By Nico Pennisi

There is a large need for nurses in Indiana right now.

The ongoing shortage here in our state and across the country has been well documented, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the need will grow in the next 10 years.

It’s one of the reasons Kristan Cleckner wants to go into the field.

Cleckner has a carnation tattoo on her wrist, in honor of her best friend's daughter Abigail's birth flower.

Abigail unexpectedly passed away last July.

“All of our kids grew up together, so it was like we lost our own,” Cleckner said.

The mother-of-two has worked in the financial industry for 40 years.

Deep down, she always felt something was missing.

“I thought my age and duration on the earth would be a hindrance. For once, I’m actually finding it’s my strongest characteristic," Cleckner said.

She says Abigail taught her to do the things that scare you.

In the wake of her death, Cleckner chose to follow her own dream: she's becoming a nurse.

“I just ripped the band-aid off and I’m doing it,” Cleckner said.

Cleckner is a current student in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program at Marian University.

It is a 16-month-program is geared toward those who have already completed some or all of a college degree and may be working in another field.

“The continued shortage of nurses that’s happening across the country, that’s nothing anything immune to Indiana," Regional Chief Nursing Officer for Ascension St. Vincent Jill Payne said.

Indiana will be short 5,000 nurses by the end of the decade, according to the Indiana Hospital Association.

“We want people who represent our community. We want people who look like the communities they live in and have the ability to take care of those that are in need," Payne said.

Cleckner will be one of those people next summer.

“Most of my friends at this age are talking about retirement. Thinking about their retirement homes… I feel like I’m just getting started all over again,” Cleckner said.