PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is only the first step in Taylor Ann Perry’s path toward a career in nursing, with her ultimate aspiration being either a chief nursing officer for a hospital or the dean of nursing at her soon-to-be alma mater, Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). For the Houston native, her career dreams all started with dual family diagnoses.
“When my sister was diagnosed with epilepsy about five years ago, being around nurses in particular put into perspective what I wanted to do as a career,” Perry said. “After a while, I was not just researching medications and different neurological disorders because my sister was experiencing a life-altering disorder, I really found joy in wanting to cultivate ways to improve the lives of others in the same situation as her.”
A few years after her sister’s diagnosis, Perry’s father suffered a severe stroke, leaving him with right-sided paralysis and expressive aphasia. “During this time, I was consumed with devastation and anger,” Perry said, “but after consulting with the nurse about my father and his current condition, my attitude began to change. The nurse did not offer any false sense of hope; instead, it was her empathy toward my family and me that put things into a more positive perspective. Oftentimes, I wonder whether nurses ever realize that the smallest of actions make all the difference in life-altering situations. That is the same impact that I want to make in other people’s lives.”
Perry said she has always had an interest in the medical field, but she couldn’t find a career within it that she felt suited her. “The versatility and holistic approach of nursing are what initially attracted me,” said Perry. “When I was introduced to nursing, I instantly gravitated to the one-on-one experience between the nurse and the patient.”
Not the first person in her family to attend college, Perry is the first to graduate with a nursing degree (the others have studied education). Her career pursuit will continue after she graduates from PVAMU at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, where she has her sights on an MSN in Healthcare Organizational Leadership. At the same time, she will work as a registered nurse in Johns Hopkins’ Neurosciences/Neurosurgery Unit and Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Though Perry received nursing job offers from Duke University Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic, she saw Johns Hopkins as the best fit — “a world-renowned hospital that has the same philosophy as me.”
Perry credits her involvement with numerous organizations at PVAMU with boosting her confidence, including the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students (which she served as president) and the College of Nursing (vice president). She was also a member of the Honors Program, Prairie View Student Nurses Association, National Student Nurses Association, Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, and Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society. In addition, she held two internships: a student nurse technician at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and AmeriCorps VISTA at Epilepsy Foundation Texas (EFTX). “Those are two totally different fields, but both align with my ‘why,’” said Perry. “I was able to practice my nursing and leadership skills at both. All of my memberships aided my development as a scholar; every organization served a different purpose, and they all cohesively made me into the young professional that I am today.”
Perry sees PVAMU, particularly the Honors Program, as having given her the professional foundation and development that she needs to achieve her career goals. And being a student in the Honors Program has opened doors for many opportunities that she feels she would not have experienced otherwise, including going to China twice in one summer. “The second of those trips was through the Zhi-Xing China Student Fellowship, and it was an experience that I will cherish for a lifetime,” Perry said.
Perry advises Prairie View A&M students to “know their ‘why’” before choosing a major, and to understand that no path forward is completely smooth.
“I truly believe that ‘Prairie View Produces Productive People,’ but the road to get there may have some bumps,” Perry said. “But, if they are truly passionate about their chosen field, they’ll prosper in the end.”
By Andrew Cohen
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