While she was growing up, Carolyn Gregory’s parents always encouraged her to seek new and meaningful experiences, which led her to Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) in 1947. Carolyn enjoyed her time as a Courier so much that she decided to remain at Frontier as the FNS Christmas Secretary and as an assistant to Agnes Lewis and Betty Lester in 1948.

“I truly enjoyed the spirit of the organization and what I was doing to help their cause,” said Carolyn.

During her time with FNS, she was especially impressed with the way the midwives understood the most intimate and special experience in so many women’s lives: the births of their children.

“The midwives handled deliveries with both the mother and her child’s best interest in mind,” said Carolyn. “I definitely believe that nurse-midwifery is integral to health care in this country and abroad.”

The midwives were empowering role models for Carolyn. The time she spent at Frontier Nursing Service was the first time she had seen women working independently within the medical field.

Carolyn had the opportunity to observe a birth as well as a death in rural mountain cabins while accompanying FNS midwives. She remembers these experiences vividly, and they have profoundly impacted her life. Because of these experiences, Carolyn believes she has gained a greater understanding of life, death, and what it means to be a human being.

After serving as a Courier, Carolyn later obtained a master’s degree from Northwestern University and has been a speech language pathologist for most of her life. She continues to carry forward the lessons she learned as a Courier.

Carolyn has remained involved with Frontier over many decades as a donor, member of the Courier Advisory Committee, and friend to Frontier Nursing University.

Thank you for your service to Frontier, Carolyn!

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.