Alyssa King's Journey to Becoming an LPN and a Mother

Alyssa King was ready to take the next step in her nursing career. After a coworker recommended DCTS’ Practical Nursing Program, she knew it was a great opportunity.

She viewed this program as a stepping stone in the process of furthering her professional and educational career, but just three months into her schooling, King uncovered some life changing news— she was pregnant.

“I did not know how I was going to finish, and truth be told, I still don’t know how I managed to finish, but I knew that I wasn’t going to give up,” said King.

She gave birth to her first child, Anita, on January 15, 2023, just a month before she would graduate with her class from the Practical Nursing Program on February 21, 2023.

“This past year was a struggle and I was terrified of failing, but as a good friend and classmate used to tell me, ‘Nothing beats a failure, but for a trier,’” said King.

After she found out that she was pregnant, it was more important for her than ever before to graduate, knowing that she has a little one on the way.

“It was difficult to find ways to enjoy all of the things that come with having a child, like baby showers and doctors appointments, while also trying to stay in the mindset that school is my main priority,” said King.

She suffered through a very rough third trimester, coupled with a long, tiring commute to class, but nonetheless, she was determined to graduate alongside her class and pass the licensing exam.

She found ways to prioritize her rest while not neglecting her studies. One way she did this was listening to lectures during her long commutes to and from class to cut down on her study time.

“I really just planned to the best of my abilities, and made sure that all of the assignments around my due date were turned in early,” said King.

Despite all of the challenges she faced, like having to finish her last month of school while recovering from giving birth, King was able to fulfill DCTS’ academic requirements and graduate from the Practical Nursing Program on time, in one year.

“Being pregnant while in school is obviously not ideal, but once you are done, it’s truly like the best cherry on top,” said King.

King is now reaping the benefits of her hard work and dedication— she passed her state licensing exam right after graduating and is currently employed as an LPN in the Clinic Observation Unit at Bayhealth Hospital in Delaware.

She encourages other mothers or soon-to-be-mothers to pursue education, and to utilize any kind of resource or assistance that they can, whether that be government assistance or assistance from family and friends, so that they can create a better future for themselves and their families.

“It’s a temporary fix for lifelong benefits,” said King.

If you are interested in learning more about DCTS’ LPN program, you can reserve your spot to the June 6 virtual Open House at 5 p.m. here: https://tinyurl.com/3tufwjdp

Read more about the benefits of our LPN program here - https://patch.com/pennsylvania/malvern/dcts-hosts-june-6-virtual-open-house-practical-nursing-program