Greensboro Reporter

Having inherited her grandmother's caring attitude, high school senior Talena Herrera has decided to dedicate her life to becoming a nurse.

The 18-year-old has recently been acting as a caretaker for her grandmother, which contributed to her ambitions, WFMY News 2 reported.

"She has really seen the impact that effective nursing care can do," Susan Chappell, principal of East Randolph High School, told WFMY News 2. "She really wants to be able to embody that and I think she will."

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing many people to rethink such a career, Herrera said it's important that the right kind of people pursue the job.

Herrera began tending to her grandmother after a recent diagnosis, WFMY News 2 reported.

"She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and then a week after, we found out she's at stage 4," Herrera told WFMY News 2. "She is the sweetest woman, and I think I get that from her. I pick up a lot of traits that she has. She teaches me to be as nice as you can to everyone. She loves putting other people before herself. So, she loves taking care of others just as much as I do."

Chappell envisions Herrera as the ideal candidate for nursing, WFMY News 2 reported.

"She is very self-aware, but she's also very good at reading people, anticipating their needs, facilitating others to help meet those needs, if she can do it herself, she'll jump in and do it," Chappell said.

Herrera said she wants to do it because she wants to help people feel better, mentally and physically.

"Knowing that people are going to feel loved, taken care of, and knowing that the passion of the work is way more than pay," Herrera said. "Just overall … saying 'oh I'm a nurse.' No, I want to be a nurse for the right reasons. Anything to venture off into it, I'm open, and I'm open to the new venture."