High school graduate paving the way for a future in nursing

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Now that school is out, many students are looking for summer jobs. On this week's Focusing on the Future, one recent high school graduate says his temporary position at a local clinic is the pathway to a full-time career.

Recent high school graduate Sylvain Farrell invites us into his workplace, Unity Clinic part of Villanova in South Philadelphia. Sylvain's primary responsibility includes registering patients.

"It kind of controls who is in the building and who is not in the building also to really advocate for walk-in patients," Sylvain said.

Many of the patients only speak Indonesian, which is also Sylvain's native language.

As an intake specialist, advocate and translator Sylvain is a vital part of this clinic's daily operation. Every day he also gets to interact with Villanova nursing students - something that's in his near future.

It was just six months ago when Sylvain remembers studying for his AP classes at now his alma mater Horace Furness High School.

"I can look back with memories when I first stepped foot through that door," Sylvain said.

That was 2021 when Sylvain and his family moved from Indonesia to Philadelphia.

Sylvain will be attending Villanova in the fall where he will be one step closer to becoming a nurse. While he will miss his teachers and friends as valedictorian, he left them with a few encouraging words at graduation.

He says it's not the end but the beginning.