Drew Tikkanen, RN, BSN

Drew is from Petal, MS. After high school graduation in 2004, she attended William Carey University and received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2008. Her heart for helping others and passion for infant care is what drove Drew to become a nurse, and since graduating, birth centers have been her main career focus. She has worked in newborn nurseries and neonatal intensive care units both in Hattiesburg and Jackson, also attending deliveries and caring for the mothers after delivery.

Drew and her husband Dale welcomed their first child, Avery, into the world in 2016. Experiencing pregnancy, delivery, and parenting has given her an entire new perspective and passion as an RN. In Fall of 2017, she began working at Hope Clinic, where she has found the perfect place to practice what makes her love being a nurse – helping others in all walks of life, but especially, women and mothers. As a child, Drew watched and learned from her parents as they worked through their local churches to promote the protection of the lives of unborn children. Early on, she felt the importance and the whispering of God to her heart that this was a calling. The love for children was always there, and in high school Drew began to focus her career ideas on the healthcare field. In college, she settled on nursing, and while in nursing school, knew that newborn care would be her ideal fit. After graduating, she worked a short while with adults, but then the Lord opened doors for her to accept a job in a newborn nursery and newborn intensive care unit at UMMC in Jackson. God used Drew’s time as a nurse in birth centers both in Jackson and Hattiesburg, to teach her heart and mind not only about the fragile strength of premature newborns, but also the degree of help and compassion that women and new mothers need.

She learned from a dear friend about the opening of Pregnancy Choices, but could not find the time to volunteer. From time to time, she was reminded of the center, and thought that maybe one day she could work there, thinking it would be the perfect job! After becoming a mother in 2016, she was no longer working as a baby nurse, but soon felt the urge to get back into the field, especially with her new perspective. She still wanted to be a stay-at-home mother, so she prayed that the Lord would open the doors and guide her to where He needed her. She and her husband became active at The Venue Church, and through a new friend from their growth group, she was once again reminded of volunteering at the Hope Clinic. This time, God pushed Drew to the phone, and to the doors of the Hope Clinic.

As soon as she entered the building, she felt His peace and calling fill her heart, and the longer she volunteered, the greater it became. She has prayed her life verse from Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”, so that He would place inside her heart His desires for her life. Now that she is at Hope Clinic, he used one of their base verses to confirm His work:

Proverbs 16:9 – “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”