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NWACC Nursing Student Kick Started Degree in High School
Emmanuel Garcia Peralta is motivated - He’s motivated to learn, motivated to serve, and motivated to make a positive impact in others’ lives.
Emmanuel, or “Manny” started as a freshman at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) in the Fall of 2018 with 21 credit hours already in place. He had taken concurrent courses in high school as a part of NWACC’s Early College Experience Program. Manny has big plans to earn an associate degree at NWACC and then move on to earn a bachelor of science in nursing.
Juanita Franklin, director of the LIFE Program, says even with all of those credits already logged, he didn’t take the summer off after finishing high school. “He didn’t even wait for the Fall semester to start his freshman year,” she says. “Instead, he started in the summer and earned another seven hours.”
Juanita nominated Manny for the Golden Eagle Award, which he received in March 2018. The Golden Eagle designation is awarded six times per year to students who demonstrate outstanding commitment to education, leadership and service.
“I first met Emmanuel when he attended the LIFE Program in the summer of 2016 after his junior year of high school,” Juanita said. “He stood out right away as someone that I knew would grow to be a student leader, and he has done so! He attended again the summer of his senior year and I noticed how much more he had grown in his confidence and commitment to his education.”
Emmanuel applied for, and was selected, for one of eight prestigious positions of LIFE mentor volunteers. LIFE is an outreach program directed to first-generation high school students to help them see college in their futures, Juanita explained. “Mentors volunteer countless hours in area high schools recruiting students for the free program and in the community raising scholarship funds,” she said. “Manny is respected by his co-mentors and other students.”
Manny volunteered in high school and now at NWACC as a LIFE mentor. “I volunteer at events such as the community races like the RunBentonville Series and J.B. Hunt picnics,” he said. He’s also involved in the DREAMers at NWACC club, where he has participated in marches and volunteered at food sales.
“These two clubs I participate in help me build up my leadership and communication skills, as well as interacting with our students and peers,” he said. “Not only do I personally build up to being a better person, but knowing that volunteering for events like I am doing, can make a BIG impact in someone’s life.”
In his future nursing career, Manny knows he can impact patients by providing peace and healing. “My degree will open up to many job opportunities that will allow me to reach out to the community and help those in need," he said. "Having the privilege of being bilingual, I have a personal goal to work in a place where I can help people not only to recover from illness, but have the peace that someone who speaks the same language will be taking care of them.”
There’s a Place for You Here.
Visit nwacc.edu or call 479-986-4000 to learn more about choosing a higher education with NWACC.