Tech. Sgt. Nicole P. Spickerman, 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, NCO in charge of the immunization clinic, gives another member of the wing a shot in the arm July 12, 2015 at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station. The immunization clinic here is inundated with approximately 600 to 900 Airmen needing the flu shot every year. Spickerman recently graduated from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Mercy Hospital with a degree in nursing and she represents this month’s Airmen of the Burgh.

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Airmen of the Burgh: Tech. Sgt. Nicole P. Spickerman

Published July 16, 2015
By Senior Airman Marjorie A. Bowlden
911th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, Pa. -- Every year around the winter holidays, the 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron immunization clinic here is inundated with approximately 600 to 900 Airmen needing the flu shot.

Very few of these patients ever look forward to receiving a shot; they line up in orderly rows with feelings that can vary from mild annoyance to outright dread. However, a cheerful face from the three-man clinic brings a spot of brightness over the cloud of negative emotion.

"I love giving immunizations," said Tech. Sgt. Nicole P. Spickerman, NCO in charge of the immunization clinic. "When I have a patient who is very nervous about shots, I find satisfaction in being able to comfort them and give the immunization quickly without incident."

Spickerman, raised in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, joined the Air Force in 2002 directly after graduating high school. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be involved in medicine, and she saw the Air Force as the fastest way to get into that field.

She spent ten years on active duty, serving at bases in Guam and Florida, and then transferred into the Air Force Reserve. After spending some time at March Air Reserve Base in California, Spickerman returned to the Pittsburgh area to pursue nursing. She has been a member of the 911th Airlift Wing for two years.

"It's an honor to have [Spickerman] here," said Col. Sharon Colaizzi, commander of the 911th ASTS. "She's a sharp troop and a solid NCO for the unit."

Spickerman recently graduated from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Mercy Hospital with a degree in nursing. She also enjoys working out, traveling, cooking and spending time with family.

She plans on earning her bachelor's degree in nursing at Carlow University in Pittsburgh and commissioning as an officer here, which Colaizzi stated she agrees with fully.

No matter what life may bring forth, Spickerman plans on pursuing and fueling her passion for medicine.

"Medicine is my thing," she said. "It's the kind of job that I love to do, where it doesn't feel like a job."