Marie Lewis
Excerpts from Her Homecoming 2022 Address
“The foundation of my nursing career has prepared me as I grew over the years to become a utility player,” said Marie Thorup Lewis (BS’ 89). “What is the utility player? Many players on a baseball field are good at and learn skills in one position, but very few can switch positions or fill in two to three positions. When someone does master the skills of many positions in the field, they’re more valuable and are called the utility player.”
As a dedicated, skilled registered nurse with a broad range of healthcare experience in public health, oncology, and hospice nursing, Lewis compared mastering these fields while working in embassy, hospital, outpatient, and school environments during the past 30 years.
“I was serving as a part-time U.S. Embassy nurse in Morocco when I was diagnosed with breast cancer which required me to return to the states for treatment,” Lewis recalled. “As difficult as that time was, it better prepared me for my future in busy work where I felt more able to serve my colleagues when they experienced their medical challenges requiring medical evacuation. Being overseas and experiencing a health crisis can be traumatic as it can potentially uproot the entire family and impact careers and education on top of the medical emergency.”
Lewis later served as a full-time RN in the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, a health unit for embassy employees and dependents. She remembered that during her first year there, she saw over 4000 patients and distributed over 1000 vaccines.
After three years in Jordan, they returned to McLean, Virginia. Following some time to decompress, Lewis began working for a hospital supporting the uninsured in Arlington County, Virginia. Subsequently, 30 days later, COVID-19 shut down businesses and changed life for everyone.
A conversation Lewis had with her sister-in-law is vital. Lewis said, “I told her that maybe I had chosen the wrong time to return to work. She didn’t even have to think about her response. Instead, her quick response came, ‘Or, maybe it was the right time!’ Well, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. And it completely changed my attitude! How could I sit back as an RN during this pandemic and not do my part?”
As Lewis reflected on her career and what it meant to be a utility player, she knew it meant mastering the fundamentals of nursing. She is always looking to improve no matter where she is asked to serve by “putting the team first, pushing aside any ego, accepting those growth assignments that perhaps you didn’t anticipate years ago as a student, and trusting in your teammates, staying focused on team and personal goals and objectives, and aligning your priorities accordingly along the way.”