UAFS Alum Cyndi Glidewell Turned Nursing Degree into Lifetime of Adventure

Cyndi Glidewell, ’79, describes her life that has spanned hospital floors, international consulting projects, book publishing and a niche travel business as a series of “adventures.” She traces it all back to a single starting point: Her associate degree from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, then Westark Community College.

“I’ve had so many unique opportunities and adventures.” Glidewell said. “I can’t say ‘careers’ because I didn’t do anything long enough to say I had a career in it, but all by the grace of God.”

Glidewell, who holds three degrees, credits her associate degree in nursing with shaping everything that followed. After leaving high school early, marrying at 18, and briefly attending the University of Arkansas, she returned to Fort Smith determined to find a practical path forward.

“I did it because it was the fastest way to come up with a professional degree that I knew I could support my family with if I ever needed to,” she said. “It gave me the leg up that I didn’t have.”

That decision led to her early work as a nursery nurse and later in emergency care, experiences that grounded her in both clinical skills and critical thinking. But Glidewell’s path soon veered beyond traditional nursing roles.

After raising three children and navigating a divorce, she took a position providing in-home IV therapy across rural Arkansas during the height of the AIDS crisis. The work exposed her to underserved populations and a different side of health care.

“It was a fascinating couple of years,” she said. “There was still a whole lot of stigma involved, and not a lot of people willing to go into homes and treat those patients.”

After working in NWA, Glidewell returned to Fort Smith and married Jerry Glidewell. The couple expanded their family through international adoption from Bulgaria.

Her career trajectory shifted again when she pursued a business degree, pairing it with her nursing background. Glidewell earned two more degrees after that first associate in nursing: A business degree from John Brown University and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Western Governors University.

That combination opened unexpected doors, including a chance encounter that led to writing a professional book for nurses and, soon after, consulting work with a major firm.

In one defining moment, Glidewell pitched an idea to build a team of recent college graduates and train them in computer system validation to fill a critical need in the business world.

“I didn’t know what a business plan was,” she said. “I just had to stand up and talk about an idea.”

The proposal was accepted and funded, launching her into international consulting. Within months, she was traveling to sites from California to Copenhagen, helping with various global projects.

Her willingness to step into unfamiliar roles became a pattern. Glidewell has written three books, including two technical books and “The Red Hat Society Travel Guide: Hitting the Road with Confidence, Class, and Style,” and launched a business, Travel Helpers, assisting individuals who needed support navigating travel due to age, illness or disability.

That work again took her across the United States and overseas, accompanying clients ranging from elderly passengers to individuals with complex medical needs.

“It’s been an adventure,” she said. “I’ve met so many incredible families who just needed a little bit of help.”

Throughout her journey, Glidewell said two constants shaped her path: Her faith and her husband, Jerry.

“I truly believe God has blessed me with opportunities to be where I needed to be when I needed to be there and opened doors I never dreamed I would walk through,” she said. “And my husband is the one who pushed me through those doors. He’s the one who said, ‘Why wouldn’t it work?’”

For all the varied directions her life has taken, she still proudly traces her success back to UAFS.

“That foundation gives you such a broad way of looking at the world,” she said. “You can be whatever you want to be.”