James is currently taking his prerequisites to become a registered nurse. He is also a current resident of ours at our Ronald Commons apartments.
He isn’t new to the healthcare field having graduated as a phlebotomy technician a while ago, but a few major events put him onto a different path for a while – even though some of those events were good.
“I had a daughter and I had to take care of my family,” James said. “I had to leave school and do what I needed to provide.”
He eventually went back to school and became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), but after a bout with some health issues and an unfortunate car accident where he was t-boned, he found himself in financial and physical trouble.
“I’m steady now,” James said. “And, I just won a scholarship that is paying for one of my classes from Shoreline Covenant Church. The folks here at Ronald Commons nominated me and that means a lot.”
Shoreline Covenant Church presented the scholarship for the pursuit of his education to become a registered nurse.
“It is with great pleasure that Shoreline Covenant Church is awarding our first Shoreline Covenant Church Scholarship, to promote racial equity, to one of your current residents in the Ronald Commons Apartments. This scholarship has been created specifically to support an African American or an individual of African descent who is currently enrolled in an educational or vocational training program. We feel honored to be partners with Ronald Commons over the past two years plus, and we look forward to future opportunities to support the residents and staff of Compass Housing/Ronald Commons.”
James is looking forward to continuing his education and getting back into the field even in these ongoing circumstances of COVID.
“I always want to give back,” he said. “I want to get out there and make a difference. A good nurse can make all the difference to patients. I should know.”