For many years, Emmanuel has persisted in finding his path to making a difference through a career in healthcare.

Emmanuel E. Vega Soto is earning a second bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Michigan-Flint. For many years, Emmanuel has persisted in finding his path to making a difference through a career in healthcare. Emmanuel earned his bachelor’s in integrative biology at the University of Puerto Rico; there, he was selected as part of the dean’s list for two consecutive years while holding a job as an outdoor tour guide and rescue instructor.

Following his graduation, Emmanuel spent a year researching mechanisms of preterm labor at Case Western Reserve University, and then he moved to Ann Arbor where he took on a new role at the Skeletal Tissue Engineering Laboratory. Here, Emmanuel had the opportunity to conduct translational research projects to address gaps in therapies aimed to regenerate muscles after traumatic injuries. These innovative approaches opened the door for Emmanuel to present at conferences in Texas, Florida, and Canada and to advance new scientific findings that resulted in the publication of nine different articles, including a first-author paper.

Now, Emmanuel is pursuing his dream as a full-time nursing student and a nurse extern at Hurley Medical Center’s Neuro, Ortho, Burn Trauma Step-Down unit. He has already been recognized with the Tammie “Ruby” Rubel, RN Nursing Scholarship from the Rachor Education Foundation, which is awarded to exceptional nursing students who show a commitment to mentoring others, becoming leaders, and promoting changes to improve patient outcomes. Known as an “intelligent, hardworking, compassionate future nurse,” Emmanuel plans to make an impact by working in an intensive care unit after obtaining his nursing license.

CEW+ applauds Emmanuel’s determination to help others through a career in healthcare and names him a Potential Made Possible Scholar.