Alumni Leadership Speaker Series – Donna Lane and Barrett Martin

Donna Lane and Dr. Barrett Martin speak at our Alumni Leadership Speaker Series

By: Geneva Collins

We gathered together on a windy Thursday in February to hear what alumni Donna Lane and Dr. Barrett Martin had to share with us.
Mrs. Lane spoke first about her career in nursing. She came to Wake Christian in 9th grade and worked hard at her schoolwork. She was never top of the class, but Lane knew at the age of five that she was going to be a nurse. As a high school student, she knew that God had given her this passion for nursing for a reason, but she became discouraged when she was rejected from nursing school. Instead of giving up and finding something else to do, Lane began studying to be a nurse’s aide at Wake Tech. Upon completion, she moved on to the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program during which she worked in her first job at Dorothea Dix Hospital. After graduating with an associate’s degree, she was hired at Wake Med, and they assigned her to OB (Obstetrics) labor and delivery. God had a plan for her there and she has flourished in that branch since 1996. Soon her love for nursing and teaching in addition to her hard-working attitude caught the attention of her superiors. Lane went back to school to get her bachelor’s degree. Now, she manages the OB ward and gives 100% every day as she leads by example and empowers the nurses under her management to give their all as well. Lane recognizes that nursing is a calling, but she encouraged us to pursue it if we felt the same calling. Not trusting God and following where he leads would be our worst mistake. “Every bad choice I made,” she said, “it was because I thought I could do it without God’s help.” Whether we were considering nursing or not, Mrs. Donna Lane reminded all of us that it’s all about God and His glory when it comes to our futures and pursuing a career.

Dr. Barrett Martin followed by opening with one of Johnson Optometric’s famous parody videos. Both a graduate of Wake Christian and son of teacher Mrs. MaryAnn Martin, Dr. Martin encouraged us that our education here at Wake was preparing us for college and beyond. When Dr. Martin was in high school, he had trouble choosing a career between physical therapy and optometry. To make a decision, he asked Dr. Bob Johnson of Johnson Optometric if he could shadow him for a day to see what it was like working as an Optometrist. Dr. Martin also had the opportunity to serve alongside Dr. Bob in Brazil on a medical mission trip where they were supplying glasses to the locals. After that, he knew where God was leading him. Dr. Martin went to Barton College after high school where he met his wife. Soon, the Martins left North Carolina for the closest School of Optometry at the University of Alabama. After completing his doctorate, Dr. Martin moved back to North Carolina and began working alongside Dr. Bob at Johnson Optometric. He stressed the importance of being diligent in our schoolwork because our work ethic is part of our character. He also told us how important it is to have direction and vision for your life, citing Proverbs 21:5, “The plans of the diligent lead only to plenty, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” God, however, is the one that that supplies the vision. A favorite quote concerning this, shared with him by a friend, is Benjamin Franklin’s, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”