Emma's journey into the healthcare field

How the One91 Pathways Program showed Emma Legorreta a future in nursing and set her on a path to success. 

You never know where the spark for your future will come from. For Emma Legorreta, it was a conversation with her friend and fellow member of the Blazettes Dance Team. 

A lifelong resident of District 191, she attended Hidden Valley and Eagle Ridge before starting at Burnsville High School (BHS). Her younger years were mostly focused on being a kid and staying busy with dance at Footsteps Dance Studio where she started at five years old. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic hit during her seventh-grade year, at a time when she was already wanting to make some changes. With virtual and hybrid school, she found that she had the time she needed to reflect and refresh. 

She loved school and enjoyed helping her classmates, which made her think she wanted to become a teacher someday, but as she was entering high school, Emma started to feel that she was drifting away from that idea. Her friend told her about the Health Sciences Pathway at BHS and the passion of teacher Anne Werner-Dempsey, so she decided to register for a class. 

With a busy high school schedule in her first two years that included AVID, band and Spanish, she hadn’t had a chance to explore the One91 Pathways opportunities yet, but that changed when she registered for the Healthcare Core Curriculum class. 

“That class taught me so much about the basics of health care and thanks to the class, I realized I wanted to become a nurse,” said Emma. “The final project is to pick a career in healthcare that we wanted to focus on and I felt excited to keep learning.”

She grew her learning more the following semester, enrolling in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program at BHS that got into more detail and allowed students to use mannequins and each other to practice different methods. Past CNA students also helped out in the class, giving the students an additional resource. 

“Ms. Dempsey was so helpful and really pushed me to become what I am today,” said Emma. “It was a class of just six students and she would not move on from a unit until we all had a really good understanding and gave us great one-on-one time.”

As she worked after school with her fellow students on skills, Emma was gaining confidence. The classroom is designed to be both a lab space and a classroom space with hospital beds, mannequins and all the tools a nurse would need. 

In addition to getting experience in the classroom, students are also able to get real-world experience through clinicals. Emma took part in a two-day clinical where she completed two eight-hour shifts at Ebenezer Ridges Care Center. 

“The experience of working with real people really confirmed that I want to go into this field,” said Emma. “The residents were so open and easy to connect with and after the clinical, I talked to my friends and my parents who gave me great recommendations for what to do after I got my certification.”

In the fall of 2024, she was able to earn her CNA Certification at no cost thanks to the class. During her senior year, Emma is focused on taking more classes to learn more skills, and she is also helping current CNA students with their journeys just like others did for her. She is exploring colleges and plans to attend Concordia University in St. Paul, where she got direct admission due to her background and experience at BHS. She is especially excited about the mannequins at Concordia that allow students to take vital signs and can actually talk back. 

“I thought that I wanted to be a teacher because I loved helping classmates in class and seeing that a-ha moment,” said Emma. “I realized that it is so close to nursing because it’s the same feeling of helping my patients and having them realize that there are things they can do that they didn’t know they could do.” 

As she thinks about her future, she sees a plan for college that includes working as a CNA as she takes classes with the ultimate goal of becoming a registered nurse in a senior living facility or in hospice care. At BHS, she continues to be a member of the Blazettes, having been named a fall captain and recognized with awards by her coaches and teammates. She also finds ways to bring her two passions together and shares advice with other students who may not know what they want to do after high school. 

“A girl got a bloody nose at practice and I ran over to help her with the right way to deal with that and I am always offering to wrap injuries for my teammates. They call me the nurse and mom of the team,” laughed Emma. “My advice is to stick with your heart and do what makes you happy instead of what others think will make you happy. Follow the path that you want to follow, make your own choices, and find your own path with your own people.”

Pathways in District 191

From preschool through graduation, District 191’s Pathways model provides all students with age-appropriate experiences through which they explore possibilities, develop the skills and attributes they’ll need to succeed, find their passions and prepare for their futures. 

Being a Pathways district means we:

• Remove barriers and ensure equitable access for all students,
• Center students as decision makers in their learning journeys,
• Promote a future-focused mindset, ensuring students have a plan for meeting their next challenge,
• Engage in partnerships to maximize resources and opportunities, and 
• Provide real-world benefits, including professional certifications and college credits by graduation

Learn more at pathways.isd191.org.