Allison Butler, Michelle Perdue return to alma mater to train tomorrow’s nurses

Allison Butler (left) and Michelle Perdue (right)

For Allison Butler and Michelle Perdue, joining the faculty at ��ý Chillicothe is a full-circle moment. Both alumni of ��ý’s nursing programs, they have returned to the classrooms and labs where their own journeys into the profession began—this time, to help prepare the next generation of nurses.

Nearly three decades after earning her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing at ��ý Chillicothe, Butler now stands in front of the classroom as an instructor. Her colleague Perdue trained as a Licensed Practical Nurse at Hocking College before completing her associate degree in nursing at OHIO Chillicothe to become a registered nurse, later earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from ��ý in 1999.

A love for nursing

From an early age, Perdue felt called to nursing.

“I've always just felt like that's what I was supposed to be,” Perdue said. “My mom wasn’t a nurse, but she should have been. I grew up watching her care for people, and it felt natural for me to do the same.”

After 25 years of bedside nursing—primarily in obstetrics—Perdue pursued a master’s degree in nursing education. She has served as an adjunct clinical instructor at several schools and transitioned from adjunct to full-time faculty at OHIO Chillicothe this spring.

As her confidence and experience as a nurse grew, Perdue saw teaching as an opportunity to give back and help prepare others to join the career she loved. She loves getting to see what she describes as “light bulb moments when something clicks” for students in the classroom, or in the clinical setting.

Like Perdue, Butler set her sights on a nursing career at an early age.

“Nursing is deep in my blood,” Butler said, explaining that not only was her mother a nurse, but also a number of her aunts and cousins.

“I always liked caring for things. And I love people," Butler said.

A longtime resident of Frankfort, Ohio, she enrolled at OHIO Chillicothe after high school and was grateful to secure a degree at an affordable cost. After earning her degree, she married her high school sweetheart, raised two children, and built a fulfilling career. She worked for 15 years at Adena Health System, then spent a decade at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center, and most recently served as a nurse practitioner at Adena.

Along the way, she returned to school to earn her BSN, a master’s degree, and eventually her nurse practitioner degree—all while working full time and raising her family.

“I went back to school as an older adult learner,” she said. “I appreciated everything I was learning more than when I was 19 or 20. You just have so much more life experience.”

Proud to be teaching, connecting with new nurses

Now, Butler brings her passion for nursing—and for people—into the classroom.

“Teaching and nursing—those are two professions that really impact people in a huge way and now I get to do both,” she said. “Teaching has always been in my heart. At Adena, I led the onboarding for new nurses. It's so important to give them a good foundation, and I've always enjoyed helping people find their way.”

For Butler, teaching is more than delivering content—it’s about connection.

“The more you can relate to your students and make things relatable, the more they’re going to learn,” she said. “That’s my biggest hope—to take what I’ve learned in my nursing career and use it to help our students become excellent caregivers.”

She brings the same relational mindset to patient care.

“Every patient you come in contact with—you have an opportunity,” she said. “You can make them feel better or worse. What a privilege it is to be a nurse. You see people at their most vulnerable and get to walk that journey with them.”

Both instructors look forward to walking alongside their students from the first day of classes to graduation day.

Perdue emphasizes the importance of ownership in learning.

“Read the material,” she advises students. “There’s so much in the book. We’re here to guide you, but you have to take charge of your learning too.”

Outside of the classroom, both women stay active in their communities. Butler is involved with her church, plays piano, and attends as many Cincinnati Bengals games as she can. Perdue enjoys genealogy and volunteers for Find a Grave, a website that helps people document and locate the gravesites of ancestors. She also loves learning new skills—her latest endeavor is teaching herself to crochet.

As nurse educators and proud Bobcat alumni, Butler and Perdue are shaping the future of a profession they have always loved.

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