The combination of hands-on learning, expert instructors who care and a passion ignited as a young child helped Akin Ezzell excel through the associates degree of nursing program at Southeastern Community College. With a pinning ceremony and national nursing licensure exam on the horizon, Ezzell said his journey to now has been challenging, rewarding and enlightening.   

“With the hands-on real-world skills we learn, I think Southeastern nurses come out a little more prepared,” Ezzell said. “One thing you’ll find here is instructors who want you to succeed.” 

Ezzell’s hook into the healthcare industry came about at a young age while watching his mom, Belinda Mathews, work as a registered nurse. Having sick family members added to his desire to become a healthcare professional.  

“My mother was a nurse, and I always looked up to her. I was close to her,” Ezzell said. “My dad wasn’t really around, and I was like, ‘I kind of want to be like her.’ I want to help people.” 

After graduating from South Columbus High School in 2016, Ezzell pursued a pre-med degree at Campbell University. With a Nurse Aide I certification earned in high school, Ezzell was on track to becoming a doctor.  

“When I got to Campbell, I kind of jumped into it without really knowing or realizing that it requires a lot of work,” Ezzell said. “It was just me being young and thinking that doctors make a lot of money. Being 18 years old, I didn’t take it as seriously back then, and it kind of got me. I think I shot too high right out of high school.” 

After the vision of dollar signs faded from his mind and leaving Campbell University, Ezzell enrolled at Cape Fear Community College and earned an associates degree in Electrical Engineering Technology in 2019. With no success in callbacks and job interviews in the electrical engineering field, Ezzell moved on to earning a lineman and CDL certification and moved to Raleigh in 2021. 

“After working in Raleigh for a little while doing underground line work, I didn’t really like that,” Ezzell explained. “But it was good money, like really good money. I was moving from hotel to hotel and not really focusing on my health and nutrition. More power to those guys who can do it because we need them, but I knew this wasn’t for me. Something is missing.” 

Spending hours on the road and traveling from work site to work site, Ezzell thought about healthcare again and his original love for helping people get well. After a discussion with his mom, who graduated from SCC’s nursing program, Ezzell made the decision to follow in her footsteps.  

By August 2023, Ezzell was enrolled in the associates degree of nursing program at SCC. Ezzell noted that having a Nurse Aide I certification was a requirement for entering the ADN program; and if he had waited any later to enter the program, he would have had to take the nurse aide program all over again due to expiring credentials.   

“So, I feel like it was fate in that aspect,” Ezzell said. “Honestly, I didn’t think I could make it to where I am now, but I’m here. It’s been a long road.” 

So far, Ezzell’s favorite part of his journey through the nursing program has been the hands-on clinical aspect, learning skills, starting IVs and learning about medications. Ezzell hopes to take his career even further and become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. His experience in the intensive care unit helped him realize his career goals of keeping patients stabilized and monitoring vitals before, during and after surgery.  

To become a CRNA, Ezzell plans to transfer to UNC Wilmington to earn his bachelors degree in nursing and later attend the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston to earn his doctorate degree. 

“That two to one nurse/patient ratio – I like that because you get to bond with your patients a little more and actually dig into the chart to figure out what’s wrong with them,” Ezzell said. “Whereas if you’re on the floor or in the ER with six other patients, you can’t have that as much.” 

In addition to the ICU, Ezzell enjoys anesthesia and watching surgeries. Even though it can “get rough at times,” he likes caring for trauma patients.  

After graduating from the ADN program at SCC, Ezzell said he is guaranteed a job at McLeod Health Loris while he works on earning his bachelors degree. With his accrued work experience, Ezzell wants to move to New Hanover Regional Medical Center or Grand Strand Medical Center to get more ICU experience. He said that SCC prepared him for his new lease on life.  

Interested in a healthcare career like Akin Ezzell? Contact Renee Long at [email protected] to learn more about obtaining your nursing degree.