Graduate Spotlight – Meet Lashon Harris

Lashon is a recent graduate of our Registered Nursing (LVN to RN) associate degree program at our Sacramento campus; a program that enables Licensed Vocational Nurses (LNVs) to advance their career and become Registered Nurses (RNs). Having served in the military and been an LVN for eleven years, Lashon is an ambitious woman who wanted to advance her career. She wants to make a difference by improving the quality of patient care, and improving the way nurses are treated; “I want to be able to make rules and set examples; Carrington College California started me on that path because now I can move on and get my MSN degree (Master of Science in Nursing), and maybe I can become CEO of a hospital some day!” Lashon chose Carrington College California because there was no waiting list, and she could start her RN career immediately. She had been on a another school’s waiting list for a year or more, but she just wanted to get on with her life, get the program done quickly, and get back to spending quality time with her daughter. “At the orientation they explained how intensive the eight month program is; the instructors said we shouldn’t work as we won’t have time, and we should kiss our family on the cheek every once in a while, as we won’t see much of them!” Despite the intensity of the LVN to RN program, Lashon found Carrington to be a very relaxed, and very structured learning environment; “The first couple of weeks were hard; I doubted myself because you have to go from a LVN way of thinking to an RN way of thinking. But we were able to relax, feel comfortable, and get the job done and learn what we needed to learn.” “The instructors were like mentors; my instructor was constantly in my head telling me ‘you can do this Lashon!’ They were always there for us, someone was always available to answer a question. They took time with each student, everyone got attention. I loved the fact that they were teaching me how to become an RN, while allowing me to be me! I can learn in that environment.” And Lashon found that she formed a unique bond with her classmates; “We supported each other because we wanted every last one of us to graduate.  It was a real team building experience, and I appreciated that because I left Carrington with friends that I’m going to have for life!” The biggest highlight of the program for Lashon was the externship; she worked in the PACU department [post-anesthesia care unit] and discovered that her assessment skills had to be really sharp. “I loved it; everything came together. You learn so much information, but when you get to that externship and you don’t have the instructor over your shoulder, all of it somehow comes together, and that’s when you realize “hey I can do this!”” Thanks for volunteering to be in our spotlight Lashon; Happy Holidays and good luck with your nursing career! For comprehensive consumer information, please visit https://carrington.edu/degrees/registered-nursing/