Antionette Fleming is graduating from Hostos’
License Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program this spring and one step closer toward her goal of someday training the nurses of tomorrow.
“I want to help people, but what drew me to nursing was the education behind it,” she explained. “In the past, I’ve had some really good professors who were nurse educators, nurse administrators, and I saw how they embodied nursing and taught nurses to be better nurses, and that is exactly what I want to do.”
Determined to make her dream a reality, the 30-year-old Harlem resident researched local LPN programs and was ultimately drawn to the Hostos Allied Health department’s competitive program offerings. “I really researched Hostos and asked questions,” she said. “I wanted to know what support they had. I wanted to know if there was an opportunity to do an LPN to RN program. And I wanted to know what the passing rates were and how they prepare you for the exams. What drew me to Hostos is they had all of that, and they are culturally competent. Everything at Hostos is what I was looking for.”
Antionette described her experience at Hostos as “absolutely amazing,” and said she appreciates how encouraging everyone, especially in her program, has been. “Every single professor that I have had from starting my nursing journey up until graduating has been super supportive; it’s like a mini family,” she shared. “Everybody is there helping. Everybody is there to have your back, not just as a nursing student but also as a person. They really work in all the dimensions of wellness to make sure that you succeed.”
Antionette is currently the LPN Class President and will be the third person in her family to graduate from the College; two of her sisters are Hostos graduates. She looks forward to taking her State Board exam this summer and returning to enroll in the College’s RN program next spring.
As she prepares to pass the torch to new and prospective LPN students, she advises: “Study hard, don’t give up. It is an amazing, rewarding program, going into an amazing, rewarding field. Go to the nursing department, talk to the professors, sit down and do advisement, and really research and make sure that nursing is something that you want to do.”