MOHAVE COUNTY – Rebecca Anderson Claas is a Mohave Community College alumna who graduated with her Associate of Applied Science in Registered Nursing. Today she’s a registered nurse in the Surgical Services Department at Havasu Regional Medical Center.
Prior to coming to MCC, Claas received Emergency Medical Services training and her Certified Nursing Assisting degree in Denver. Her medical interest resonated from her father’s rare disease that drove her passion for caring and helping others in need.
Claas is passionate about the nursing profession and understands all aspects that come with being a nurse. She knows situations can be tough but enjoys being able to be there to comfort and aide those in need.
“My biggest thing is to take care of patients, I’ve always wanted to be a nurse,” she said. “I’m happy being a nurse I love being a nurse I want to be able to help anyone else to achieve their dreams like I did.”
Claas decided to attend MCC because she had been working in the medical field and wanted to further her education. She enrolled at MCC in 2009 to work towards her registered nursing degree while being a single mother of four boys and having to juggle three jobs to make ends meet. Going through the program, the challenges she faced helped her grow as a person.
“My self-esteem was horrible around that time but I was determined, no matter what it took to become a nurse. If I had to study all night long I’d study all night long. It wasn’t easy but I did so much growth in the nursing program,” Claas said.
Claas said the challenges were tough but that’s what helped her grow and become a successful and confident woman. She graduated from the Nursing program in 2012 and has been making strides in furthering her career providing her to opportunity to work in many different departments in the hospital such as ICU, ER and as a house supervisor.
Claas said, one of her biggest accomplishments was being honored as one of Lifepoint’s Scott Mercy Award winners where she placed second out of over 45,000 employees in the nation. She was honored her for her achievements, programs she had started and her community involvement.
For Class, MCC helped her finish her schooling by helping her find scholarships to assist in paying for her last semester. She had exhausted her federal grants and staff at MCC helped her get a scholarship from MCC, Women with Willpower and the Cancer Association of Havasu.
“What have they done for me is something I will be forever grateful for if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be a nurse,” Claas said.
Even though she is no longer a student at MCC, she is still a Bighorn. Claas takes pride in being an alumna from MCC because she graduated from a college in her own community and sees other students become her colleagues.
Claas has a passion for giving back to her community. On her free time, she volunteers with the Cancer Association of Havasu as the secretary. She’s volunteered with the organization for 10 years chairing and co-chairing fundraisers to help the local community have access to low-cost cancer screenings, support groups, scholarships and so much more.
Another role she’s passionate about is being a scholarship liaison with the Cancer Association of Havasu. Claas gets to present scholarships to MCC students just like she was once awarded from the Cancer Association of Havasu.
“It means so much to me to be able to help students that are in positions like I was,” she said. “Being the liaison is so near and dear to my heart because I know financial burdens can be a huge impact on a student, so when I’m able to help them get a scholarship and achieve their goal it’s an amazing feeling.”
Claas was born in Wisconsin and moved with her family at the age of three to Lake Havasu City. She “loves” being a Lake Havasu City resident and providing a lending hand to help her community grow.
To learn more about our MCC Registered Nursing program, visit Mohave.edu/Nursing.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M-kGZC8IZM
Rebecca Anderson Claas is a Mohave Community College alumna. She graduated from the nursing program in 2012 with her Registered Nursing degree and works at Havasu Regional Medical Center. She’s heavily involved with the Cancer Association of Havasu where she’s the scholarship liaison for the organization.
