Oakland University sisters Mimi and Nina Popovski had the unique experience of going through the demanding and stressful journey of nursing school by each other’s sides.
The journey to the path of helping others came at a very young age for the elder Popovski sister, Mimi.
“I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field honestly,” Mimi said. “In high school, I really wanted to be a doctor.”
Things weren’t as direct with Nina — who like many high school students — experimented with different paths she could choose. Later, deciding to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, the younger Popovski took the path that felt like the best opportunity for her to grow.
Nina explained getting into the nursing program straight out of high school seemed like somebody was pointing out a path for her to follow, and that is exactly what she did.
“I love medicine, and it’s a field where there’s a lot of flexibility, there’s a lot of growth and you can do a bunch of different things,” Nina said. “It’s very secure and helps you build a lot of discipline as you learn about yourself and connect with patients.”
While the path seemed to show up and guide her, there was a time in which Nina saw herself going into the field of journalism. Being already accepted and enrolled in the nursing program, this was a simple moment of questioning her path.
“I was okay with the decision I made and happy with it, and I know that I can always pursue a different career if I do want to. If you know, I do writing,” Nina said. “It’s just, I guess, that is something that I did consider switching to at the university, but I never really planned on switching.
“It’s just fleeting thoughts kinda, which is what happens when you’re in your early 20s, right?”
Fleeting thoughts and second-guessing aside, both sisters graduated in their respective years, Mimi in 2021 and Nina in 2023.
Nina was awarded the Board of Visitors Excellence in Nursing Award and graduated with honors. None of this, she says, would have been possible without her sister, who pinned the younger Popovski at the ceremony.
Mimi, who graduated during the pandemic and had her entire ceremony virtually, felt the pinning was even more special due to her being unable to experience her own properly.
“Being able to see it firsthand and then being able to pin Nina and be the person that leads her to the rite of passage to nursing was just so special,” Mimi said.
“I’m not gonna lie if Mimi wasn’t with me — if Mimi wasn’t my sister and I was going through the program and well, obviously there’s a lot of circumstances that would play into that — but I don’t know if I would have even finished the program,” Nina said.
“If she wasn’t there to help me — especially during COVID — that’s especially such an isolating time and having to just be at home studying and questioning everything, having someone that’s already been through it and having the support made it a lot more bearable, so it would definitely be a completely different story if she wasn’t there for that.”
Both sisters are now pursuing their careers and continue to support and uplift each other.
