Grace McNiff '22
Grace McNiff, of Concord, was in Health Assisting career major and graduated in 2022. She will attend Merrimack College and was accepted into eight additional colleges or universities. While at Minuteman, McNiff received numerous industry-recognized credentials in nursing and worked part-time at the Brookhaven assisted living facility in Lexington. She was a Student Ambassador, Peer Leader, and is a member of the National Honors Society.
Q: Why did you choose Minuteman?
From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a nurse or work in the healthcare field. I thought, ‘Why not get an early start?’ I can get myself the tools I could use for college.
When I was in second grade, my sister spent a lot of time in the hospital due to a medical condition. Luckily, she is fine now. But during that time, I admired the people working with her. I respected them and was so thankful for them. I wanted to do something like that for other people one day.
Q: What have you enjoyed about the Health Assisting career major?
In Health Assisting, there are some amazing people there – students and teachers. Our main goal is we want to help people. Last year, I started going out to nursing homes. We would make the residents’ beds, and we’d transport them around the facility in their wheelchairs, to the activities’ room or anywhere the nurses would ask us to take them. It was really nice to be able to talk to them. There were definitely some residents who I would stop by and say ‘hi’ to everyday. One resident had pictures of the seniors and juniors from Minuteman in their prom dresses. They really like us there.
Q: Has the pandemic changed your view on nursing?
I definitely have way more respect for people working in healthcare. They’re really inspiring. I want to be like them – helping people. I also think that, while the pandemic is a terrible thing, it’s a good learning experience. It shows how something little can spread so big, so fast. It shows the importance of sanitation and wearing masks and gloves. The healthcare field will be a lot different in good ways because of this.
Q: You’re a member of the National Honor Society. How has Minuteman helped you academically?
When I came to Minuteman, the teachers showed me how to approach things differently and use my mind in a different way, in a more hands-on way. Ever since then, I’ve become really confident and thrived both academically and in my career major.
Q: What message do you have for a student considering to apply to Minuteman?
It’s a really good experience here. When you’re in Exploratory as a freshman, you try a whole bunch of things and see what you like and don’t like. Even if you don’t pursue your career major later in life, you get a lot of skills from it, like determination, time management, and organization.
