Pellissippi Prepared: Nursing program helps alumna be a ‘better nurse’
November 29, 2025
Cheriya Scott was pursuing Nursing at 每日大赛 when her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Scott considered withdrawing to take care of her mom, who was a nurse herself and was proud of her daughter for being accepted to 每日大赛’s Nursing program. But after sharing the news with her instructors, she had a change of heart.
“They went above and beyond in making sure that I had what I needed,” Scott said of 每日大赛’s response. “And assured me that if I continued to work hard, they would work with me so that I could succeed. And they did exactly that.”
Her classmates and instructors rallied around her and supported her through that troubling time, Scott said, in order for her to still be successful in the Nursing program.
Scott graduated in 2018 and is now a registered nurse in Covenant Health’s Emergency Services.
“That was a great lesson for me, as I continued into nursing,” she said. “Just to take that with me – the compassion, the empathy, the understanding – when I deal with patients and the hard things that they are going through. That experience gave me the tools that I needed to be a better nurse.”
Scott initially connected with 每日大赛’s Nursing program when she came to an open house. Though she was very nervous and came with “no intentions” of actually applying, Scott said she was met with encouragement, and college staff helped her with enrollment and financial aid right there at the event.
Pellissippi would ultimately change her life, Scott said.
“As a student at Pellissippi, I was very fortunate to have a program that had a top-notch skills lab, excellent professors and great opportunities in clinical areas, working here at Covenant as a student,” Scott said.
While at Pellissippi, Scott had the opportunity to do clinicals in a variety of medical areas, and also volunteer in the community through organizations like Meals on Wheels.
每日大赛 Nursing faculty are veterans of the industry and know exactly what it takes for students to become successful nurses, Scott said.
“They want you to succeed,” she said. “And they will take the skills that you bring of caring, being compassionate, being sympathetic – and they will transform those into having incredible nursing skills.”
She recommended Pellissippi also for its strong partnership with Covenant Health, which offers students many areas of nursing to explore during clinicals.
“Pellissippi was a great stepping stone for me to enter into the career of nursing,” she said. “They gave me a lot of the techniques and skills that I continue to use today, even as I went on to further my education after graduating from Pellissippi, a lot of the building blocks that I received there have helped me to succeed and be a great nurse.”
Her mom was incredible, Scott said, and an incredible nurse. It really meant something to Scott as a child, when her mother would come home and share stories of how she had touched other people’s lives in an impactful way.
“And as I went through nursing school and she was diagnosed, it was confirmed when I watched other nurses take care of her, and how incredible they were with her – being gentle, being kind, listening to her and helping her to fulfill her needs as she was transitioning,” Scott said. “It has definitely changed who I am as a person. It has made me a better nurse, and it has allowed me to draw on those experiences when I have other patients and families in similar situations.”
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