If you visited the school clinic last year you have met Ms. Danelle Chin. But if you go during this school year, that will no longer be possible.

Why? Chin has decided to stop being a nurse to start a new stage in her life, teacher in the Area 31 Career Center.

Before making that decision she had worked directly in the medical area, since her penultimate year of College as a CNA (certified nursing assistant). She has been working as a nurse since January 2003, but she reached to the point where she wanted a new challenge. So when she saw the job offer to teach in Area 31, she decided to take it. Now she is one of two instructors who help students in the Health Science class prepare to take a state exam and get a license to be a CNA.

Another reason why she wanted to take this new challenge is to connect more with the students, since although she arrived to work in the clinic for a not so short period of time, the interaction with the students was minimal. However, she had no experience in teaching in a “formal” way, but she tells us that as a nurse, patients and their families are always taught the procedures and care that patients need to follow to recover.

On her first day as a teacher, she didn’t know what to expect. It was her first day of school as a teacher, where she would be on her own with the students. She soon realized that it would not be so simple to be a good teacher but not impossible. However, having worked for several years at Wayne Township, she has received support from everybody.

“This has been a great move for me,” Chin said. “I love the challenge of being in a classroom. It is a new way to make a difference.”

Chin is now trying to figure out how to make everything work for her four classes, while she must prepare to get her license as a teacher. But she doesn’t regret taking the job.

“It is fun teaching students about possible medical careers and sharing my experience,” she said. “This was a great move for me.”