(University of Buffalo) Jacob Madonia and My Lan N. Le crossed the stage at the School of Nursing commencement on May 12 to get their diplomas in the last leg of a marathon whose finish line must have seemed, at times, impossible to cross.
Both received bachelor’s degrees in nursing, both plan to go back to school to get their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, both can’t see themselves in any other profession and both struggled with adversity. But their stories couldn’t be more different.
Madonia came to UB on a sports scholarship—he was a discus thrower and shot putter; when you see him in person, he looks like the athlete his is. To use a cliché, he is the picture of health. It’s hard to believe that he had a small section of his upper right lung removed just three weeks ago. [Read more...]