When Dr. Catts arrives in her office every morning, she is not faced with a day of
work but instead sees each day as an opportunity to love. In Catts’ eyes, daily interaction
with students is the perfect opportunity to show Christ’s love to the world. The classroom
is not simply a profession--it is a passion and a calling.
Catts grew up in Southwest Pennsylvania and first came to ORU as a nursing student;
she ended up graduating magna cum laude. Since then, Catts has become a nursing practitioner.
She has had experience in the ER and long-term care, as well as in oncology and family
practices. Some years after her time at ORU and her initial field experience, Catts
could see herself back on the ORU campus. As a result of being attentive to God and
having a desire for His will, Catts is now a professor of nursing at ORU and is thankful
for every moment she is given to share her knowledge.
Currently, Dr. Catts teaches Pathophysiology, Maternal Child, Medical-Surgical Nursing,
Pharmacology and Research classes. When asked to describe her teaching style in a
single word, she immediately says, “Expressive. I teach from my own experience. I
share my experiences and try to bring them to a level that’s understandable to a student
who hasn’t walked yet where I’ve walked.” As a result of her passionate teaching,
Catts has received three outstanding faculty member awards as well as a service award.
Dr. Catts’ biggest passion is nursing as a ministry. She says, “As nurses, we really
and truly can go into every man’s world very easily, be very accepted and play a real
part in changing communities and lives.” As for her favorite thing about the ORU campus,
“It’s all about touching God in the spiritual dimension. You can feel it when you
walk on campus. It’s all centered on Christ. Everything comes from that-- everything
flows from the Father.”
In her time spent off of campus, Catts owns a ranch where she enjoys sewing, archery,
raising chickens and simply caring for animals in general. She can also be found putting
her running shoes to good use, walking several times a week with other faculty members.