In recognition of National Nurses Week (May 6-12), NECC is proud to spotlight the students, faculty, and healthcare professional who make up the backbone of our nursing program. The following article highlights the personal journey of one NECC Nursing student, offering a glimpse into the dedication, challenges, rewards that define the path to becoming a registered nurse. His story is one of many— and a testament to what becomes possible when passion meets the right support.

Kaleb Bradish didn’t arrive at nursing in a straight line. He started in research, considered medical school, then became an EMT to test whether he could handle the weight of having someone’s life in his hands. What he discovered wasn’t just that he could— it was that he wanted more of it.

“I realized that the nurses did most of the care and spent most of their time with the patients,” he said. “I didn’t want to feel how I did when I was in the lab. I enjoy being with people, talking to them, listening to them, and making the people who come in for help feel heard, cared for, and calm.”

Now a nursing student at Northern Essex, Bradish is one of many students navigating one of healthcare’s most rigorous educational pathways— and doing so with the support of a program built for real people with real life constraints.

Ask Bradish how nursing school has changed his understanding of the profession, and he doesn’t hesitate. “The mental load of nurses is something that I think no one quite realizes,” he said. “The more you accomplish in school, the more you learn in the classroom— the more you realize how much you don’t know and still have to learn.”

It’s a humbling realization, one he says the nurses he’s worked alongside embody daily. “The nurses I have worked side by side with have amazed me every day and didn’t know that they did,” he added.

If pressed to describe his journey in just three words, Bradish offers: enlightening, demanding, yet feasible— a combination that speaks both to the depth of the program and the faculty that make it possible.

For Bradish, choosing NECC wasn’t just an academic decision— it was a financial lifeline. Nursing students often face an uncomfortable reality: clinical hours and coursework make it nearly impossible to maintain the income they once relied on.

“As a nursing student you have to decrease the amount of hours you have been accustomed to living on and really make adjustments to your lifestyle,” he said. “I thought I was never going to be able to afford it.”

But NECC showed up. Internship stipends across two semesters helped Bradish cover essentials— gas to get to clinicals, daily expenses— without the crushing pressure of unmanageable debt. Food vouchers, access to a student lounge stocked with snacks and coffee, and a quiet-but-collaborative space to study between classes all made a tangible difference.

“I am so grateful to NECC,” he said. “They helped me achieve this education for such an affordable price, and if I had difficulty making a payment, they worked it out with me.”

Academic advisors Solange and Dawn also played an integral role in keeping him on track, as did faculty members including Allison Belisle, Professor Parsons, Burrows, and Collins. The list of supports continues, each of whom Bradish credits with pushing him toward excellence and offering support during the program’s most demanding moments.

During a clinical placement in Lawrence— the city where he grew up— Bradish witnessed something that quietly reshaped his future. Watching instructors speak Spanish directly with patients, he saw a real difference in those patient-provider connections.

“When patients know you can understand them, it is a shift that I cannot even put into words properly due to its sheer beauty,” he said. It prompted him to take medical Spanish and commit to continuing that pursuit well beyond graduation.

After graduating, Bradish plans to pursue critical care, potentially in an emergency department or ICU, with a long-term interest in cardiovascular intensive care. But his vision extends beyond the hospital walls. He’s already exploring volunteer opportunities in his community, with plans to serve vulnerable populations including immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and the elderly.

“This career provides me with a limitless opportunity to give,” he said. “It is a calling, and I plan to rise to that every day of my nursing life.”

To prospective students who feel the path is out of reach, Bradish’s message is direct: Stay determined, do your research, and if you want it, you will achieve it