Man Graduates with Nursing Degree from NYU Where He Started out as a Janitor

A man graduated with a nursing degree from the prestigious New York University after working there as a janitor.

Frank Baez was only a teenager when he started working as a janitor in New York University's Langone Tisch Hospital. His job had him cleaning patient rooms, hallways, and bathrooms. Now, at 29-years-old, he graduated with a nursing degree from the very same school.

Frank's Roots

According to Frank, he was an immigrant who could barely speak English when he started working at NYU. He moved to New York from the Dominican Republic with his mom, and since then, he's worked hard to achieve his goals.

"I could barely speak English at the time when I started working at NYU. Now, I reflect on it and I feel very proud of how much I accomplished."

He worked at such a young age to help support his family, and thanks to his job, he was intrigued by the medical field. After doing a great job, he was promoted from janitor to patient transporter, tasked to take patients to and from their rooms for surgeries and tests.

The fruits of his labor

After earning enough money to go to school, he got a bachelor's degree from Hunter College, making him the first person in his entire family to finish college. However, Baez was always drawn to NYU, and he decided to go back to where it all started.

"While working [at NYU] with the nurses, I realized I wanted to be one of them. I learned how much they advocate for their patients and the passion they have for their job."

Baez was then encouraged by the nurses at the school to apply to the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, where he was accepted into an accelerated program that allowed him to graduate with a nursing degree in just 15 months.

A promising man

According to Director of Simulation Learning at the NYU College of Nursing Natalya Pasklinsky, Frank wasn't a mediocre student, especially since the program he entered was extremely rigorous. He did it well.

"Our program is extremely rigorous. Frank didn't just kind of make the program, barely getting through. He flew through it with flying colors."

Pasklinsky was a nurse while Baez was a janitor back in high school. She was there when he was promoted, and remembers just how much he cared for the patients.

"The way he interacted with patients, to me showed a lot of compassion. In my mind, he’s a star. I think he's going to be a fantastic nurse."

Indeed, Frank is a promising nurse, graduating with a 3.6 GPA. While he admits he was never an A student, he really persevered and studied hard. His next goal is to become a critical care nurse in an intensive care unit.

Congratulations, Frank!