Local Operation Transformation supremo relishes a challenge

SANTA Claus brought a nurse's outfit when she was just five and her career was decided! When Laura Tully opened her Christmas presents under the tree as a child she was overjoyed to see a nurse's outfit. It was a welcome gift and several years later when Laura was pondering careers, the nurse's outfit sprang to mind! She followed her dream and became a nurse.

And there is no looking back. Laura adores her chosen career. “I never wanted to do anything else,” she says.
Her day job is institute nurse and health centre co-ordinator at AIT and Laura also takes in several extra-curricular activities. Her latest project has been to inspire 150 people in south Roscommon to tackle a healthy living project in the form of Operation Transformation. The Moore Operation Transformation project got underway at the start of the year and Laura has encouraged people of all ages and lifestyles to focus on healthier living.
Laura (nee Higgins), from Liberty, Ballydangan, is overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone who signed up to Operation Transformation in Moore. It's the first time she has co-ordinated a project of this nature and she's delighted by its success.
“For me I am just watching the sense of inclusion and camaraderie. People are encouraging each other. My reward is seeing people learn new things that can improve their health. Anything is possible,” she says.
“From the first night people were saying, 'Watch me, I'm going to do it'. They are already and they are already planning to keep going,” she adds.
In her role at AIT, she has been involved in various team initiatives, but says: “I've never done anything like this in a community.”
Laura lost a significant amount of weight herself and is delighted to pass useful tips on to members of the Moore group. There's one thing she is clear about: “No fads!”
“I lost a lot of weight myself and changed my own pattern. I lost someone close to me from cancer very young and I then started to change my own habits. I know if I can do it anyone can do it,” she says.
Life is exceptionally busy for Laura. Married to Niall, a horticulturist, and mother of two young girls Erica (6) and Evanna (3), she has huge responsibility in her role at AIT as the nurse to all students. She has worked at the college – where the student population is more than 5,000 – for the past five years, having previously worked in Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe and the Galway Clinic. She's thrilled to be working in AIT and loves her job.
“This role came up and I was delighted to get it. It's a busy spot. We do about 500 consultations a month. It's a big role in a world of academia. Students are away from home, they might develop illnesses. There are also a lot of international students, some with complex needs and also the challenge of being homesick away from their native countries. That's a big part of the work,” she says.
In addition to the day-to-day consultations – including a walk-in clinic every morning at 11am – there are also clinics and seminars on various health issues like mental health and sexual health, along with health promotion. Laura is also part of the student resources team at AIT. “The aim is to keep students in college so that they can make the most of it,” she says.
She describes her job as “hectic but enjoyable, very rewarding. You work with young people and they keep you young! You are a mother to them as well as a nurse. The day just flies. There is so much going on.”
Her own strong belief in health and fitness works well in her job and also at the college, where there is a strong emphasis on that across the board.
“There is a huge focus on health and nurturing students to help themselves,” she says.
Laura is the vice-president of the Irish Student Health Association and as part of her role she attends conferences and meetings all over the country. She is due to take on the role of president in March.
She enjoys being busy and working with others. She describes herself as a “fixer” and just loves to help others.
“I like fixing things and being able to see results. It's lovely to see a student come in in first year and then graduate in fourth year and see them develop along the way,” she says.
Time management is essential and is something she has mastered. “There are 168 hours in the week. I always make an hour in the week for me. Time management is something we work on with the students at AIT,” she says.
Laura has another exciting project on her hands at the moment. It's 40 before 40! Before she reaches the age of 40, in a couple of years' time, there are several personal challenges she is hoping to conquer, ranging from health, education, getting out of the comfort zone and tasting healthy foods she would usually avoid.
“I set myself 40 personal challenges. One is I do one new course every year. I am afraid of heights and one thing I did was abseil off the roof of Croke Park in October 2015! I felt I would face my fear of heights. When you do something like that nothing fazes you,” she says.
Last October Laura completed a 60K cycle as part of the Great Dublin Bike Ride, “having gone from not cycling since I was young”. Another challenge is to eat something that she doesn't like but is healthy – beetroot!
“They are the kind of things on the list, personal challenges. I'm getting there nicely,” she says.
Like every other challenge she has faced, she looks at it positively and enjoys every minute of it!

* The Moore Operation Transformation 5K will take place on Saturday, starting at Moore Hall. RTE sports journalist Darren Frehill will get the walk/run underway at 10am.