How the Go Blue Guarantee opened the door to a top nursing education and a new life course for Joshua Truchan
Joshua Truchan (BSN ’25) learned early that a single moment can upend a family. When he was eight, his mother was severely injured in a car accident, an ordeal that led to months of hospitalizations and surgeries.
“It was incredibly hard,” says Truchan. “My mom was bedridden, with a cast on her left leg and another on her right arm. She needed facial reconstructive surgery and had lost most of her visible front teeth. As an elementary school teacher, she was no longer able to work.”
Years later, that experience — and the support that made the University of Michigan possible — guided Truchan toward nursing. He found his calling at the Michigan Medicine Critical Care Medicine Unit (CCMU), an adult medical ICU, meeting patients and families at their most vulnerable moments with steady skill and compassion.
Potential Interrupted
Raised in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, in a family of six, Truchan recalls a childhood rooted in sports, school, and family, along with the strong emphasis on academics his father instilled. A standout student, he consistently earned top grades in junior high and high school.
After his mother’s car accident, the stability he once relied on began to unravel. The trauma contributed to a severe substance use disorder that took hold during his teen years and followed him into early adulthood.
That struggle soon interfered with Truchan’s plans for college. He enrolled at Wayne State University on a full academic scholarship, but his addiction derailed his first semester. He took a medical leave to enter inpatient treatment and returned more than once in the months that followed.
“I wasn’t able to stay sober and ended up walking away from my scholarship,” he says.
Purpose Takes Shape
Despite these setbacks, Truchan’s memory of the long hospital days — and the nurses who helped his family find steadiness in the middle of uncertainty — began to shape his sense of what a meaningful life could be.
“They made a world of difference for her, and for our whole family,” says Truchan. “That stuck with me. I wanted to make that same kind of difference, to be there for someone in a time of need. It fit the moral and spiritual principles I wanted to live by.”
Years later, Truchan began rebuilding his life step by step, taking classes and completing prerequisites at Washtenaw Community College. Around that time, a friend — an engineering student who had transferred to U‑M — urged him to apply and told him about the Go Blue Guarantee, U-M’s commitment to covering full tuition for eligible in-state students with family incomes of $125,000 or less and assets below $125,000.
“I had never heard about this financial support before,” he says.
With that new possibility in mind, Truchan applied to the University of Michigan School of Nursing’s Sophomore Transfer Program, a clear on-ramp to the BSN for students who haven’t yet earned a bachelor’s degree. Incoming transfers enter at the sophomore level and complete three years of U‑M coursework to earn the degree.
Not long after, he learned he had been accepted and that he had also qualified for the Go Blue Guarantee.
“It was one of the happiest moments of my life,” he says. “It meant I could pursue my education without constantly worrying about money.”
For students who meet the eligibility guidelines, the Go Blue Guarantee covers tuition and required fees with grants and scholarships — not loans — so families aren’t asked to finance a Michigan degree through long-term debt. The intent is to keep U-M affordable and accessible for all Michigan residents.
Gaining Momentum
For Truchan, the impact of the Go Blue Guarantee was immediate. With the financial uncertainty lifted, he could focus on school, his recovery, and his goal of becoming the kind of nurse his family once depended on.
He still remembers sitting in his first major lecture at the U‑M School of Nursing.
“I felt something I hadn’t trusted myself to feel in a long time,” says Truchan. “A sense of accomplishment and peace. The Go Blue Guarantee made a world-class education possible for me. I’m overwhelmingly grateful.”
Finding Mentorship and Community
Along the way, Truchan found grounding influences that helped him succeed. He points to a formative research mentorship with Sean Esteban McCabe, Ph.D., director of the U‑M Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health, known as DASH, at the U‑M School of Nursing. With McCabe’s guidance, Truchan contributed to substance-use research, including projects focused on children bereaved by parental overdose.
“Research gave me another way to help, by asking better questions and building evidence that can prevent suffering,” says Truchan.
U-M provided not only rigorous clinical training, but also a community that strengthened Truchan’s resilience. He credits the U‑M Collegiate Recovery Program, a resource that provides tailored support for students in recovery from alcohol or other drug problems.
“The shared events, including weekend trips up north, tailgates, and the exceptional support I received, helped me find my tribe,” he says. “It made me feel like I had people I could confide in and relate to. That belonging mattered, because recovery, like nursing, is built day by day.”
"The quality of education I received helped me become a stronger adult, nurse, and family member. It gave me the confidence that I can face obstacles, overcome them, and not just get through them, but thrive."
Back at the Hospital
Today, Truchan is the one helping at the bedside, working as a nurse in the Michigan Medicine CCMU. His path to the unit began with an externship between junior and senior year; the relationships he built there ultimately led to his recruitment after graduation.
As a nontraditional and first-generation student, he’s especially grateful to have earned an ICU placement at the No. 1 hospital in Michigan, one of the most competitive settings for new graduates.
“I chose high-acuity care because I wanted constant challenge and continuous learning,” says Truchan. “On the unit, there’s always a different scenario and a different problem to solve. It pushes me to grow as a nurse and as a person.”
He cares for patients with complex pulmonary, gastrointestinal, liver, and kidney conditions, as well as severe infections like sepsis. He also cares for people facing late-stage alcoholism and the complications of substance use disorder, work that hits close to home.
“The work is physically and emotionally demanding, but that’s why it matters,” he says.
Betting on Himself
For Truchan, being able to attend a top nursing school with access to opportunities at a top hospital changed the direction of his life.
“The quality of education I received helped me become a stronger adult, nurse, and family member,” he says. “It gave me the confidence that I can face obstacles, overcome them, and not just get through them, but thrive.”
He encourages other first-generation students, future nurses, and anyone feeling uncertain to resist the urge to compare themselves to others.
“Don’t let fear or self-doubt convince you that you don’t belong at a place like Michigan, or in a field like nursing,” says Truchan. “Bet on yourself. Put your chips on the table and go for what you want, because you might surprise yourself.”
