Annie Swiatek is a nurse at Grayslake North. Being a nurse in current times means there are new obstacles to face, along with a need to quickly adjust and adapt to new situations.

Swiatek has been a nurse here for about 15 years. Recently, she was chosen for ‘Knight of the Month,’ where students and staff choose someone who they believe truly stands out, helps everyone, and is what a Knight is meant to be.

By definition, a nurse is a person trained to care for the sick or infirm.

Once COVID started and everyone was back in school, the nurses were the ones to work on contact tracing. They worked to keep everyone safe, causing many busy and long days.
Having restrictions change and the amount of cases dropping has made life in their office move at a slower, more comfortable pace.

“(We have been) getting back to our regular stuff that we normally have to do. Before it was all just COVID related. COVID is still here, but it has been better,” Swiatek said.

Bringing back that normality of pre-COVID times is challenging not only because everything used to be so fast paced, but now she has to adapt to changing restrictions and make new adjustments.
“Just because COVID numbers are down, people still need to be cautious about everything that’s going on. Still need to wash your hands, be cautious and just common sense things,” Swiatek said.

With the skills and personality needed to be a nurse, many students find comfort and feel like they can confide in them. Students come to them about personal issues or just keeping them up to date with their lives.

Having that impact on students and the school is what forms the foundation for the environment. Being able to bring support for the school and individuals is what makes Annie Swiatek more than a school nurse, but makes her a modern day hero.