Molly Guillaume wants to help others after enduring so much heartbreak in her own life. This spring, she will receive her nursing degree from New York Presbyterian Iona School of Health Services.
Guillaume’s father passed away after dementia and multiple strokes when she started high school at the age of 14.
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Her mother died four years later after contracting COVID-19 while working as a nurse during the pandemic.
Guillaume told ABC7, “I couldn’t sleep for two weeks straight after my Mom passed. I couldn’t sleep. I would sleep with the lights on because I was like, what’s going on here?”
She is currently preparing for her nursing school graduation, continuing her mother’s legacy.
She looked back on her life with a positive lens, saying, “Grateful for everything that I’ve gone through and how it’s got me to this point.”
As an 18-year-old orphan without siblings to support her, Guillaume made the decision to continue in her mother’s footsteps and help others.
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According to her teachers, she will be a first-class nurse because of her compassionate and empathetic care, which is shaped by the tragic circumstances of her early life.
Shery Watson, Director of Nursing, said, “She is driven and motivated and she’s also an advocate and an advocate for herself and for her patients. And you can’t really teach that. You just have to have it in you.”
Meanwhile, Guillaume credits her success to her parents, saying that her father inspired her strong drive and confidence.
“My Mom always told me to go out there and become somebody, whether I become an architect or a gardener but to become somebody of purpose,” Guillaume said.
Now her parents would be able to watch her finish the educational path that they started 22 years ago.
