A waitress dreamed of being a nurse. Then the right person sat at her table.

MINNEOLA, Fla. — It started with a simple question at a restaurant: “Have you ever thought about being a nurse? You would be an amazing nurse.”

At the time, Devon Burkhalter was working as a server at a restaurant in Clermont, focused on getting through a busy shift. But that brief exchange with a guest she had just helped would quietly alter the trajectory of her life.

“It felt like she really saw me,” she said. “She didn’t know that becoming a nurse had always been my goal.”

And what Burkhalter didn’t know is that the customer was Kandy Medlen, a nursing executive at AdventHealth.

A dream reignited

Long before she stepped into the emergency department at AdventHealth Minneola, Burkhalter was known as “Sarge.” The one who stayed calm in chaos. The one others instinctively turned to for direction. The one who stepped in to care for those around her.

“Even when I was young, I took the lead and made sure people were OK,” Burkhalter said.

But her journey to becoming a nurse didn’t follow a straight path. And it was during that shift waiting tables — with a few words of encouragement from a customer — that her dream was reignited.

“Devon was very caring, kind and attentive,” Medlen said. “Even in a busy environment, she never seemed flustered. She had a calm presence and a heart for others. I remember thinking she would be an amazing nurse.”

And so, visit after visit, Medlen kept asking her, “Have you applied to nursing school yet?” Until one day, that answer changed.

“I got in,” Burkhalter told her.

'I’m doing what I was called to do’

Burkhalter enrolled at Lake-Sumter State College, graduated and joined AdventHealth through the hospital system’s ER nursing residency program, stepping into the emergency department as what she calls “a baby nurse.”

Over the next six years, she continued to advance in her career, becoming a preceptor mentoring new nurses, and then a relief charge nurse helping teams through busy shifts and critical moments.

And along the way, Medlen’s support never wavered.

“Sometimes people just need someone to pour into them and remind them what’s possible,” Medlen said. “If you see someone with a servant heart, take the time to ask about their dreams. That encouragement can change everything.”

When the opportunity came to help open AdventHealth Minneola in 2025, Burkhalter was ready. Today, that’s where she serves as assistant nurse manager in the emergency department, helping shape a culture of care for a growing South Lake community.

“Caring for people on what could be the worst day of their life is what motivates me,” she said. “I want to make a bad day just a little bit better by giving them the best care possible.

“It feels like I’m doing what I was called to do.”

For Medlen, Burkhalter’s calling is clear.

“What makes me most proud is that she never gave up,” she said. “She’s an incredible nurse, leader and person, and she’s making a difference in the community she is part of.”

Click here to learn more about starting your nursing career at AdventHealth.