Vivian Soto received her Certified Nursing Assistant pin during a ceremony Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at Ascension St. Vincent Riverside. Soto says she plans to become a traveling nurse. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 8, 2025 at 12:15 pm
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Vivian Soto thought she wanted to be an attorney.
Her experience within the medical magnet program at Westside High School illuminated a new career path. Vivian plans to become a traveling nurse. The first step in her journey was receiving her Certified Nursing Assistant pin this week.
Vivian is one of 16 Westside students who were part of the inaugural class that will graduate high school with a diploma as well as a Certified Nursing Assistant certificate.
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“I’m so proud of not just myself, but my classmates,” Vivian says. “To do this between balancing out our other classes along with things, school activities that we have outside of school, it was a journey and it was a roller coaster. One thing about it is we all pushed through it. It was a great experience.”
The Westside students took the Certified Nursing Assistant Examination from the Florida Board of Nursing.
Duval County Public Schools and Ascension St. Vincent’s created a partnership in 2022. It gives students real-world experience where they are taught by registered nurses like Westside High Nursing Academy instructor Christopher McNealy and Jowann Wade, Ascension’s career and technical education specialists.
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Atlantic Coast High School has a similar Certified Nursing Assistant partnership with the Mayo Clinic. Their first cohort will complete their CNA training next year.
“It gives you a balance of the real world,” Vivian says. “We weren’t just in classrooms studying. We actually went out to clinicals ourselves and got to explore how it feels to be in the medical field.”
As Certified Nursing Assistants they will be charged with providing dignity during a time of despair and compassion amid a crisis. There are other duties, which are executed under the supervision of a registered nurse. Other health care professionals consider CNAs the heartbeat of their industry.
Vivian says she and her classmates were not only taught perseverance through the process, they possess skills they can return to if other professional pursuits are unsuccessful.
“Today is more than a celebration of your accomplishments,” keynote speaker Lorrie Sarver reminded the Westside graduates. “That means you’re not just crossing the finish line. … You are the spark that starts a legacy.”
Sarver is the director of emergency services for Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside, Arlington and St. Johns campuses. She says nursing assistants may not garner the headlines and social media hashtags. Their power comes from their ability to build bridges between the medical profession and patients.
In December, The Florida Nurse, a publication geared toward nursing professionals, provided nine recommendations for nurses and health care professionals to foster equity and greater trust among patients.
Among them: Provide cultural competency training; address socioeconomic factors through community engagement; and use health literacy strategies to better inform the public.
In some ways, CNAs will be asked to do all three in their careers.
Ascension St. Vincent Riverside’s director of nursing, Jennifer Smith, says the Westside students set a foundation with their professionalism, willingness to work and learn as well as with their flexibility.
“The first day, when they came, they jumped off the bus and they were just excited, big-eyed, fresh and willing to learn,” Smith says. “It was breathtaking. It just made my day to see them. … They had their cute little stethoscopes on and they were just ready to go. I just really appreciated that and fell in love with them.”
Smith may embody how far one can take an entry into the medical field.
She is a Wolfson graduate — and Duval Schools parent — who started in the medical profession as a nursing care technician. She has since become a registered nurse and earned a doctorate in nursing.
There will be a need for medical professionals in Florida, a state with a growing and aging population.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 4% growth for nursing assistants in the 10-year period between 2023 and 2033. There are more than 216,000 nursing assistants nationwide. The 7,210 nursing assistants in greater Jacksonville represent more than 1% of the local workforce.
Locally, the median salary for nursing assistants is $36,780. That figure may be lower than the national average, but for the Westside students, it’s a door to an opportunity.
Deborah Denson barely contained her tears when she was pinned. She plans to start her career with the CNA certification, then become a registered nurse.
Deborah initially didn’t know about Westside’s medical magnet when she started high school. McNealy pulled her aside while she was walking the halls one day and encouraged her to consider the nursing assistant program.
“I’m not going to lie. At first I was a little scared,” Deborah says. “I was shy. We had to stand in front of the class. We had to do the vital signs and everything. Once I got comfortable, and I got to learn my classmates, and Mr. McNealy helped me with everything, it was great!”
The 18-year-old says McNealy and her mother, Shelly Eason, were consistently in her ear reminding her she can achieve her dream.
“Sometimes I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t think I would do (well) on the test,” Deborah says. “I was self-doubting myself. But, my mom she was like ‘You’ve got this. You’ve studied. You always wanted to do this. So, just take the test, breathe and take your time.’”
She passed.
Denson, who was named after an Old Testament woman known for her leadership and wisdom, says her faith carried her.
“It was hard. At the same time, with everybody around me, pushing me and wanting the best for me. Having them beside me has just made me who I am.”
As she completed the thought, evening prayers at the Catholic hospital could be heard over the loudspeaker.
