Nichole Knox was at a crossroads. She was a recent high school graduate uncertain of her next move. A rich bachelor wasn’t waiting in the wings. College was an option, but no one in her family had gone to college, so that path was unfamiliar, and she didn’t have money to burn on being wrong. The one thing she did have was her faith.
“I really didn’t have any direction,” said Knox. “I sat, stopped and talked to God about it. That was the only thing I knew to do at that point. I really focused my thoughts and focused on having this conversation with God. What is my life’s purpose?”
Shortly after that conversation, Knox had a dream she describes as “very vivid” and “very clear.” In it, her path was revealed. She would become a nurse. She didn’t know how. She didn’t know where, but she knew whom to ask.
“From that point on, I said, ‘If that is what my life is meant to be, God, I need you to open some doors for me.’”
She completed an associate’s degree in natural science at what is now Southwest Tennessee Community College and proceeded to St. Joseph School of Nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences and followed it up with a master’s in nursing education for the University of Memphis.
God had opened doors.
“Everything just flowed for me,” Knox said. “I didn’t pay a single dime. I got through my master’s degree completely debt free. When a person is in alignment with their purpose, the universe knows, and it makes a way for us.”
By the time Knox went for her doctorate of nursing practice in educational leadership, she did have bills, but she was prepared and completed the degree from American Sentinel University while working as a registered nurse, nursing instructor and administrator. She officially became Dr. Knox in 2019. Throughout her postgraduate work, her scholarly work has been on mentoring nurses and nurse educators.
Dr. Knox joined Christian Brothers University in June 2021 as an assistant professor. She was later promoted to associate professor and associate director of nursing. Dr. Knox was named director of the nursing program in December 2024. She has found CBU to be a great fit for her professionally and spiritually.
“One thing that drew me to CBU is the Lasallian principles,” said Dr. Knox. “They line up with my personal values and principles for life. … On some of the doors on campus, there’s a saying posted, ‘Enter to Learn. Leave to Serve.’ And nursing is a profession of service. I consider myself a servant-leader. That is what drew me to CBU.”
Dr. Knox spends her free time hiking and doing community service projects, however her plate stays full with commitments to numerous professional organizations.
She is the proud president of the local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the director of membership for the Tennessee Nurses Association, and recently joined the Junior League of Memphis to learn from leaders in other disciplines.
She recently completed the Association of Black Nursing Faculty’s prestigious Leadership and Public Policy Fellowship program and is a member of the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association.
“Dr. Knox epitomizes servant leadership,” said Dr. Lacey Gentry, CBU nursing professor and colleague. “She deeply values connectedness and intentionality with students and faculty. I enjoy working alongside her as she espouses the faith, community, and service that underpins the beauty of CBU.”
“I have worked with Dr. Knox for about four years now. I enjoy working with Dr. Knox because she is always cheerful and able to see the positive in every situation,” said Marie Timmerman, MSN, RN, Visiting Assistant Professor. Obtaining CNE certification is a relatively rare achievement that further showcases Dr. Knox’s dedication to progressing nursing education and her commitment to provide the highest quality standards to all CBU nursing students to help ensure their success in their academic studies, as well as success in the nursing profession upon graduation.”
Dr. Knox will come up on her five-year anniversary at CBU this fall and continues to be inspired by students entering the field. She sees herself in them and knows they can succeed.
“I see potential in every student that I interact with,” she said. “Someone believed in me. I was a first-generation college student, the first in my family to go to college. I see opportunity with every student that crosses my path. A lot of our students are first-generation students, and I serve as an example for them. I feel like, if I can make it, come on, you can, too! I’m their number one cheerleader.”
In her latest role as CBU’s director of nursing, Dr. Knox is passionate, dedicated and ambitious. She aims for CBU to offer the most sought-after program not only regionally but also nationally and internationally. She can even hop into an architect’s shoes and envision a new building on campus that will house the newly minted School of Nursing, which will offer graduate-level degrees alongside the bachelor of science in nursing and bachelor of health sciences degrees that are currently available.
“Sometimes my vision is so big, I have to reel myself back in,” she said.
But Dr. Knox knows it’s possible because CBU is special, and its graduates reflect the values that are ingrained in the CBU experience. In fact, she calls her students “Lasallian nurses.”
“I want the community to be able to recognize a CBU nursing graduate right off. It’s their integrity and their professionalism,” she explained “We’re not perfect. We do have some opportunities to grow and change because we have students at different maturity levels, but the ultimate goal is to produce a nurse who has those Lasallian values, which are exemplified in how they care for people. Then, we have safe, practicing nurses who are compassionate. My soul is in this. I want the graduates to really care about the people they have under their care.”
Courses taught by Dr. Knox are Foundations of Nursing (Nursing 350), Nursing BSN Seminar (Nursing 456), and Pharmacology (Nursing 357). Her office is in the Health Sciences Building.
