PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (May 11, 2023) – Graduating senior Morgan Redd entered Prairie View A&M University’s College of Nursing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have discouraged a less-determined future nurse. Redd, however, seized the learning opportunities. “I chose PVAMU because I knew that PVAMU’s College of Nursing is the best college in Texas for nursing education,” she said.
Her clinical experiences at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the largest medical center in the world, included rotations at Ben Taub Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, and St. Luke’s.
“Being able to have clinical rotations in the Texas Medical Center was an amazing experience most nursing students do not have. My rotations prepared me in a variety of clinical settings and also helped me explore different types of nursing roles,” she said.
Following graduation, Redd will begin her professional nursing career as an oncology stem cell transplant nurse at MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Because of my passion for cancer care, I am really looking forward to seeing positive outcomes after working with patients through difficult circumstances,” she said.
PVAMU has been fundamental in Redd’s professional and personal development. “I love the sense of community and black excellence at PVAMU. The University supported me through my nursing journey with grants, opportunities to join organizations, advisors, and mentorship,” Redd explained. She belonged to the Prairie View Nurses Association, where she was named Miss PVSNA 2019-2020; the Purple Jackets, where she served as historian in 2020-2021 and as Nursing Head Chair in 2022-2023; and the national nursing sorority Chi Eta Phi.
“Being a part of these organizations has left me with memories and friends to last a lifetime,” Redd said. “They made my experience at PVAMU better because I have grown the confidence to pursue leadership roles and strengthen my professional skills. I am especially forever grateful for the Purple Jackets organization—being surrounded with like-minded women while at PVAMU helped to enrich my personal values and the standards I set for myself,” she added.
Redd is also a proud first-generation student. “I am so grateful for my mom and to the professors at the College of Nursing who worked tirelessly to help me achieve this dream,” she said. “Graduating college means that I hold all the power that I need to change my life and that, alone or scared, anything is possible with God and a plan. I hope that my story is an inspiration to other first-generation students who feel the odds that are against them.”
Redd’s advice to current students: “Know that you can do anything you put your mind to; remember that the limits of other people do not limit you. Work hard, never give up, and DREAM BIG.”
Click here to view a complete listing of this semester’s notable graduates.
By Kelly Rusk
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