Mount Vernon High School grads earn Certified Nursing Assistant credentials

After two years of intensive classroom instruction, clinical training and countless hours practicing patient-care skills, a group of Mount Vernon High School graduates can now proudly call themselves Certified Nursing Assistants.

The recent grads have passed the rigorous Prometric Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Exam, earning New York State certification and receiving their coveted pins following the completion of the school's two-year Career and Technical Education nursing assistant program.

The newly certified nursing assistants are Destiny Adair, Mizzen Bajramoski, Sophya Calixto, Chelsea Crenshaw, Marlon Delabanque, Yuliana Dominguez Rodriguez, Tamera Farrell, Cortelia Gilling, Emily Negrete, Raychel Persaud and Heidy Vaquero.

Their achievement represents the culmination of two years of intensive coursework and 108 hours of clinical training at United Hebrew Senior Living in New Rochelle, where students cared for residents while developing both technical skills and compassion.

'Kind, compassionate and intuitive'

"I am so beyond proud of this amazing group of students," Nursing Instructor Bonnie Ball said. "They are kind, compassionate and intuitive of patient needs. Becoming certified nursing assistants is only the beginning of their success."

The certification follows the students' completion of the district's challenging nursing assistant pathway, which Principal Dr. Pauline Pearce previously described as requiring students to balance academics, clinical hours and personal responsibilities while developing the compassion essential to healthcare.

For Marlon, the experience transformed what initially seemed like an overwhelming amount of information into practical skills that confirmed his career aspirations.

"For the past two years, this program was packed with a bunch of information that I didn't think I could grasp properly," Marlon said. "But over time I gained more understanding of what I was actually learning, which helped me develop the actual skills required to participate in clinicals."

During their clinical rotations, students worked directly with residents, assisting with activities of daily living while learning the importance of communication, dignity and empathy.

"It helped me understand that this job is not an easy job," Marlon said. "It's something that you have to get used to."
He said the experience of helping residents reinforced his desire to pursue nursing.

"The feeling of understanding that what you've helped someone do will probably impact their livelihood is really fulfilling," he said.

"Even stopping by and saying hello to a resident because they haven't heard from their family in a month or two, and seeing the smile on their face because you made their day — it's really enjoyable.”

Rewarding career also for males

Although the certification exam was stressful, Marlon said the challenge was worthwhile.

"It was definitely a trial," he said. "You can tell they're observing everything you're doing, and you become more aware of the mistakes you make."

Marlon plans to pursue nursing and hopes to work in medical-surgical nursing. As the only male student in the certification group, he also hopes more young men will consider healthcare careers.

"I don't assign a specific gender identity to a career," he said. "Not every woman wants to be a nurse, and not every man wants to be a nurse. There is no specific gender identity for being a CNA or being a nurse. It's just a job."

He added that increasing the number of men entering nursing would help address workforce shortages while strengthening patient care.

Destiny, meanwhile, said the program broadened her future opportunities even though she ultimately plans to pursue a legal career.

"I still continued with the program because I was already signed up for it, and I wanted to give it a shot," she said. "I like how our class went, and I feel like it opened up way more opportunities for me."

Those opportunities included making professional connections during clinical rotations.

"They were all asking us to come back and apply once we got our certification," Destiny said. "They saw our work ethic while we were inside the facility."

She credited Ms. Ball's preparation with helping students succeed on the certification exam, in which candidates must demonstrate mastery of both classroom knowledge and hands-on patient care skills.

Classroom knowledge, hands-on skills

 "We were doing skills basically every single day," Destiny said. "We went through every single skill probably three times. We watched YouTube videos and did a bunch of practice tests."

While she does not plan to become a nurse, Destiny said the experience taught her valuable skills that she will carry into her future career.

"I definitely gained advocacy skills because I had to advocate for myself as well as the residents," she said. "Sometimes you have to hold people accountable because the residents depend on you."

Sophya said the students quickly built meaningful relationships with residents during their clinical placements.

"I had so many residents that I still remember," Sophya said. "I would sometimes just sit and talk to them and ask them about their day. I really enjoyed clinicals. It was a really good stepping stone, not only for my CNA certification but also personally."

Sophya said earning certification after two years of hard work was especially rewarding.

"I feel really proud," she said. "Ms. Ball spent a lot of time with us, and I'm really grateful that it all paid off. It can also help me during college because I can work per diem or pick up shifts to help support myself."

The nursing assistants now enter the workforce with recognized professional credentials that will allow many of them to work while pursuing college degrees in nursing and other healthcare fields. Others plan to follow different career paths but say the compassion, communication and advocacy skills they developed through the program will remain with them for the rest of their lives.