Julie Vignato

As a Navy nurse, Julie Vignato traveled the world, taught military corpsmen nursing skills, and helped hundreds of deployed military personnel and their families.

“As a Navy nurse we did everything from the cradle to the grave.  I saw people at their worst and at their best,” says Vignato.  “I really liked that I was able to help people.  I was able to help both those deployed and their families, which was very rewarding.”

After spending nearly a decade working as a nurse, clinical educator and ultimately a nurse manager for the Navy in different parts of the world, she decided it was time to put down some roots with her husband in San Diego.  She began teaching part time in the MiraCosta nursing program in 2006 and was soon offered a full-time position. 

Vignato holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing cum laude from the University of Rochester and will be completing her master’s degree in September 2007.  One of her goals for the MiraCosta Nursing Program is to work on recruiting more corpsmen into the LVN program.

In her free time, Vignato and her husband care for their two bullmastiffs, beagle and two cats.  “I used to rescue animals when I was stationed in Puerto Rico,” she explains. 

She also takes horseback riding lessons, runs marathons and is training for a breast cancer three-day, 60 mile walk in November.

“I always continue to push myself to new limits.”