Diane GreenPope likes to quote the Chinese philosopher Confucius: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” For GreenPope, this phrase—first uttered thousands of years ago—sums up her philosophy on helping people help others. It’s what she does for a living, and it’s what she finds most rewarding.

GreenPope earned a degree in nursing from Syracuse University in 1996, and a certificate of advanced study in nursing informatics in 2004. She says she went into nursing because she wanted to help people, and she has reached that goal. As a nurse educator and nurse manager at Hutchings Psychiatric Center, a community-based mental health facility, she is responsible for teaching and training new and current employees. “It’s both a challenge and a reward,” she says of her job. “Challenging because the field of nursing is changing so fast, it can be hard to keep everyone up to speed. But it’s also so rewarding to share my love of nursing with others, and to know they understand what I am teaching them.”

Before joining the staff at Hutchings, GreenPope was a telehealth nurse at the SUNY Upstate Medical University. In that role, she provided information and assistance to patients who called the organization’s 24-hour, toll free number for health inquiries.

She earned her degree while working full-time, and says her educational experience greatly contributed to her career success. “My instructors were so knowledgeable, and so accessible,” she says. “I learned not just what nurses do, but why they do it. I put my education to work every day.”