Karletia is a nurse today because of SEI...

Karletia Lewis had waited three years to get into SEI’s program, so when her mother moved the family to Hillsboro at the beginning of Karletia’s sixth grade year, she wasn’t about to give up her spot. She got up every morning before 5 A.M. to take the long bus ride to north Portland.

Karletia’s determination kept her coming to SEI for eight years as student and then coach in SEI’s summer programs, giving back by teaching math and the SEI Standards to elementary children.

When she was 13, Karletia witnessed the birth of her nephew at Emanuel Hospital. “The doctor was on his way, but Treshann was ready to come out, so the nurse delivered him. I looked at her and thought, ‘I could do that.’ That moment stuck with me, and I signed up for the bio/tech program at Jefferson High School.”

With the help of SEI, Karletia had internships at Emanuel’s Intensive Care Unit, Providence Hospital’s Labor and Delivery Unit, and OHSU’s Emergency Ward; and received a full scholarship to the University of Portland, where she graduated with a BS in Nursing in 2005.

Karletia currently works in Charlotte, North Carolina as a nurse in a Medical/Surgical Unit. She recently returned to Portland and drove straight to SEI without unpacking her bags. “I had already seen my own family. Now it was time to visit my other family at SEI.”

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