Cynthia Solis, a Nursing student at Harcum College, was raised by a family of caregivers. Her mother, a nurse, cared for her grandmother and worked in various healthcare settings throughout Mexico and the United States. She invoked in Solis a strong desire to help others.

Also, her brother serves as an emergency department nurse in their hometown of Nogales, Ariz., on the border of Mexico.

Entering the healthcare field as a CNA in 2011, Solis worked in acute-care and short-term rehabilitation facilities in Portland, Ore. It wasn’t long before she discovered that she loved working with the older adult population. This led her to pursue her RN license. She is on track to graduate from Harcum’s Nursing Program in May 2021. Her ultimate goal is to gain experience working in home care in underserved communities and pursue her BSN.

Her road to success has been met with several obstacles. When the pandemic started, Solis was in the midst of her second semester at Harcum. Transitioning to learning remotely from home was no small task. She lost her full-time job and was unable to continue with physical therapy treatments for a pre-existing medical issue. Although she was in chronic pain, lacked sleep, and was assisting her fiancé with caring for aging parents, she remained steadfast and continued with her classes. She appreciates the length the nursing faculty and her classmates went to stay connected and support one another through this unusual time.

Just as she was settling into this new way of living and learning, she tested positive for COVID-19. She received treatment and recovered. To show her gratitude for being fortunate to survive, she chose to donate her plasma. Her donation can help to heal as many as three people.

There was no question Solis had to donate, because service and healing are in her blood – quite literally.

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