Edson College ‘Triple Devil’ using her degrees to the fullest

Luz Wiley is consistently grateful for where she is today. The three-time alum of Arizona State University’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation is at the helm of her dream job and returning the favor to the program that helped her achieve it.

“I just want to give back and show appreciation for the college that started it all for me,” Wiley said.

 Born and raised in Yuma, Arizona, Wiley didn’t have to travel far to earn her undergraduate and graduate degrees from ASU. But, what drove her to pursue a career in health care was something she wouldn’t wish on anyone. When Wiley was a teen, her 17-year-old sister died in a car accident. 

“I wanted to be there for people who ended up in situations like that where I can help them on the scene so that families wouldn’t have to go through what we went through,” Wiley said.

Initially, she considered becoming a paramedic but her aspirations evolved. Over 13 years, Wiley earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing, a Master of Science in nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Edson College.

As she pursued each new degree, she worked first as a registered nurse and then as a nurse practitioner. That experience exposed Wiley to all different aspects of nursing care and eventually led her to pursue the administrative side of the profession.

“Having dealt with my own lack of work-life balance, I know how important quality of life is for nurses and staff so I’ve made it my mission to implement systems that benefit both patients and employees,” she said.

Today Wiley is one of the directors of clinical operations at Yuma Regional Medical Center. It’s a position she accepted after completing the doctor of nursing practice program. One of the first things she did in the role was lead a team that helped build the hospital’s transitional care clinic. Wiley said this was an idea that came to her when working through her final DNP project.

“I implemented my project which is really amazing,” Wiley said. “If it hadn’t been for my DNP program, I wouldn’t have been able to do all this.”

While the DNP courses set her up for success, she credits her professors for their advocacy and support in getting her through the rigorous program. Specifically, she recalled a faculty member securing her a grant to pay for the gas needed to commute from Yuma to Phoenix,  making that one less thing she had to worry about.

That type of generosity and sincerity inspired Wiley to want to do the same. Now, she teaches in the DNP program doing the best she can to replicate her experience for current students.

“ASU has always been home to me,” Wiley said. “I have always been welcomed and treated like family.”

This story was written by Max Baker