Dr. Mary Dirks has been a faculty member at the University of Iowa, College of Nursing and is a Clinical Professor and a primary care PNP for over 20 years with practice experience in pediatric primary care, newborn nursery, and school-based health. Dr. Dirks has served in leadership positions on many state, regional and national boards, committees and professional organizations. She is an editor for a pediatric textbook and has published and presented on pediatric primary care, interprofessional and integrative care, and nurse practitioner education. As a first-generation self-supporting college student from a small farming community in Iowa working through bachelor, master and doctoral programs, she hopes that she can inspire others to dream big and walk alongside other first-generation students to achieve goals they might not realize are possible.