Sandy’s Second Act: From Violin Teacher to Labor and Delivery Nurse

Sandy Asendorf grew up in a musical family. Her father taught band, then orchestra. Sandy played piano, trumpet and violin. Music was the plan, and for most of her professional life, it was the path. Then came a career change later in life that her high-school self had always dreamt about.

Sandy had known since her candy striper days, volunteering at a local hospital every week, that medicine pulled at her. When it finally got its chance, Sandy ran with it. She finally became the nurse she always wanted to be. Later in life, she found a community at Beatitudes Campus that hasn’t stopped cheering her on.

The Violin Came First. Then the Stethoscope.

By senior year of high school, Sandy knew she wanted to be a nurse or a doctor. Her parents had other ideas. A full-ride scholarship for applied violin settled the debate, and Sandy went on to earn a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s in music theory and composition.

“When I finished my degrees, I was married, had a son and a second son on the way,” she said. “I never really wanted to teach, but after moving from Kansas to Phoenix, I decided I needed to get a job.”

Sandy picked up her education hours at Arizona State University and spent more than a decade teaching string music to fourth through eighth graders. Along the way, she divorced and remarried.

Her medical dream got quiet but never disappeared. Sandy’s second husband was a doctor, and something shifted. “My desire to go into the medical field came roaring back,” she said. The idea of going back to school as an adult no longer felt impossible.

All Those Years Teaching Patience Were Practice

Sandy enrolled in a nursing program and earned her associate degree. She passed her state boards and stepped into a high-risk labor and delivery RN role. The career she had imagined in high school was finally hers.

She took to her new career immediately. “I loved my job!” Sandy said. Her parents, who had retired and moved to Phoenix by the time she started nursing school, came around, too. So did her longtime colleagues.

The music teachers who had watched her make the leap were skeptical at first, but not for long. “I’m sure my friends probably thought I’d lost my mind when I told them what my plans were, but they ended up being very supportive.” She still has lunch with them once a month.

What made changing careers later in life work for Sandy wasn’t just determination. It was the unexpected transfer of skills she had spent years building. Teaching strings, it turns out, is a master class in patience.

“Expectant mothers aren’t always cool, calm and collected,” she said. “Being a string music teacher requires a lot of patience. This undoubtedly helped me when I became a nurse.”

She Finished Two Careers. Now She’s Chasing New Opportunities.

Sandy and her husband, Al, moved to Beatitudes Campus four days before Christmas, already knowing they were coming home to familiar faces. Friends from their church, the Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association and members of her P.E.O. Sisterhood chapter were already living here.

Even so, the warmth of the community caught them off guard. “What probably surprises us the most about the campus is how friendly everyone is. It’s wonderful!” she said. “We have felt so welcomed here. That, in itself, makes it easier to join groups and take classes.”

The spring brought a beginning Spanish class, which Sandy and Al both loved. The couple spends their summers in Munds Park, but come fall, Sandy has her eye on getting more involved in gardening and finding a sewing group. More lifelong learning classes are already on her radar.

“Living at Beatitudes Campus has made both Al and me realize how many interests we have in learning new things,” Sandy said. “The Spanish class was just the beginning. We look forward to all of the new opportunities.”

For Sandy, the openness to what comes next is exactly what a second act looks like. “Living in a retirement community is definitely not a way to slow down, unless that’s what you want. You can be as busy as you want, or not at all. It’s up to you,” she said. “Second act to me means I still have time to learn. I still have time to make new friends. I’m not at the end of my road.”

Beatitudes Campus: Where Second Acts Thrive

For anyone who has wondered whether a career change for older adults is possible, Sandy is proof. Going back to school later in life didn’t diminish what came before. It completed it.

Second acts look different for everyone. At Beatitudes Campus, they’re welcome in every form.

To learn more about our bold and bright retirement lifestyle, call (602) 833-1358 or plan your personal tour.

Featured Image: H Sauchuk / Shutterstock