The KEYS to Success
The LPN to RN Transition program at LCCC is designed as a bridge for current licensed practical nurses to complete their AAS degree in nursing and obtain licensure as a registered nurse. For Veronica Gaya, 2022 graduate, the program offered a new way of life and the key to the career of her dreams. The flexibility the program offered her as a mother of two young children was invaluable. “I liked that I was able to take a break after the LPN coursework,” she says. “They understand that life happens, so you’re able to break and join when you’re ready.”
Receiving her RN from LCCC has held many career benefits for Gaya. While she currently works for Maxim Healthcare Services in Allentown, she notes that with each new nursing certification she attains, “I see the respect level increase among my colleagues and patients.” She is actively working toward entering the mental healthcare profession through work with various clinics and rehabilitation centers.
In working toward her professional goals, Gaya knew she would have to start with earning her various certifications. She credits LCCC’s diverse Donley Center student population and convenient class offerings as what initially interested her. While she only planned to earn her prerequisites at LCCC, connecting with passionate faculty sparked a drive to continue at the Donley Center for the remainder of her nursing education.
Of course, returning to college as a single mother of two is never an easy thing to do. If it wasn’t for the Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) program, Gaya isn’t sure she would have been able to succeed as she did. “I needed daycare to watch my kids,” she says, “and I didn’t know where to look. Diana Sweigert and Dolores Zabrecky [KEYS Coordinators] helped me find it, along with scholarships for single moms.” The KEYS program allowed her to sort out the technicalities of how to go back to school, which she says allowed her to focus all her energy into her schoolwork.
During her academic journey, Gaya faced many life hardships that resulted in becoming unhoused for a brief time. “I hit rock bottom when I got an eviction notice for being late with rent constantly,” she says. “I went to class confused and had planned on dropping out the next morning in order to work full-time.” Disappointed and unsure of her opportunity for success at college, she leaned on the resources around her, including a classmate and friend who referred her to Turner Street Apartments, a branch of the Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown. There, she participated in a housing program for individuals pursuing vocational training. “I was able to move in shortly after and complete my LPN Program while at the shelter.” She has since moved to her own house in Whitehall.
On May 15, 2024, Gaya was recognized at Sixth Street Shelter Day for completing her program while at the shelter. “When I ended up at the shelter, I was broken,” she says. “But I had a really great mentor—Robbie Matthews, the director—helped me change my perspective. Instead of looking at my time at the shelter as a negative thing, I thought, what good could come out of it?” While completing the LPN requirements of the program, Gaya lived at the shelter to get back on her feet, setting her up for hard-work-driven success for her RN requirements. She continues to collaborate with Matthews for upcoming community service projects.
Gaya plans to take a short break, but not too short, before attending Chamberlain University for her bachelor’s degree. She will then earn her master’s, and perhaps a doctorate in conjunction with continuing to pave a path for herself in the mental health field. “There is a clear ladder you can climb in nursing,” she says, “which is awesome because I can just keep laddering to the top.”
In reflecting on her educational journey so far, Gaya has become a firm believer in the power of positive thinking. “Time at the shelter allowed me to change the trajectory of my thinking,” she says. “I was able to stop operating from being a victim and take accountability for how I got there.” She hopes other students will internalize this philosophy when approaching their own learning and paving their own paths. “If you have a positive mentality, you’re able to accomplish anything.”
For information regarding the LPN to RN program, click here. For information regarding the KEYS program, click here.
