Local students prepare for nursing careers through Lenoir Community College pathway
Four local students who recently graduated from high school are preparing to enter specialized hospital units after completing a nursing pathway through Lenoir Community College.
Alexander Renteria and Cailyn Shivar, both South Lenoir High School graduates, and Joanna Yanez and Faith Stalnaker, both Lenoir County Early College High School graduates, are part of a group of young nursing students preparing to move into patient care roles at age 20. Each said they are headed into a different area of hospital work, including emergency care, cardiac intensive care, neuro intensive care and the operating room.
Renteria said he reached out about sharing their story because of how unusual it felt to see four young people from Lenoir County entering health care so early in life.
“We’re not even allowed to buy alcohol legally, but we can go out in the field and take care of people, push meds that can save people’s lives,” Renteria said. “I just thought that was so amazing.”
Shivar said she did not know the pathway existed until she transferred from Spring Creek High School to South Lenoir High School. She said guidance counselor Candace “Candy” Tindall encouraged her to look at Lenoir Community College, the guaranteed scholarship and the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses program, known as RIBN.
“She said, ‘You need to do this. You need to go to LCC. You need to apply for the guaranteed scholarship, and you need to do RIBN,’” Shivar said.
Through the program, Shivar said students could begin nursing school shortly after high school and continue toward a bachelor’s degree. Now, two years after graduating from high school, she is preparing to work in a cardiac ICU.
“Being 20 years old, we just graduated high school two years ago,” Shivar said. “And now I’m going to a cardiac ICU. I know they’re all going to big places too. And we can get meds, and we can do things that save people’s lives at 20.”
Yanez said her path began with uncertainty. She knew she wanted to help people, but she was not sure how she could make the greatest impact. She said Lenoir County Early College High School Principal Mr. Santaman and adviser Mr. Green helped guide her toward nursing school.
“They both guided me and told me that I should go into nursing school, that Lenoir Community College has a great nursing program,” Yanez said.
Yanez said she completed her prerequisites, applied to the program and realized during the process that nursing was the right fit.
“It just felt right,” she said. “It’s very hard to explain, but it just felt right.”
Stalnaker said she will begin working in the neuro ICU at ECU Health in Greenville in July. She said she did not always expect nursing to be her career path, although she had long wanted to help people.
Growing up, Stalnaker said her mother, who is a nurse, served as a role model.
“She’s always inspired me,” Stalnaker said. “She’s very caring and nurturing, and I look up to her a lot.”
Stalnaker said she completed a two-year arts degree through Lenoir Community College while attending early college, then decided to pursue nursing.
“I just decided to go for it,” Stalnaker said. “I think this is what’s meant for me, and I’m so glad I did.”
The students said they shared a sense that nursing was more than a career choice.
“We all kind of share that same, it was put on our heart and we were called to do it,” Shivar said.
Renteria said he had an early interest in health care but did not know whether he wanted to pursue medicine or nursing. He said he began taking high school classes in eighth grade while living in Duplin County, then transferred to South Lenoir High School after COVID-19 disrupted school.
“I transferred over to South Lenoir, and I think that was the best decision I ever made,” Renteria said.
He said staff at South Lenoir helped him identify the courses and prerequisites he needed for nursing programs. Although he said he started behind some Lenoir County students, he caught up and finished fifth in his class.
Renteria said his interest in health care was also shaped by time spent in hospitals with a close family member who had chronic health issues and died during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being in the hospital a lot with her really impacted me to go into health care and just seeing the care the nurses provided as well,” Renteria said.
The students said COVID-19 affected their school years in different ways. Shivar said her eighth-grade year ended abruptly, and her freshman year of high school also was affected. Stalnaker said the pandemic created uncertainty about whether she would finish her early college degree on time and whether that would affect her ability to qualify for the RIBN program.
The students said support from family, school staff and classmates helped them complete the program.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” Stalnaker said. “I’m very thankful for my support system.”
Yanez said she was grateful for support during long nights and exams. Shivar said family support mattered, but classmates who understood the pressure of nursing school also played an important role.
“I could not imagine going through nursing school without having the friends I have because it’s so hard,” Shivar said. “You need somebody that understands what you’re going through.”
Stalnaker said the nursing students formed a special bond because they understood each other’s challenges.
Shivar said that connection extended beyond the four students.
“Our whole class is, we’re all close,” Shivar said. “This is not the first time the four of us have sat down and talked. Like, we all talk.”
