Andrews student gets jump start in medicine
Sep. 17—By Ruth Campbell
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ANDREWS With plans to work toward her registered nurse degree, Ashley Reyes is firmly following in her brother Miguel's footsteps.
Ashley has earned her level 1 certificate in nursing and plans to apply to Odessa College in October to work toward her registered nurse designation.
Miguel Reyes is now a traveling nurse at University Medical Center in Lubbock.
Both were born in Oxnard, Calif., but spent most of their lives in Andrews. Her parents are Graciela and Armando Reyes. He is a CDL driver who works in the oilfield.
Her mother was a medical assistant at the cancer center and Medical Center Hospital in Odessa and is now a manger at the BlackGold gym. That prompted Ashley to start thinking about going into the medical field, but her interest got stronger once Miguel started in nursing.
She joined the licensed vocational nurse program at Andrews High School through Odessa College her junior year. The first year was mostly book learning, making it tough for some to decide if they truly like the field.
When she started her clinical work, she said the work became more intense and she began to understand how everything they were learning in books applied and how it affected lives.
"That's where I decided I was like, OK, this is the real deal. This is what I want to do," Reyes said.
She plans to apply to the RN program at Odessa College in October and if she is accepted, she will start in January.
Reyes is currently working at Permian Regional Medical Center in Andrews in family medicine and in the BlackGold Health and Fitness. She plans to continue working for the hospital on an as-needed basis once she starts the RN program.
"I want to go for my nurse practitioner, specifically in aesthetics, so the cosmetic side of nursing. I thought working here at family medicine would give me a little insight on the clinic setting," Reyes said.
She wasn't surprised that she liked medicine, and she enjoys the feeling of being able to help others.
"I always thought I was going to be good at this. I thought I could do it. Obviously, I didn't know until I tried it, and I could have easily been shocked with a different outcome. But I had a good feeling that I was going to like healthcare and working with people and helping them," Reyes said.
She added that having an older brother who has gone through the same steps as she is going through, or has already achieved, is very helpful.
"... You don't know really what you're getting into until you get there. You only know the book stuff. But with Miguel, he kind of gave me some insight, some tips ... He helped me make job decisions on where to work; what was more beneficial to me and what was going to take a toll on me and what wasn't, so it was very helpful to have Miguel," Reyes said.
Miguel came to Andrews to pin Ashley.
"I knew I wanted him to pin me the entire time, but I knew he was also busy," Reyes said.
She told him that if he could pin her it would mean a lot to her.
"When I found out that Miguel was the first high school class to graduate here through the LVN program, and him being the first dual credit student my instructors got to have and knowing that I was going to be their last one because they were moving forward to the RN program, was a big deal to me. I just thought it would be very nice for them to experience that with us, as well," Reyes said.
She said Miguel Reyes has his RN and bachelor of nursing and plans to return to school soon for a CRNA, which he said is like a nurse anesthesiologist.
"He's getting all his pre-reqs done for that right now," Ashley Reyes said.
She added that she gave a speech at her pinning to represent her class of eight through Andrews High School.
"It meant so much to me to have me to have Miguel pin me, and I mentioned it in my speech. And I remember reading my speech through the first time, and my voice cracking like when I got to the paragraph about Miguel, and it was just like, oh my gosh, like. ... It's just so emotional for me. It just felt amazing to have him pin me. It was a like a gift to not only my instructors, but my parents as well," Ashley Reyes said.
Ashley is one of three siblings. The youngest wants to go into welding and is taking the course at Andrews High.
Reyes said her parents helped them get through their schooling.
She added that knows her mom is happy for her and Miguel, but tries not to show it too much so they won't get big heads.
"We could just feel the love from her," Reyes said.
For his part, Miguel Reyes said he is very proud of his sister and for her future.
"I was grateful for the opportunity of pinning her," he said.
Miguel Reyes became at LVN in October 2018 and an RN in December 2019, becoming one of the youngest in the state to achieve that milestone.
Even before hearing about dual credit, Miguel Reyes said he was always looking for advanced classes. He took honors classes in middle school. In high school, he found out about dual credit and went for it.
His freshman year, he was overwhelmed by the schedule. Sophomore year, he started playing baseball, but had to drop it in favor of academics.
He has found his vocation though, and now his sister is following in his footsteps while carving a path of her own.
