Nicole Martin grew up in the Philippines with her father, who owns a rice mill. In 2017, at the age of 11, she moved to North Carolina.
“I got tired of the Philippines,” Martin said. “It’s hot. And I wanted to spend more time where my mother was.”
Martin speaks Tagalog, Kapampangang (a dialect), a bit of Korean and English. She learned English in the Philippines – it is an official language – but not quite the same as the English spoken in North Carolina.
“In middle school classes, it was kind of hard to understand the teachers,” Martin said. “They talk a little fast at times.”
Martin heard about Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School on the campus of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) through her sister, who graduated in 2019. The high school offers students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma plus two years of college credits. She decided to attend so she could go directly into her nursing courses and to finish her college degree at a young age.
“It’s a personal preference,” said Martin, 19. “I want to get things done as early as I can - get my years in the workforce and provide my mom with a better lifestyle.”
Originally, she had considered studying to become a surgeon but instead chose to major in nursing.
“I like the therapeutic communication with my patients,” she said. “Spending time with them and promoting primary preventative services, as well as educating them how to prevent or mitigate the possibility of them getting certain chronic conditions, provides me with satisfaction."
A Police Escort
At a football game during her junior year of high school, Martin got to talking with an NCCU Police officer. That officer then introduced her to other officers.
“I was very introverted back then,” she said. “From then on, I frequented the police department. I am there like every day. Some (officers) are my closest friends.”
“She’s like a family member of the police department,” said Officer Kerry Thompson, who has known Martin for several years.
Martin played basketball in high school. Toward the end of her last season, the team honored seniors.
“Typically, family members walk seniors down the court as their names and college choices are announced,” she said. Martin, however, had a police escort as several NCCU Police officers attended and Police Chief Damon Williams walked Martin down the court.
Since the beginning of 2021, Martin has volunteered with the police department and promotes safety or activities such as self-defense classes.
Accomplishments
Over the last two years, Martin has completed 652 hours of clinical experience as a student nurse at three area hospitals, worked summers at Durham Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center and Duke University School of Nursing, earned awards from the Helen Miller Lectureship and The Great 100 Nurses, and been part of three honor societies: Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society and the National Society of Leadership and Success.
She also serves as a university ambassador for the Angelic Warrior Foundation, educating people about colorectal cancer. She has maintained a GPA at the top of her class while engaged in these activities.
“She is a driven individual,” Thompson said. “Nineteen and about to graduate. Hard working and focused.”
This fall, Martin will start Duke University School of Nursing that will allow her to earn a master's and doctorate in nursing within five years.