One New York University graduate knows the power of perseverance.
Frank Baez, 29, graduated from the university’s nursing school after working at the university hospital as a janitor when he was a teenager.
“What I did was, I never gave up,” Baez said.
Baez immigrated with his family from the Dominican Republic to New York when he was 15. He picked up a job as a janitor at NYU’s Langone Tisch Hospital to help support his family.
“I could barely speak English at the time when I started working at NYU,” Baez said.
Baez moved up to the position of patient transporter, and after he left his job to get his bachelor’s degree, he came back to work as a unit clerk at NYU.
“While working with the nurses, I realized I wanted to be one of them,” he said.
“I felt inspired by them to become a nurse, so I told them ‘I want to be a nurse like you guys,'” said Baez. “I was inspired by their work and everything they do for their patients.”
Baez graduated Monday with a nursing degree as a part of a 15-month program. He said he is working towards becoming a critical care nurse.
