After having experienced the thrill of attending Marquette during a men's basketball championship-winning season and the excitement of visiting different countries, Col. Dawn M. Harl has plenty of good things to say about Marquette and her experience in the U.S. Air Force. After her four years as a nursing student at Marquette, from which she graduated in 1977, Harl worked as a civilian nurse for four years, and then enlisted in the Air Force.

1. What made you choose Marquette?

Well, I'm from the Milwaukee area. I'm from Cudahy, Wisconsin, originally; that's where I grew up and I chose Marquette mostly because of its excellent reputation, particularly in the nursing program. They've had a long-established baccalaureate nursing program so that's why I choose to go there.

2. How was your Marquette experience?

I thought it was very good. I was pretty much a straight nursing student while I was there. But it was good. Even though I lived in the area I lived in the dorm for a year and a half. So that was good. . I think academically it was a very good program. I kind of liked, and I don't know if they still do this, but back then you had to take nine credits of philosophy and nine credits of theology. I enjoyed that kind of aspect too. It wasn't just like science courses and anatomy and that kind of thing. So, it was good.

3. What was your major?

It was nursing.

4. How did what you learned at Marquette help you in your field now?

It's going to be 30 years in 2007 since I graduated from Marquette, so it's hard to maybe directly relate – I think just overall experience, I always felt very confident about my education and – I'm not sure if I can say that it opened doors, but people were always like "Oh, you went to Marquette?" That was good.

5. What difficulties did you go through transitioning from school to work?

I don't really remember having any particular difficulties. I did not join the Air Force right out of college. I worked for almost four years as a civilian nurse, mostly in Illinois and Colorado, before I joined the force and I don't remember having any problems transitioning. I had been working as a nursing assistant while I was in college part-time. I think I was fairly comfortable in the hospital environment and so I didn't have any problems per se.

6. What was your most memorable Marquette experience?

I think probably the most memorable thing was, and I think I got the year right, but I think it was in 1977 when Marquette won the national basketball championship and Al McGuire was the coach. When the game finished everybody poured out of the dorms and all the houses and everything and marched, or walked, all the way down Wisconsin Avenue to the lake and back. It was cool.

7. What was your most memorable military experience?

I've had 10 assignments. I'm on my 10th assignment right now, I'm in Oklahoma, and there's been something about each one of them that I enjoyed. But the most memorable was being assigned to Korea. I was there in 1983 (so it's kind of getting to be a long time ago). The opportunity to live in another country and to experience that culture and to get to know some Korean people, it was just fun. And I still like Korean food to this day. So I think probably my tour in Korea was the most memorable.

8. How has your stay in Korea affected you today?

I don't know. It's kinda getting to be a while ago. I think probably overall my experiences in the military have affected me because I have become even more patriotic about what I do. I'm not sure I really felt that way when I first joined up. I just didn't think of it that way, but some of our ceremonies and our customs have become more meaningful to me. Like when we have a flag retreat ceremony or our POW/MIA ceremony, those things are just very meaningful to me and that's something that's really grown in me during my times.

9. Would you change anything if you could? If so, what?

Probably not. I think going to Marquette was a good decision. I cherish my time I worked as a civilian nurse because it gave me some other perspectives before I came into the military. Being in the Air Force has just been a tremendous opportunity. When I joined I was just going to join for three years. I never thought I would make this a career. But I've been here 25 and a half years and I've loved every one of them. And then as a nurse in the Air Force you're able to have all kinds of opportunities to be in leadership positions and to advance yourself clinically and to get your masters degree and all kinds of things. I don't think I would change anything – I like it pretty much the way it's turned out.

10. What about your Marquette experience has stayed with you today?

Boy, I don't know. You know, it's probably just that it was a good education, you know, from the very beginning. I come back home and I come back to the campus every now and then and everything has changed so much. It's hard to identify with things the way buildings have gone up and things, but I guess I'm just still really proud to tell somebody that I went to Marquette.