“About 20 years ago, I had my ‘moment of insanity.’ But it was a good moment of insanity.”

Typically, something described as insanity is anything but good. Humorous? Maybe. But the prevailing connotation is nearly always negative. Not for Brenda Woodruff. 

Her “moment of insanity” has improved thousands of lives.

Brenda grew up with two nurses in her family. In her earliest memories, she recalls being fascinated with their jobs and wanting to follow in their footsteps. That passion has never wavered.

“I became a registered nurse in 1977,” Woodruff said. “I just loved the idea of being able to help people every day with my job, and I saw that demonstrated by some of my family.”

From 1977 to 2004, Brenda served in various roles in the medical field. She went from RN to med surgeon to long-term care, dialysis, home health, and finally to nursing management and administration. A desire for excellence fueled her constant upskilling.

“If you’re gonna do something, do it well,” Woodruff said. “I can’t do anything halfheartedly.”

With decades of experience and an intimate understanding of the nursing field, Brenda was struck by an idea that just wouldn’t leave her alone. She wanted to train the next generation.

But rather than focus solely on job placement, her mission with what has become Career Academy is to create a medical workforce of example-setters and leaders here in Memphis.

“You can teach most people to do tasks,” Woodruff said. “But you can also teach robots to do many of those same jobs. The difference comes with teaching professionalism and the importance of empathy.”

Career Academy was officially founded and authorized by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission in 2004 after months of meticulous course prep. Priced at an affordable rate that covers books, CPR certification, tests, and registration fees, Brenda’s mission was not to cash in her experience for her benefit but to provide a viable career path that anyone in Memphis could travel down.

“Career Academy is different because we have a personal touch,” Woodruff said. “It’s not about meeting a student quota and packing classrooms. We’re here to help people. We will always work with students and accommodate their needs in order to serve them.”

Since 2008, Career Academy has been the gold standard for affordable and quality CNA training in Memphis. In 2017, Brenda was contacted by our HireLocal team about a loose partnership. We directed our students to her program and helped with employee referrals.

Now, we’re official partners! Career Academy teaches our soft skills program as part of its curriculum and refers students seeking job placement to our team.

“I’ve gotten great feedback from my students about HireLocal and their soft skills program,” Woodruff said. “They’re always well prepared, and their lesson plans are a welcome addition to Career Academy.”

After nearly 20 years since starting Career Academy and 45 years since becoming a nurse, Brenda is still energized and ready to continue leading.

When asked what keeps her going, she said without hesitation that it is her students. Seeing them thrive is the only validation she needs.

“I was reading the paper one day, and I saw that one of my former students had started a mobile clinic for blood pressure checks and things like that,” Woodruff said. “I couldn’t have been more proud.”

Brenda said she bumps into her students regularly when visiting a hospital or clinic, and they’re always happy to see each other.

“Seeing things come full circle is always humbling,” Woodruff said. “Recently, a former student of mine applied for a position here at Career Academy, and after working for a few years as a nurse, they now work for me!”

To any student considering Career Academy, Brenda believes the most critical mindset is pursuing excellence, the same motto she lives by.

“If you want to serve others, serve them like you’d want to be served,” Woodruff said. “No one can achieve perfection. But if you strive for it, you’ll hit excellence at a minimum, and the term mediocre will be foreign to you.”

Although Brenda describes its founding as a moment of insanity, Career Academy’s impact is crystal clear. As our partnership continues, we will always anticipate seeing more students’ lives change through this program!

Interested in enrolling at Career Academy? Click here!