Against her most challenging battles, Regina High School alumna Kaitlyn Bemiss armed herself with faith, community and an empowering education. She accredits her Catholic education to helping overcome obstacles and providing the opportunity to support students navigating the same troubles today.
As District Nurse for L'Anse Creuse Public Schools, Kaitlyn ensures all students have the opportunity to learn and grow, despite their medical conditions. She is responsible for training school staff and collaborating with parents to guarantee students receive the proper care, so their education isn’t impacted.
The summer before her eighth-grade year at St. Mary Catholic School in Mount Clemens, Kaitlyn was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – a life-altering, chronic disease. Adding to the hardship, Kaitlyn’s father landed in the hospital with a sickness-induced coma just months prior.
In those worrisome days, her mind would drift to the homilies given by her priest at St. Peter Catholic Church. “Fr. Mike would tell us that God is always listening, and we could talk to Him at any time,” says Kaitlyn. “I truly think that helped develop my prayer life and my relationship with God.”
She was also surrounded by support from her school at St. Mary and church at St. Peter. “During that time, it felt like there was always someone there. The community was great,” she remembers, still thankful today that her dad fully recovered.
Kaitlyn’s mother, Maureen Miscavish, recalls her reason for choosing Catholic education. “We wanted a school that was more than just a school, but also a strong, loving, faith-filled community,” she says. “With Kaitlyn having a health issue, we wanted to ensure that everyone would know her name and have a vested interest in ensuring she received all the attention needed. We did not want her in a school with thousands of students to be one more student that could be easily lost in the system.”
That support continued into her years as a Saddlelite, navigating living with diabetes. “I had to change the way I took care of my body,” recalls Kaitlyn, who was also diagnosed with Celiac disease. “Regina was very accommodating. The staff members wanted to learn about everything and made sure I had what I needed. I truly got to live a normal teenager experience.”
Kaitlyn says she felt privileged to live the normal teenager experience and beyond, participating in Regina’s choral ensemble, musicals, and the National Honors Society, playing volleyball, serving as an ambassador for the Southeast Michigan American Diabetes Association and even singing the national anthem at various sporting and fundraiser events.
“I felt very challenged at Regina. The structure of the schooling prepared me for college and my teachers were fantastic,” Kaitlyn says. “While at Regina, I was able to become more confident as a Catholic, a woman, a student and a friend, and in my ability to take care of my health.”
Adds Maureen, “Regina High School is an important component of the successful, highly educated, faith-filled person Kaitlyn is today.”
After graduation in 2013 and with a Bachelor’s in Health Sciences from Oakland University four years later, Kaitlyn changed course. She earned an accelerated nursing degree from the University of Michigan-Flint with the goal of working in a school system – just like her mom, who was the assistant principal, then principal at St. Mary during Kaitlyn’s later grade school years.
Part of Kaitlyn’s role as district nurse includes leading maturation health classes and counseling diabetic students one-on-one. Here, she applies her experience in coaching, nannying, tutoring, and mentoring kids with type 1 diabetes to guide students learning to live with the disease.
Despite the various backgrounds her students come from, Kaitlyn utilizes aspects of her faith to support them. “I always say a Hail Mary before working with a student to help give me the strength and confidence to help them in the way that they need at the time,” she shares. “A lot of kids with type 1 diabetes have a difficult time managing their disease, so I encourage them that they're not alone. I open their perspective to the positive side of what taking care of their diabetes does for them. Then they’re looking at the bigger picture.”
Bigger-picture mentality is a perspective Kaitlyn’s dad gave her when she was feeling discouraged about living with a chronic disease. “He would tell me, ‘Everything happens for a reason. There are so many things in life that we can't change, but we can change how we feel and think about it,’” she remembers. “I can't change that I’m a type 1 diabetic, but God gave me the strength and talent to help others and I am thankful for the support of my parents, St. Mary, and Regina, which has allowed me to use my God-given talents every day.”
“A lot of kids with type 1 diabetes have a difficult time managing their disease, so I encourage them that they're not alone."
“I can't change that I’m a type 1 diabetic, but God gave me the strength and talent to help others and I am thankful for the support of my parents, St. Mary and Regina."