When Emmy and her 22-year-old son Edwin walk across the stage to receive their nursing degrees, they’ll be celebrating not just their diplomas, but the journey they’ve shared. Originally from Tanzania, the mother-son duo supports each other through long nights of studying and balancing work and school—all to achieve their dream of becoming nurses.
For Emmy, that dream began at the International Institute of Minnesota. Though she arrived in the U.S. with a college education, she had to start over. “I didn’t know how to begin until someone told me about the Institute,” she said. Emmy enrolled in the Institute’s Nursing Assistant Training, where she built English and job skills, and later joined the College Readiness Academy, which gave her the confidence and tools to succeed in higher ed. Both programs are part of the Healthcare Career Pathway Program funded by DEED.
Inspired by his mother, Edwin enrolled in the same college prep program. “She said, ‘If you want to be a nurse, you can be a nurse. Nothing is impossible,” he said.
Today, Emmy is working as a Nursing Assistant while completing her associate degree to become a Registered Nurse. Edwin is pursuing his pre-nursing requirements while working part-time. They continue to lean on each other—and the support of the Institute—as they move toward their goals
