Category: Healthcare
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Marie-Christine Des Rosiers
Marie-Christine Des Rosiers grew up in a French-speaking household in Ontario, Canada, and earned Canadian bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music before moving to Chicago six years ago. Watching her mother’s experience with rehabilitation related to cancer and end-of-life care, Marie-Christine was inspired to change careers to become a physical therapy assistant. She felt warmly…
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Kiara Taylor
Kiara Taylor’s interest in nursing is personal—she was inspired to one day join the profession when a nurse helped to catch her Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis back in 2009. Though her journey to the job hasn’t come without obstacles, Kiara’s passion to help others and the support she received from Malcolm X College’s nursing program…
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Danela Agoncillo
Danela Agoncillo credits her brother for encouraging her to dream big and achieve great things. The two have a lot in common. Beyond their family ties, the siblings are both Malcolm X College graduates with associate degrees in nursing. They also share a passion for helping others. Danela always knew she wanted to be a…
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Tia Wilson
Tia Wilson has always wanted to be a nurse. Now, the Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy High School senior is a big step closer. In addition to the 44 college credit hours she earned while still in high school, Tia also has her first post-secondary credential: Community Health Care Worker, Basic Certificate. While she worked…
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Paola Acosta
Focus. Determination. Perseverance. These were the values South Sider Paola Acosta had to focus on to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. Paola knew she wanted to be a nurse since high school. She was inspired by how kind and caring the nurses were to her mother while she was in labor. But she…
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Ashley Darden
Ashley Darden fought through anguish, tears, and self-doubt on her way to graduating from Malcolm X College—but she didn’t let them stop her. Instead, she carried her heavy book bag everywhere she went so that she could study, including carrying it to her job as a patient care technician at one of Chicago’s most prestigious…
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Ivy Rose Lomahan
“Is my English good enough to go back to school?” “Will my children be okay while I’m in class?” “Will I be able to afford the tuition fees on top of the bills I am already paying?” The questions—and the doubts—ran through my mind. It was daunting going back to school after being away for…
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Frank Sochacki
Frank Sochacki was familiar with City Colleges of Chicago even before he began classes at Malcolm X College. He started taking prerequisite courses at Wright College in 1998 to pursue nursing and advance his medical career, but a change in his employment status put that dream on hold. In the meantime, he made a transition…
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Desiree Morris
Everything is aligning at the perfect time for Medical Assisting student Desiree Morris. When the pandemic hit, Desiree was enrolled at another school, where she was taking mostly virtual classes. It wasn’t a good fit. She stopped attending classes there and began researching alternatives. She knew she wanted to study healthcare at a school close…
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Gerardo & Miguel Gomez
Brothers Gerardo and Miguel Gomez have a lot in common, including their passion for medicine and helping others. That interest led them both to enroll in Malcolm X College’s Medical Assisting program. Born in Chicago but raised in Mexico, Gerardo and Miguel had to get accustomed to an entirely new culture and language when they…