Everyone at Sidney Lanier School knows Carol Wilt, the school nurse who takes such good care of the students and staff. But now her reputation is extending beyond the school’s campus.

Wilt, fondly known at Lanier as ‘Nurse Carol,’ has been named Alachua County’s 2008 School Related Employee of the Year. She was selected from among 48 nominees by a committee made up of parents, volunteers, and other educational support professionals, and will now go on to represent the district in the Florida School Related Employee of the Year program.

“I am honored to be able to represent my students,” said Wilt.  “I am thankful to be able to represent the nurses and I’m very appreciative to be able to represent Alachua County."

For more than two decades Wilt has been the nurse at Sidney Lanier, which serves 130 students with extensive disabilities. Her daily job includes dispensing medications and other treatments, making medical assessments, administering first aid, monitoring students’ health conditions, and a host of other medically-related duties. Her days often include ‘stat calls,’ emergency situations that require her to care for students facing life-threatening situations.

“In a school where there is a constant stress level regarding students’ survival, Nurse Carol is always positive and upbeat,” said principal Cathy Costello. “Her attitude helps keep the staff, the students and the parents upbeat as well.”

Despite the intense responsibilities of her job, Wilt goes above and beyond the call of duty to promote both the physical and emotional well-being of the students and staff. She has spearheaded numerous wellness programs, including walking programs and nutrition classes, which often incorporate academic as well as health lessons.

Wilt also works hard so that students at Lanier can be involved in activities beyond school and home. She’s made it possible for many of Lanier’s students to participate in the Special Olympics, and has co-chaired the school’s March of Dimes Walk America Team for 15 years. Parent Gail Abernathy says Wilt gave her daughter Kristin the opportunity to volunteer twice a week at Lanier after she graduated from the school, something that has made a big difference in Kristin’s life.

“It’s the highlight of her week,” said Abernathy. “Carol has given our daughter a social and educational outlet, and that’s impacted our family tremendously.”

Before joining the Lanier staff, Wilt worked as a pediatric nurse in both a hospital and a facility for medically-involved children. Why would someone who could work in so many other settings choose to remain so long at Lanier?

"The children keep me here,” she said.  “I come here to make a difference in their lives and they end up making a difference in mine."