Second Star to the Right and straight on 'til nursing

David Tate is a 2023 Alumni Rising ` Runner

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 2^nd, 2023

David Tate has been selected as the 2023 Alumni Rising ` Runner for the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering. Each spring, the Rising ` Runner program recognizes CSUB alumni of the last 10 years who are already making an impact in their career and community.

On Father’s Day in 2009, David Tate’s world began to upend.

His seven-month-old son Lucas was sick and suffering a fever. His symptoms began with a high temperature that doctors credited to a common cold or viral infection, and they thought the fever would go away on its own after a few days. But Lucas’s fever remained, and David and his wife took him to the emergency room for further examination and treatment. New symptoms materialized on the third day of the fever. Lucas developed a petechial rash of pinpoint, round-spotted clusters which are a result of bleeding.

For the first time, a blood test was run. The doctor delivered some of the worst news any parent could receive — Lucas was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell).

“What’s that?” David recalled asking the doctor.

He was referred to a children’s hospital, but David wasn’t sure where the children’s hospital was. His family went from speaking with Lucas’s pediatrician, to being referred to the children’s hospital at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and finally to being taken by ambulance to their next destination.

Lucas underwent chemotherapy, essentially living at UCLA due to his hospitalization, for about a year. David was going to California State University, Bakersfield to study biology as a part time student, balancing his days and nights at UCLA with school. During this experience, he developed a passion for hematology-oncology nursing.

“It’s a catalyst for me that enticed me into this world that I didn’t know anything about,” said David. He doesn’t have any family members in the medical field or healthcare professions.

After his third round of interviews at UCLA to become a hematology-oncology nurse, David realized that he wanted to give back to his community and remain close to his family in Bakersfield. It was important for him to be there for his son, and he knew that getting involved in his community would allow him to pay all that he received forward.

David accepted a position at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital as a pediatric nurse. His passion for the well-being of children led him to seek a position as a school nurse, first in Taft and then at Rio Bravo-Greeley. David is the only nurse working at Rio Bravo-Greeley serving all the students in that district with healthcare needs. He was instrumental in bringing vision, dental and hearing screenings to the low-income students in his district. David also recently completed his school nurse credential.

“He’s truly embodied what it is to be a Rising `Runner and to really serve our Kern County Community,” said Dr. Maria Rubolino, one of David’s professors from the nursing program.

David was also involved with Second Star to the Right, an organization that provides financial, emotional and physical support to more than 100 families in Kern County that have children diagnosed with cancer. David was active in fundraising efforts for this organization and helped provide financial assistance, peer support and individual resources.

David has also been a longstanding volunteer at the Camp Ronald McDonald program, which provides children with cancer and their family support and a sense of hope in a medically safe environment. After David’s experience with his son’s cancer, he strongly believes in the importance of paying it forward.

Along with his volunteer experiences, David enjoys mentoring other CSUB nursing students. Students in the program rotate through school nurse sites as part of their pediatric clinical experience, and David welcomes them. Students repeatedly express how engaging David is.

His passion in helping his students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is evident. One senior student recently decided to pursue a school nurse career based on his interactions with David. He has shown the CSUB nursing students what it means to be an amazing caregiver and advocate for children.

David also participated in the summer REVS-UP program, which offers high school students the opportunity to conduct scientific research and emphasizes a hands-on approach with close faculty mentoring. Students can develop their skills with sensor integration, algorithm design and programming. He said helping students experience scientific research has been incredibly rewarding.

David’s time at CSUB was one full of cherished memories, such as the time he and his classmates learned how to administer injections, practicing on themselves first and then each other later. It was the moment that he and his classmates practiced applicable “real skills,” they would use as they moved through their nursing program and careers.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” he said. “I’ll never forget that.”

He is grateful to the CSUB faculty for everything they have done for him throughout his collegiate and career experiences. Many of his professors and peers he now considers colleagues.

“They were just very selfless in their help and assisting me in my journey,” said David. “[They’re] incredible people who really care about their students and it shows.”

He said nursing is a profession for those who genuinely care for others because “you’re able to give back to your community in a way that has lasting impacts.”

David believes that anyone interested in science who likes to help others and has an interest in body systems and healthcare, nursing is a phenomenal place to be. He noted there are many diverse avenues nursing majors can explore as career options such as pediatric care, geriatric care or school nursing like David.

“What I love the most about [nursing] is helping people,” he said. “Being a school nurse, I can do all of those things as a nurse — helping people and helping my students — but I also get to help everybody like my school community, staff members, my students, my district and extended families.”

Working as a school nurse has given David a solid work-life balance, something he said he truly appreciates. He knows that life can change in an instant. He wants to enjoy every moment he can with his family, doing activities like hiking, fishing, camping, taking trips to Disneyland and attending comic conventions with his family.