From First Class to Hall of Fame, Jane Flynn Honors NICC’s 60th Anniversary

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

For Jane Flynn, a career in healthcare wasn't always a certainty. While she grew up admiring the caring nature of her aunts and cousins who were nurses, her high school guidance counselor in 1974 gave her the definitive push she needed.

"I told my counselor that maybe I’d like to work in a laboratory," Jane recalls with a smile. "He looked at me and said, 'No way. Not with your personality. You cannot sit looking at a microscope all day. You need to be with people.'"

Jane took the advice to heart and planned to enroll at the Mercy School of Nursing. However, when the school unexpectedly closed its doors that same year, Jane found an alternate path that would change her life: the nursing program at Area 1 Vocational-Technical School (now Northeast Iowa Community College).

A Seamless Transition and Lifelong Bonds

Though the program was new to Dubuque, it inherited the talent of the closing school. "The beautiful thing was that the majority of the instructors just flowed right over into the new program," Jane says. Among them was Mona Hanley, Jane's obstetrics instructor, whose passion for the field quickly rubbed off on her students.

The two-year, year-round program was intense. Jane remembers the tight bonds formed with her classmates, especially during a two-month psychiatric training rotation at the Independence Mental Health Institute, during the dead of winter.

"The nursing program was so concentrated," Jane explains. "My classmates who started there with me eventually retired from the very same hospital. We bonded for life."

That rigorous training paid off. Jane’s graduating class achieved a 100% passing rate on their licensing boards, a testament to how well the program prepared them for the workforce.

Growing a Career at MercyOne Dubuque

One of the unique benefits of the NICC program continues to be its step structure, allowing students to earn their Licensed Practical Nurse credentials after the first year before continuing on to become Registered Nurses in the second year.

This structure allowed Jane and a classmate to split a part-time evening shift as scrub nurses in the labor and delivery unit at MercyOne Dubuque (then Mercy Medical Center) during their final year of school. It acted as an ideal internship. When Jane graduated as an RN in 1976, MercyOne immediately hired her full-time as a circulating nurse.

It was the start of a legendary 43-year career at the exact same hospital.

Jane spent years as a staff nurse and an assistant head nurse in labor and delivery, finding her true passion in helping families bring new life into the world. "It’s the relationships," Jane says. "I was so touched by so many people. Even today, people come up to me and say, 'I remember you. You helped us with our son or daughter.' I was even invited to the wedding of a baby girl I had helped deliver."

Jane later earned her bachelor of science in nursing in 1991, which allowed her to transition into MercyOne's quality department as the quality case manager for the maternal-child division. There, she helped launch the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit case management program. Jane remained a continual learner in the field until her retirement in 2019.

A Legacy of Giving Back

Today, Jane lives in Epworth with her husband, Tom Flynn—a former Iowa state senator, local business owner and former accounting instructor at NICC. The couple stays incredibly busy enjoying their three grandchildren, who live just a mile down the road.

Jane’s connection to NICC remains strong. In 2008, she was inducted into the NICC Hall of Fame. Furthermore, she and Tom help ensure future generations have the same access to affordable, life-changing education through the Flynn Family Foundation, which funds a scholarship for incoming students at NICC.

"There are kids who want to enroll but just don't have the money," Jane says. "If we can assist them so that finances aren't a hindrance to their career path, that’s what matters."

Reflecting on the College's 60th anniversary, Jane is incredibly grateful for the education and relationships she gained all those years ago.

"Because of the foundation I received at NICC, I was able to excel in my career and make a real difference in people's lives. I am thankful every single day that I went into nursing."