Chris Dirkes didn’t enroll in the graduate nursing program at the College of Saint Benedict to make history.
Rather, the 2015 Saint John’s University alum saw the program – which was established in 2021 – as a good place to pursue his Doctor of Nursing Practice Family Nurse Practitioner degree.
That’s why Dirkes, who has been working at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester since 2020, enrolled in the fall of 2022 – making him part of the program’s second cohort.
“Bedside nurses have a lot of autonomy and can change outcomes for patients,” he said. “But as a nurse practitioner, you have more ability to affect someone’s care. You’re more involved in the decision making as far as treatment plans and the type of medications a patient is on.
“Ultimately, I wanted to have more of a role in the complexities of all that, so I decided to go back (to school). I’d heard Saint Ben’s had started a new program, and it was a school I’m pretty familiar with. So it seemed like it would be a good fit.”
What Dirkes didn’t realize was that – as the first male to enroll in the program – his decision puts him in position to become what is believed to be the very first male to graduate with a degree from CSB when he takes part in commencement ceremonies on Saturday (May 17).
Since students at CSB and SJU take classes together, Johnnies and Bennies have both long been part of the nursing program at the undergraduate level. But those SJU students still received their degrees from Saint John’s.
Over the years, many women have graduated with master’s degrees from SJU through the Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary. But since the nursing program is the first graduate program to be established at CSB, no one has yet had the chance to do what Dirkes is about to.
“It’s kind of cool as a distinction,” he said. “It probably won’t be something that gets engraved on my tombstone or anything. But hopefully it helps spread the word that CSB has this great program open to both males and females.”
Jennifer Peterson, the chair of the graduate nursing program at CSB, said Dirkes’ achievement is more proof of the ways in which the program continues to establish its foothold.
It produced its initial graduate in August 2023. But the first graduating class of 14 students received their degrees last spring – 10 on the Doctor of Nursing Practice Family Nurse Practitioner track, one on the Doctor of Nursing Practice Leadership track and three earning Master of Science in Nursing-Education and Leadership degrees.
This year, another 14 students are set to graduate – 11 on the Doctor of Nursing Practice Family Nurse Practitioner track and three earning Master of Science in Nursing-Education and Leadership degrees.
“It’s exciting that our first male graduate is one who is an SJU nursing alum who came through our undergraduate program,” Peterson said. “It’s always rewarding for faculty when an alum wants to come back because it shows they enjoyed their experience here.
“But the exciting thing is we’re continuing to build awareness and expand beyond just (CSB and SJU undergraduate) alums. If you look at our enrollment, we’re continuing to increase the diversity of our student backgrounds.”
Dirkes knows there will be many more male graduates following in his footsteps in the years to come. But knowing he was the first will always be kind of special.
“Maybe I’ll get a statue out of it,” he said with a laugh.
“Really, it’s just cool to know the program will continue to gain awareness and grow in the years to come.”