A man has proudly shared his achievement after graduating as a nurse at the same hospital where he used to work as a janitor.
29-year-old Frank Baez was just a teen when he took on a job as a janitor at New York University Tisch Hospital to help his mother out with paying the bills.
During the years he was responsible for cleaning hallways and patient rooms, Baez never forgot about or stopped working on realizing his dream to become a nurse.
After over a decade of hard work and successful completion of an intense 15-month-long program, Frank secured a college degree and officially became a nurse.
“I could barely speak English at the time when I started working at NYU. Now I reflect on it and I feel very proud of how much I accomplished,” the former janitor who moved from the Dominican Republic to the States at the age of 15 said in an interview with Good Morning America.
Despite being happy to earn enough money to help out his parents, Baez eventually quit his job as a janitor in order to pursue his passion.
“I was hoping that I would be able to care for patients in Spanish. I wanted to work with underserved populations,” he expressed before explaining he appreciates to have had the chance to work with NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital staff.
“I felt inspired by them to become a nurse, so I told them ‘I want to be a nurse like you guys.’ I was inspired by their work and everything they do for their patients. I learned how much they advocate for their patients and the passion they have for their job.”
While finishing up his studies, Baez kept on working full-time and barely had the time to eat and sleep. Fortunately, his dedication helped him realize his dreams.
Praising the young man was Nataly Pasklinsky, the NYU nursing school director of simulation learning, who used to inspire Baez back then when she used to work as a nurse.
“It’s amazing because you are like ‘Oh my God, I just learned this and look at them, they’re doing it.’ Our program is extremely rigorous. Frank didn’t just kind of make the program, barely getting through. He flew through it with flying colors,” she said.
Speaking of his success story, 29-year-old Frank added:
“I was never an A student. I just studied a lot and worked a lot. Of course, there were times I doubted myself, but then I felt that I wanted to do something more for myself, that I deserved better, that I wanted to continue to move forward and grow and go on with my life. What I did was, I never gave up.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
Replaced!