Gail Nank, who earned her SPU doctoral degree in clinical psychology in 2003, is well-acquainted with stories of suffering and severe personal crises. She works in a private practice counseling troubled couples. When it seems appropriate, she shares the wisdom she has gained through her own amazing story of suffering, resilience, and blessing.

As a newly registered SPU graduate student in 1995, Nank was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer. “I was given a 1% chance to live six months,” she relates, “and I did live six months. Nine years later, I'm still alive and still fighting cancer by filling that sliver of time with survival strategies, among which are giving and receiving love.”

Most students would have dropped out of the program upon receiving this diagnosis. Nank was determined to persevere. In spite of the doctor's predictions, she pressed on, despite weekly chemotherapy for seven and a half years.

Nine years later, the fight continues. Nank credits the support of family, friends, and her instructors as having contributed to her endurance. “I thank God for leading me down to SPU where there is a community that has been unbelievably caring. I could never have finished the school had they not been flexible with me and supported me.” She is especially grateful for the encouragement she has received from School of Psychology faculty members and members of her cohort.

She has also drawn comfort from her Christian faith and her prayers have “deepened and quieted” through this time. John 3:16 and the Lord's Prayer are especially meaningful to her.

Now 62 years old, Nank testifies that her life has been enriched by the application of what she calls a “joy test” to her activities, refusing to spend time on anything that does not bring joy into her life or the lives of others. “When I was diagnosed with cancer, people said to me, ‘You've got to retire and go on cruises.' So, I did. I took two cruises, and they were lovely. But I discovered I could hardly wait to get back to my office, resume school, and spend more time with my family and friends.”

These sufferings and blessings have intensified her style of counseling. “My patients call it ‘going for the jugular.' I try to go directly to what they think their problem is, what their goals are, and share with them what I'm observing. My conversation with them is unvarnished straight talk. They love it. I tell them that I'm comfortable with death and dying, and they don't have to edit anything around my being ill. They're not there to protect me. That is when I begin to look for ways where I can begin to inject little pieces of change strategy into their sliver of nearly extinguished hope… hope of a life that they can restore.”

This shift in her counseling mode stems from a revised understanding of time. “I have no time to waste with anyone. I cannot take time for granted. I am hoping that my patients won't take the time that they have for granted either. For all of us, there is going to be some marker… the Before and the After. For me, it was before I was diagnosed and after I was diagnosed. Before I married, after I married. Before children, after children. These markers can come along when you least expect it, and then the time that was before is gone. None of us really have time to waste.”

While this perspective certainly brings intensity to Nank's lifestyle, she remains calm, remarkably content, someone who laughs frequently and whose presence is a joy. Kelley Unger, Program Manager in SPU's School of Psychology, Family and Community, has been deeply impressed by this student who has become her friend. “When students tell me about how difficult graduate studies can be, I just say, ‘Difficult? Let me tell you about what my friend Gail Nank has done.'”

Admissions Counselor | Mentored by the Best| SPU Response | Columnist David Brooks