Always Serving Others

Helping others, just as her school nurse did, was constant throughout Ms. Brandewie’s childhood and even now in her adult life.

As early as second grade, the nurse’s office became her refuge, she said. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native said she was captivated by her school nurse’s ability to help everyone who walked through the door.

She, Ms. Brandewie said, wanted to do the same.

“If I had a full plate and saw that someone else was hungry, even if I was starving, my plate was going to them, and I would sit there with the biggest smile on my face,” she said. “My mom always said that I had an extraordinary amount of empathy from a very young age.”

Ms. Brandewie’s commitment to help others led her to pursue a nursing degree at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Following college, she worked a couple years in the pediatric intensive care unit at one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals, Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. Soon after, she was led, she said, to pursue volunteer work for a couple years in Tanzania.

“I always knew that I loved helping people that needed it the most, so I always knew that volunteering in a third-world country was going to be in the time line for me,” Ms. Brandewie said.

Ultimately, she arrived at FWISD’s Leadership Academy at Como Elementary where she’s worked as the school nurse the last three years.

“The community here is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Every single person that works in this building is here because they want to be here. It’s not just a job,” she said. “I truly feel like every employee, every teacher, every instructional support, every single person felt like they were called to be here. And it’s such a beautiful thing because the students feel it too.

“They can feel if you are just showing up to do a job, but to the employees here, it’s so much more than a job. I can honestly say like this is the most rewarding job in the world.”

Stepping up to lend a helping hand

Earlier this year when Ivery Williams, a father of six, shared his story with Ms. Brandewie of how he took on full responsibility caring for his children after a serious automobile accident that left several of the children temporarily in wheelchairs or on crutches, she said she couldn’t turn away. Things became rough for the single father as he worked to care for his children who were recovering from the accident. He lost his job and his car and began walking or taking the city bus to transport his children to and from school.

“I was like I have to help him. I have to do something,” Ms. Brandewie said. “He has stepped up like I’ve never seen before for these kids. His love is so evident that I just I respect it so, so much.

“Seeing someone … struggle but have such good intentions on taking care of his children, you just don’t have a choice. You have to step up and help… you rally around them to give them hope and show them they’re not alone but also just further the point that our school is truly a family.”

With Mr. Williams’ permission, Ms. Brandewie started a GoFundMe page to help the family.

Along with assistance from Como Counselor Tomeka McGee and Intervention Specialist Ashley Parrish -- Ms. Brandewie’s fundraiser teammates -- nearly $25,000 and a car donation was collected for the family in a couple weeks. School staff, along with Mr. Williams’s pastor and friends surprised him and his children with the donation on May 27, 2021.

“It’s a blessing to see the community surrounding [my family] like this,” Mr. Williams said shortly after the surprise. “This puts faith back into the community and into our school system. For those that don’t think the school system is behind you, it is.

“God worked all through this. God has his angels circled all around me, and that’s this school.”

Alice Turner-Jackson, FWISD Health Services director, said Ms. Brandewie is an example of what the District’s nurses are all about – hard working professionals who see a need and do what they can to help.

“She is a very caring person … which is just so important in this business and in this profession. That is what puts her a step above,” Ms. Turner-Jackson said of Ms. Brandewie. “She’s very caring and wants to do the best for kids and staff in the District.”

Ms. Brandewie said that seeing her students smile made the fundraiser all worth it. She said that she hopes Mr. Williams’s children always remember how their community rallied to support them.

“I also would love for them to take something from this and realize just how important kindness is in the world,” she said. “Like when you see other people struggling, step up even if it scares you or even if you’re unsure you can help. Just do it anyway because it is going to make a difference, no matter how small.”

To close out the 2020-2021 school year, students at the Leadership Academy at Como Elementary released a music video praising nurses and educators nationwide for their hard work and support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Brandewie is among the medical professionals and teachers who appear in the video. The song, “We L.O.V.E. You,” was written by Thomas Mayfield, a fifth-grade math teacher at Como. Check out the music video here.

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