Scott native continues family legacy of nursing
Haley Franklin’s graduation at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a launching pad for Franklin as she continues a family legacy of nursing and caring for her community.
A native of Scott, Franklin has a 3.74 grade point average and was scheduled to graduate May 11 with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
Franklin’s older sister, Erica, is a nurse who works at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Her younger sister, Sydney, is graduating from eSTEM Public Charter High School and also plans to major in nursing.
Franklin offers advice to young people striving to figure out their pathway in life.
“Invest in yourself first,” she said. “If you know you’re interested in a specific hobby or career, do some research for yourself. Try to network with a person in that field or in that hobby to get an insight into how it is from their perspective. Also, try to reach out to local people. I know many older people who like to invest in younger people who have a passion for something. Always try to put your name out there. Always connect with people. Always have faith. Always pray over your situations.”
Beyond her sisters’ nursing connections, both her grandmothers are certified nursing assistants. This familial influence, coupled with their summer visits to their grandmother in Magnolia, where they observed her caring for older adults, further solidified Franklin’s interest in nursing.
“My sister pursued nursing, and she used to tell me the stories of what she saw in clinicals and how and what you could be as a nurse, the different opportunities that you can get with the nursing degree and the license, of course,” Franklin said.
This piqued Franklin’s interest, and she thought it would be a good idea to pursue a nursing career at UAPB’s Department of Nursing Program. Franklin started her educational journey in the LIONS Program at UAPB. This program is a summer residential academic experience that assists new freshmen admitted to UAPB in successfully transitioning from high school and home to college life.
Franklin shared that her mother, Erika, is a realtor who once pursued nursing but did not like the “gruesome part” that included labs and dissecting animals. Her mother told her that her friends continued in the nursing field and were positive role models in her life despite her not choosing to go the nursing route.
Erika Franklin equipped them with the positivity that she re
ceived from her classmates. Her father, Eric Franklin, also served as a motivating force who urged them to work in healthcare.
For the past year, Haley Franklin has served as a patient care technician at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. She has also been a traveling CNA for the past two years at A Place At Home, a home healthcare service in Little Rock.
“The healthcare field is a never-ending field, so just try to find what you like, and nursing is a great step to start with to see if you actually want to care for people in the community,” Franklin said. “We just had great positive role models in the healthcare field to give us some insight into what we should do.”
Her supervisor at Arkansas Children’s Hospital knew that she was graduating and asked her if she wanted to rotate into the role of a registered nurse once she completed her licensure exam.
“Yes, Sure,” Franklin said she responded. “I was like, why not? I already know everyone there. I am comfortable with the employees. I know all the patients. I just thought that it was a good idea to rotate if I wanted to do pediatrics.”
She was excited about that opportunity and has also received an offer from Baptist Hospital in North Little Rock.
“I have two different options to choose from — either to work with geriatric patients or patients of all ages — both in the same unit, the Rehabilitation Unit,” she said. “It’s just (I am) trying to figure out at which hospital I really want to work, so right now, I am weighing my options on that.”
While at UAPB, Franklin has participated in several extracurricular activities that have enhanced her spiritually and academically.
She has been a member of Chi Alpha, a Christian organization on the UAPB campus.
“We have worship services every Thursday night. We have Bible study every Wednesday night, and (we’re) getting different perspectives on Bible verses. It’s a place where we can just vent or have therapy sessions amongst each other, all focusing on God,” she said.
She was also involved in SWAG (Students Working and Achieving Goals) Arkansas, an organization founded by her mother two years ago.
“It’s just a local organization where we’re all dedicated to giving high school students or middle school students in general different opportunities within the community,” Franklin said.
The program, which focuses on 9-12th grade students, has awarded local and national scholarships to help further education and meet financial needs. Vocational, professional, and healthcare-related summer camps are set up for students who want to strengthen their knowledge in the area of a specific career of interest.
Franklin was also a member of the Zero-Debt College Fund, a mentoring program for high school and college students. Monique Thompson, the program’s founder, resides in Texas and was one of her high school mentors.
Thompson knew her aunt and was helping one of Franklin’s cousins prepare for college. Thompson began showing Franklin how to apply for scholarships, prepare a college and professional resume, and helped her get ready for college life.
“After that, I transitioned to a member to help (and) do what she equipped me to do for other high school students,” she said.
Franklin said she began helping high school students with scholarships and served as a “tutor” by assisting them with resumes and cover letters. She also taught them to write papers and do assignments at a college level.
“In high school, I didn’t know how to do that. They only teach you at a high school level, but the college level is very different,” she said.