HARLINGEN — April Estrada, 20, has always had a passion for helping people.
From helping her five younger siblings whenever they were sick or hurt to being there for her dad when he had a back injury, April says she’s always ready to lend a helping hand to people in need.
April is currently studying at Southern Careers Institute to become a medical assistant.
“I’ve learned a lot of new things in my classes such as medical terminology, how to perform injections and how to conduct electrocardiogram tests,” she said. “I like learning new things and gaining hands-on experience.”
In addition to her studies, April helps kids with their homework, projects and STEM activities as part of the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) Program.
“I want to work with kids because I really like working with them,” she said. “As my job right now, I currently work with kids as a teacher aide.”
April said her overall goal is to become a family nurse practitioner.
She said she felt inspired to pursue a career in the medical field because of her family.
“I want to help my family as much as possible because we come from a low-income family,” April said. “I want to help my family and also help others as well so that’s my main goal right now.”
She said the best advice to give others who are pursuing a career in the medical field is to stay focused on their goals.
“Don’t get distracted. Focus on your studies and do as much as possible for yourself,” April said. “You don’t need anyone else, but your family because they’re the ones that are going to be really helping you pursue something bigger for yourself.”
APRIL ESTRADA
AGE — 20
HOMETOWN — Harlingen
HIGH SCHOOL — Harlingen Early College High School
CONTINUING EDUCATION — Southern Careers Institute
