Chapman was among seven employees featured in the cover story of Working@Duke magazine’s August/September 2023 issue showing how Duke employees were using the expanded tuition benefit to grow in their careers. The changes to the tuition benefit shortened the waiting period for eligibility and gave employees more choices in where they could study.

As Working@Duke celebrates its 20th anniversary, we caught up with Chapman to see where that opportunity has taken her.

In the three years since she was featured in Working@Duke magazine, Taylor Chapman has taken on a new role at Duke University Hospital. Photo by Stephen Schramm. When Chapman was featured in Working@Duke, what was happening in her life?

Prior to coming to Duke in September 2022, Chapman had been devoting her own money and whatever free time she had to earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from UNC Wilmington.

With Duke’s eligibility changes opening the Employee Tuition Assistance Program to recent hires like herself, she was thrilled use the benefit to help cover the cost of the final courses needed to earn her degree in January 2024. The employee tuition assistance program also supports Duke HomeGrown’s EMPLOY pillar, which helps strengthens career pathways and grows careers at Duke.

“I definitely appreciated it,” Chapman, 32, said about the benefit program, which helped 1,464 Duke employees move toward their educational goals in the 2024-25 fiscal year. “I was able to finish my degree faster than I had initially planned.”

Why was it important for Chapman to share her story?

Chapman said that, throughout her career, she’s constantly encountered nurses who share her curiosity and desire to learn more about their work. So, when she came to Duke and learned about its strong educational benefits, she was happy to help spread awareness by sharing her story with Working@Duke.

“It’s important for more people to learn that this is something that Duke is offering,” Chapman said. “I definitely think there are a lot of my coworkers now who take full advantage of it and they start (working on their degrees) pretty soon after they start here.”

What changed in Chapman’s life since she was featured in Working@Duke?

After earning her degree, Chapman became a Clinical Nurse III at Duke University Hospital’s Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, doing the challenging and fulfilling work that drew her to nursing.

And with no schoolwork eating up her free time, she’s been able to explore new hobbies such as nurturing the tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and peppers in her first vegetable garden this summer at her Wake Forest home.

“Things feel more settled,” Chapman said. “I feel like I’m able to focus a little bit more on the things I enjoy versus having to focus on school. My time away from work is my time now.”

What has kept Chapman at Duke?

Chapman said she’s enjoyed a balance between work and life since joining Duke and has enjoyed her colleagues at Duke Primary Care and Duke University Hospital.

She said she finds the opportunity to work with young patients facing serious health challenges incredibly rewarding. And doing that work at Duke, with its high standard of care, is a point of pride.

“I love what I do,” Chapman said. “Our unit is pretty specialized. There aren’t a whole lot of other units out there like this.”

Check out this video for more about Duke's Employee Tuition Assistance Program.

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.

Follow Working@Duke on X (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram and subscribe on YouTube.