Like a lot of online students, Zac Calamante is a working professional who has had to balance his day job with pursuit of an advanced degree. Unlike most online students, Zac’s day job is at the White House.

Zac is an officer in the Army Nurse Corps working for the White House Medical Unit, supporting the offices of the president and vice president. “I have learned that there are many ways to support our country and Constitution, even as a nurse,” he says of the prestigious assignment.

When not at work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Zac recently earned a master’s degree in nursing education online. He picked RMU after meeting some of the school’s nursing professors at an Army recruiting event and being impressed with both their qualifications and the encouragement they gave him.

For his M.S.N., Zac chose a concentration in simulation technology for clinical and classroom instruction. “Simulation-based nursing education is as close as we can get to real patients,” he says. “Simulation instructors are able to instruct, witness and evaluate nursing students in a real-world environment without the risk of harm to patients.”

The skills and concepts Zac mastered in his degree program should serve him well as his career evolves, long after the White House post ends. “RMU has helped me continue to grow and develop as a nurse, an educator and an officer in the U.S. Army,” he says.