at St. Andrews. She developed the nursing school at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina. 

 Image: Bandy and Miller

St. Andrews nursing program is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). According to the website, the program just graduated their first class and the current NCLEX pass rate is 100%. 

 Bandy, an ICU nurse at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst is proud to follow in her mother’s footsteps. “She gave me everything I needed to make sure I'm successful,” Bandy said. “You can imagine the pressure, though, coming through a program that was just established by your mother, being the first one to graduate, trying to make sure that you keep the program going … it’s tremendous pressure, but they say pressure makes diamonds.” 

As if Miller’s accomplishments aren’t enough, she is currently running for the North Carolina Board of Nursing.  

“Nobody should be able to tell you what your future is,” Miller said. “What some people saw as a mistake, having a child so young, to me was a catalyst. I think that if I hadn't been given the opportunity to have that child, I wouldn't have accomplished what I did. By having her, it pushed me to do something outside of me so that I could have a better future for her.”

“That has always been my goal, for my kids to do better than I did,” she said. “And people telling you you can't do something or you're not qualified to me is just an open door to say, let me show you.”