Joyce Ann Sundsvoldt
FJoyce Ann Sundsvold came to Tucson and the University of Arizona at 17. She quit school to be a stay-at-home mom and raise her family. Years later when she found herself as a single mother of four she had to make the difficult decision to go back to school while she worked and raised her children between the ages of one and fifteen. She became an R.N. at the University of Arizona Nursing School and continued on at the U of A to receive her master's in public health and later became a women's health nurse practitioner. It was a difficult road but she did it to offer her children a better life and set an example for her daughters that women can do anything. She taught them to be strong and determined individuals. As a women's health nurse practitioner she has the opportunity to pass these messages on to women every day as she helps them with their medical and emotional needs. In August of 2004 Joyce and her daughter went on a trip to the remote villages of Peru to give medical care to people who didn't even have electricity. What she saw on this trip inspired her to reach out and help others both spiritually and physically. Upon returning from Peru Joyce enrolled in school once again to expand her education and become a family nurse practitioner so that she can treat the whole family and go into impoverished areas and provide health care so that they may improve their lives.