Former nurse and current Nurse Aid/Into to Health and Med teacher, Sandra Shipe, is excited to be working at Fauquier High School (FHS). Seven years ago, Shipe began teaching at FHS coming from 40 years of nursing experience, and the rest is history. She absolutely adores her job as a nurse and teacher, and, likewise, her students enjoy her company and classroom style.

Despite being a fairly new teacher at FHS, Shipe recently won the VGFW Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year award on January 12, 2026. “I was very humbled because I know there’s a lot of great teachers here, so winning such an award was totally unexpected,” Shipe humbly stated. She enjoys the community at FHS and loves the amount “of teamwork and camaraderie” in the school.

Shipe didn’t grow up wanting to be a nurse, but when she discovered the profession, everything changed. Shipe is very passionate and devoted to her job as a nurse and as a teacher. Part of Shipe’s joy for this career forms from her experience watching the Intro to Health and Med students become infatuated with healthcare, similar to her own experience. She feels like it’s her “turn to pay it forward” and seeing her students grow and transform throughout the year has been really exciting. She loves seeing the joy and excitement her students feel whenever they pass a test, get their license or get accepted into college. Aside from these amazing milestones, her favorite part of being a teacher is seeing her students grow. “It's that growth in students…and watching them begin to achieve their goals, [that] would be my one thing,” exclaimed Shipe.

Nurses and medical field professionals are constantly dealing with sick people who are in a vulnerable position and being able to feel compassion is very important. “You need to have integrity…always do the right thing even though it may not be the easiest, and never lose your compassion and your caring…it doesn't matter how much technical or intellectual knowledge you have if you can't connect with that patient, and they need that connection in addition to your clinical skills,” explained Shipe. Shipe exemplifies this every day during her lessons, assuring her students never forget what’s truly important.