WASHINGTON — Eleven-year-old Kelly K. Spencer put on gloves, an apron, and a face mask as she prepared to enter a hospital’s operating room in 2000. This wasn’t your average take-your-child-to-work-day — it was a defining experience that would shape her future.

Growing up in their small rural town of Clarion, Iowa, Spencer was inspired by her three aunts who were nurses nurses. “I liked helping people, and that’s a very giving profession,” she said. “They were particularly drawn to the atmosphere of an operating room. I just knew that’s where I was meant to be.”

One of her aunts, who worked in an OR, allowed her sister to shadow Spencer to shadow her sister. That experience deepened her desire to become a nurse. Later, in high school, Spencer discovered an Army’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, which allowed her to pursue both nursing and military service.

“The military really appealed to me just because it seemed exciting and a fun challenge,” she said. “Finding out what I could do with both my nursing and my military together was just a perfect fit.”

Spencer graduated from Creighton University in Nebraska and was commissioned through an Army ROTC program in 2011. She imagined deploying right away, but began building her clinical career by building her clinical skills at Evans Army Community Hospital in Fort Carson, Colorado.

“I wanted to deploy, but I didn’t quite realize the importance of spending time at their military treatment facilities and getting solid nursing skills before I went out,” she said. “In hindsight, one of my favorite things I value most about my Nurse Corps is how they’re invested in nurses and make sure we have had the experience we need.”

Her passion for their OR remained strong, and her command supported her attendance at attending a 16-week military perioperative nursing course. After graduating, she returned to the operating room at Fort Carson before moving on to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.