Combs Finds Passion in Medical Field, Graduates from Owens with Barbara Rood Award
Scott Combs is proof that even if you don’t succeed at first, good things happen if you keep driving and moving forward.
Combs will graduate this month with an associate degree in Registered Nursing from Owens Community College, two decades after he left the college the first time without a degree. He was also named a recipient of the Barbara Rood Student Choice Award.
Combs graduated from Rogers High School in Toledo in 2003 and attended Owens in 2004 and 2005, but he admitted his academics struggled. He switched majors, from psychology to criminal justice, but that didn’t help, and he was placed on academic probation twice.
In 2012, he started working at Toledo Hospital, first in the dietary department and then for inpatient transport. He enjoyed working in the hospital and interacting with the patients. He started at Owens in 2022 and participated in a nursing internship at Toledo Hospital, which worked around his school schedule and allowed him to work with nurses.
He also found the underlying cause of his academic struggles, being diagnosed with ADD in 2021. Once he started taking medication to help manage it, he decided it was time to return to school.
In the 22 years since he graduated from high school, Combs also got married to Kari and together they have three boys, Mason (thirteen), Camden (eleven) and Sawyer (nine). Balancing family and school was a challenge, but he credits his friends and family for helping him get through.
“Working full-time hours and having a family while attending nursing school kept me busy these last couple of years,” Combs said. “My motivation to continue through the brutal hours of study and work was my family.
“When I was extremely busy, my core group of friends helped out the most. The group chat helped keep my head above water with assignments and projects when I felt like I was drowning.”
Combs’ internship is in the neurology ICU at Toledo Hospital and after graduation, he will transition to an RN in the department.