How Logan Eisenhart Achieved His Dream

With a stethoscope draped over the shoulders of his white lab coat and an alphabet soup of letters after his name (MSN, APRN, FNP-C), Logan Eisenhart certainly looks like a medical professional. In conversation, he exudes many of the qualities you’d be glad to have in a family practitioner — confidence, clarity, determination.

So, it comes as somewhat of a surprise to hear Eisenhart’s story and learn that he dropped out of high school. It was the welcoming environment of the Project Learn of Summit County Aspire program — overseen by the Ohio Department of Higher Education — that got him back to achieving his dreams.

“Project Learn has served the community for over 43 years,” says Marquita Mitchell, Executive Director of Project Learn of Summit County. “Our goal is to empower people to advance our community. Logan’s story is a shining example that earning your high school equivalency is just the beginning to so much more.”

Eisenhart speaks fondly of his time at Project Learn, where he earned his GED in 2011. He is not so fond of the time that preceded his arrival.

“I was 16 or 17, and it was rather a dark time,” he says. “I moved out; I was actually homeless. I dropped out of high school because I had to work. I wanted to get a high school equivalency so I could earn more money and get an apartment. I actually just Googled ‘GED Akron.’”

The online search eventually led Eisenhart to Project Learn, and he received grant funding to help him earn his GED. 

“I was really intimidated to even start. But from the moment I entered the door [at Project Learn], the employees that worked with the Aspire program made me feel completely comfortable, completely respected and like I found an educational home,” he says. “They were kind; they were patient with me. They explained the process. ... They understood that I couldn’t afford to take the GED class, and they were able to secure funding for me.”

The support Eisenhart received through the Aspire program was virtually the opposite of his high school experience.

“I actually had a guidance counselor at my school tell me that I would amount to nothing,” he says. “But luckily that fueled my fire and my passion for education because I was really determined to prove him wrong.”

With that fire ignited and his GED in hand, Eisenhart revisited his childhood dream of being in the medical field. But with no support from his family, he knew the next steps would be a challenge.

“Sometimes you’re just born with a passion; like a little kid always wants to be a firefighter, I always wanted to be a doctor or a nurse,” he says. “I applied to the University of Akron back in 2011 and got into the [Bachelor of Science in Nursing] program, but I knew I couldn’t afford it.”

Needing to save some money, Eisenhart kept the dream in sight and took a detour to the restaurant industry. His time there — where he worked his way from dishwasher to the youngest general manager in the franchise — taught him skills that served him well when it came time to resume his education.

Another online search — this one for “GED to nursing degree” — led Eisenhart to the Kent State University Bridges program, developed for GED scholars as an assistance program to acclimate them to the rigors of college. Staff there, particularly mentor Carrie White, helped him enroll in Kent State’s nursing associate degree program, and with help from the Bridges program writing team, he earned several scholarships. He was back on track for what he really wanted to do, but he said it was still a big decision to make.

“I left a good job; I was a GM at a great restaurant making a good living. I liked my job, I liked my co-workers, and it was fun,” Eisenhart says. “But I realized that I’m 23 years old, I’ve had this goal of working in health care for my entire life, and if I was going to do it, I was going to do it now, even though there were obstacles. Because I knew if I didn’t try, I’d always regret that. If I tried and failed, I could live with that.”

He graduated from Kent State’s RN ADN program in 2018, and motivated by a desire to address the root causes of preventable chronic diseases, he “embarked on a journey of continuous learning and professional development.” Eisenhart earned his BSN in 2019 and, through an online program at Ohio University, completed a master’s degree in nursing in 2022. He’s working on a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree through Kent State, which he hopes to get in December 2025 or in May 2026. 

Today, Eisenhart is a primary care provider as a nurse practitioner in an outpatient clinic, and he assists at a medication-assisted treatment clinic, treating community members who suffer with addiction. He’s also a faculty professor in the BSN program at Kent State’s Stark Campus, and he’s even provided some inspiration for his wife, Stacy.

“We’ve been together for more than 10 years, and she had never graduated college,” he says. “We support each other; she graduated with her associate degree in 2022 and is now a hospice nurse.”

Eisenhart gives back to his community not only through his work, but also his service. He’s been a Project Learn board member since 2022, and he has one message for any adults who are wondering about getting a high school equivalency. 

“It’s like driving on a highway at night. If you think about your headlights in front of you, they don’t show you from Cleveland to Columbus; they show you 50 yards ahead. You don’t have to know every single step right now before you take the first step. And if that first step is getting a GED through the Aspire program, I strongly suggest that you make the call.”

Learn more about the Aspire program at highered.ohio.gov/aspire. Find out about Project Learn at projectlearnsummit.org.

This story ran in the Summer-Fall 2024 issue of College 101.