For Sarah Mauser, nursing has never simply been a career. It is something she says she has felt called to do for as long as she can remember.
Growing up in South Arkansas, Mauser always had the same answer when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.
“A nurse.”
That childhood dream eventually became a reality, but the journey to becoming a nurse — and ultimately a school nurse — was shaped by motherhood, family, perseverance and a desire to make a difference in the lives of others.
Mauser graduated from Crossett High School in 2015 and attended Southern Arkansas University for two years, completing her nursing prerequisites from 2015-17.
While attending SAU, Mauser discovered she was expecting her first child, a daughter who is now eight years old. She decided to transfer to South Arkansas Community College to be closer to her family and the support system that helped her continue pursuing her nursing career while navigating motherhood.
“I decided to transfer to South Arkansas Community College so I could be closer to my family,” Mauser said. “My support system is what allowed me to keep pursuing my nursing career while also making motherhood a little easier.”
Mauser graduated from SouthArk’s Warren campus LPN program in December 2019. She passed the NCLEX shortly before Christmas and officially earned her practical nursing license.
For Mauser, her family — particularly her mother — has always been an important source of encouragement.
“I’ve had people and family throughout my life who have encouraged me, believed in me, and pushed me to keep going even when it wasn’t easy,” she said. “My mom, however, has been my comfort in the chaos, and my steady ground when life felt uncertain.”
Her mother’s unwavering support also helped shape the kind of nurse Mauser strives to be.
“She has been there for me through every season of my life, never leaving my side, and for that I will be forever grateful,” Mauser said. “Looking back, I want the people I care for in my career to feel that same sense of safety and unwavering support that she has always given me.”
After working in several areas of nursing, Mauser discovered a special calling in school nursing.
She served as the elementary school nurse in Crossett from July 2021 through January 2025. After taking a short break, she returned to school nursing and began caring for a new group of students in the Hermitage School District.
School nursing, she said, is unlike any other nursing environment.
“It’s not just treating a patient for a few hours,” Mauser said. “It’s building relationships with students, families and staff and becoming someone they can depend on.”
Mauser primarily serves elementary students in kindergarten through sixth grade, while also assisting at the high school when needed.
Her days can include everything from treating a scraped knee to responding to a serious medical need. She manages medications, conducts health assessments and screenings, communicates with parents and school staff, helps manage chronic medical conditions, develops and follows individualized health care plans, responds to emergencies, coordinates flu clinics and immunization records, and provides health education.
There is one thing she can count on: No two days are alike.
“There really is no typical day, and no two days are exactly the same,” she said. “You have to be prepared to adapt and adjust because you truly never know what is going to walk through the door.”
As the only medical professional readily available to students and staff during the school day, Mauser said school nursing requires independence, sound judgment and the ability to recognize when a situation requires care beyond what can be provided at school.
She affectionately calls her school clinic her “Mini ER” — one that is regularly filled with what she considers some of her “little friends.”
Those relationships are what Mauser says she finds most rewarding.
Most students visit because they are sick or injured, but sometimes they simply need a quiet place to regroup, a snack, a hug or someone willing to listen.
“Kids go through a lot,” Mauser said. “Almost every child has a need, and most of their time is spent at school.”
Being able to provide a safe place for a child, even for just a few minutes, is something she considers a privilege.
“Being able to be a safe person for them, even if it’s just for a few minutes, is really rewarding and something I try not to take for granted,” she said.
For Mauser, the most meaningful moments aren’t necessarily dramatic medical emergencies. Often, they are the small reminders that her presence has mattered.
She has kept stacks of notes and drawings given to her by students over the years. She remembers the excitement in their voices when they spot her outside of school.
One of her favorite greetings comes when a child recognizes her in public.
“Hey, Nurse Sarah!” they call.
There are also the small, unexpected gifts students bring her at just the right moment.
Those seemingly little gestures, Mauser said, can arrive when she needs the reminder most that the difficult days are worth it.
“I really don’t know if I could pick one specific moment,” she said when asked about a particular experience that reinforced why her work matters. “It’s the little things that add up.”
Those little things have become the heart of her career.
Mauser encourages anyone considering nursing to understand the responsibility that comes with caring for people during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
“Nursing is a calling,” she said. “Don’t go into it for the money.”
Instead, she encourages future nurses to recognize the privilege of caring for someone when they need help the most.
“You may not always realize the impact you’ve had on someone, so never underestimate what simply showing up, listening and caring can mean to someone,” she said.
Her advice is simple but deeply personal: Treat every patient with the same compassion and care you would want for someone you love.
“Remember, you’re taking care of someone’s loved one,” Mauser said.
Outside of her nursing career, Mauser is a mother to three children — Amelia, 8; Georgia, 4; and Bennett, 5 months. Her children are her greatest motivation and, she said, her greatest accomplishment.
“I am proud of the fact that I have continued to move forward, work hard and build a life and career that I’m proud of, even when things haven’t always gone exactly as planned,” she said.
“Being able to build a life that I’m proud to share with them is probably my greatest accomplishment thus far.”
Although Mauser has never lived in Bradley County, the community holds a special place in her story.
She spent much of 2019 in Warren while attending SouthArk’s LPN program at the Warren campus. At the time, she was a nursing student learning the skills that would launch her career.
Today, she finds herself back in Bradley County — this time not as a student, but as a nurse caring for children in the community.
“I find it pretty special to have gone from being here as a nursing student to now being here caring for students in the community,” Mauser said. “Talk about full circle!”
For Mauser, that full-circle moment represents more than a change in job title. It represents years of hard work, the support of family, the fulfillment of a childhood dream and the opportunity to give children the same sense of safety and support that her own mother gave her.
And perhaps that is what makes her role as a healthcare hero so meaningful.
Every day, Sarah Mauser walks into her “Mini ER” not knowing who will come through the door or what they will need. It may be a bandage, medicine or medical attention.
Sometimes, it may simply be a hug.
Whatever the need, Nurse Sarah is there.
