On May 12, Mayra Herran will graduate with an Associate in Science degree from Wayne Community College, having completed the degree requirements in just one year, instead of the standard two.(Wayne Community College|Courtesy photo)
When Mayra Herran found herself ‘terrified’ her first day of classes at Wayne Community College, she spotted a friendly face in Kelvin, the ‘spokesbot’ for the NC Science Festival, and began giving him daily pep talks to build up her own confidence.(Wayne Community College|Courtesy photo)
Peer tutor Mayra Herran works with fellow WCC student Robert Strickland on math formulas in the Academic Skills Center.(Wayne Community College|Courtesy photo)
During WCC’s International Festival, Mayra Herran, right, volunteers to talk with other students about the Scholars of Global Distinction program, from which she earned a certificate.(Wayne Community College|Courtesy photo)
SEVEN SPRINGS — When Mayra Herran graduated from Spring Creek High School in 2012, she followed the path of many new high school graduates: She started college. But with no one in her family ever having attended college, she had no one to whom she could turn for guidance or advice, she had no example to follow, and she couldn’t see the way forward — so she left school. Interestingly, her reason for leaving — the lack of having someone pave the way for her — is also the same thing that brought her back.
Herran is 29 years old and a student at Wayne Community College, where she’s blazing a trail for several of her younger siblings, nieces, and nephews, but more specifically for a brother and a niece who are both about to graduate from high school this spring. She doesn’t want them to experience the same uncertainty she did. “I didn’t want them to have a burden over them, like oh, I have to figure all this out by myself. I wanted to do that for them,” she explains.
Born in Harlingen, Texas, Herran has lived in Seven Springs since the age of 3 and is considered a nontraditional college student because of her age and life circumstances: She is married (to husband Lazaro) and has two daughters (Bella, 8, and Lyla, 3).
She quickly discovered that returning to college was no less scary or intimidating than it was the first time around. “I was so terrified,” she recalls, in a heartfelt whisper. “I still remember my first day coming in here, and my first class was chemistry at 9 o’clock in the morning. I got here maybe 30 minutes before, [and] there was no one here. I was like, I guess college students don’t get in early. A rush of emotions just came, like: I can’t do this. I’m gonna fail. What am I doing? I shouldn’t be doing this at my age.”
But this time, instead of attending college for just her own sake, she had the added incentive of doing it for family. So, she didn’t leave. Instead, she spotted a small, blue, stuffed robot — Kelvin, the “spokesbot” for the NC Science Festival — and she gave him a pep talk. “I started talking to it as if it was me or a child, and I was just like, you can do it; you’re gonna get through this. And I did that for a whole week. I got there early and was just talking to it.”
The pep talks worked. Not only did Herran stick with it, but she excelled. She is an Honors student, set to graduate May 12 with an Associate in Science degree, completing the requirements in one year, instead of the usual two.
Once Herran had settled into college and her studies were going well, she started hanging out in the Academic Skills Center, volunteering to help others who were struggling academically. Her volunteer tutoring led to a job as a paid peer tutor, a job she previously didn’t even know existed.
It was in the Academic Skills Center that she met Mike Bloom, the Center’s coordinator. He, along with anatomy and physiology instructor Michael Smith, are two people whom Herran credits with helping her tremendously during her journey at WCC. “The passion they have to help students is amazing,” she says. (Smith even gave her Kelvin, so that her little, blue confidant now has a permanent place in her life.)
Once Herran pushed past her initial uncertainties, she was determined to make the most of her college experience by becoming involved in — and encouraging other students to become involved in — extracurricular activities. “A lot of kids don’t interact that much,” she says. “They just come, get educated, and go. But I don’t feel like they’re understanding that being here and being social is also getting educated.”
Herran is a founding member of the science club, a member of the multicultural club, and a participant in the Scholars of Global Distinction program (where she was recognized for her “Cubans Around the World” project). She’s an enthusiastic cheerleader for these activities and programs, making it a point to invite other students to join.
You might think that with all she’s accomplished, Herran has completed her mission of paving the way for her younger family members. But the way she sees it, there’s plenty more to do. Her own dream has always been to become a trauma nurse. Her brother and her niece share a goal of becoming nurse anesthetists. So, she plans to do both — eventually become a trauma nurse, but not before completing the education and job training needed to become a nurse anesthetist. “If that’s what they want,” she explains, “I might as well do it before them so they could have some experience in where and how to navigate.”
She has her plans all mapped out. “I start the nursing program here [at WCC] in the fall, and I’m gonna be doing the duel program, if accepted into ECU,” she explains. “So I’ll be graduating with my RN in two years, and then that third year, I’ll have my bachelor’s.” After that, she anticipates a year of work experience in order to gain admission to ECU’s CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) program.
The “terrified” college student who once questioned her decision to return to school, has grown into a confident, determined, soon-to-be graduate, who is using her experience to help family members, yes, but to help many others, as well.
