Rolando Jaramillo’s patient wanted to know where his wife was.
She visited the James L. West Center for Dementia Care every day. The patient, who has Alzheimer’s, wasn’t sure when he’d see her again. Jaramillo knew what to say: “She’s coming.”
Those two words reassured the patient and kept him calm.
Jaramillo knew at that moment that nursing was the right path for his life. He had figured it out — before he graduated high school.
The 18-year-old was one of 168 high school seniors whom Mayor Mattie Parker recognized April 25 for earning an associate degree, workforce credential or internship before receiving their high school diploma. The soon-to-be graduates hailed from the 12 school districts that serve the city of Fort Worth.
“Each of you has an inspirational story. You’ve worked incredibly hard just to get to this place,” Parker said, looking at rows of students sitting shoulder to shoulder. “Many of you are helping support your own families, and you’re focused on your future.”
Jaramillo, a senior at North Side High School in Fort Worth ISD, interned as a certified nursing assistant at the West Center. He tended to patients’ needs and ensured the time they spent in his care was as comfortable for them as possible.
A career in medicine wasn’t always a clear choice to Jaramillo.
But in the sixth grade, a math teacher assigned him a project that required gathering facts about a job he found interesting. He picked “anesthesiologist” as his topic and was hooked.
“I’ve wanted to be an anesthesiologist since then,” he said.
His interest led him to sign up for a program at North Side High that teaches students how to care for people with dementia. The classes are part of the district’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School initiative, or P-TECH, which allows students to earn a tuition-free associate degree in one of eight areas.
Similar programs are not available at every high school. Jaramillo wants leaders to change that.
“Make sure all schools have a P-TECH program,” he said.
“What Ronaldo doesn’t know,” Parker said, pausing for a beat, “is that this mayor has been asking that for years.”
Since 2022, Parker and the Mayor’s Council on Education and Workforce Development have pushed to boost the number of high school students earning a postsecondary credential. The committee brings together workforce leaders and educators from all of the city’s school districts.
More students in Fort Worth are receiving industry-level certifications when they graduate high school, according to Texas Education Agency data. Between 2021 and 2022, all 12 school districts saw increases in the number of graduates with a certification.
Jay McCall, a program manager at the Rainwater Charitable Foundation who serves on the mayor’s education committee, told students they are the product of what happens when education and business work together to improve their community.
“It really is impressive. You really are the shining example of what’s right in education,” McCall said.
Jaramillo will graduate June 1. He doesn’t plan to take a vacation. He wants to finish his associate degree at Tarrant County College before transferring to the University of Texas at Arlington.
After that? “Just live life,” he said.
Disclosure: The Rainwater Charitable Foundation has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. News decisions at the Fort Worth Report are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Jacob Sanchez is an enterprise journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
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