Yanfei Huang Wu ’24, lives her life by a motto she gained from her childhood.

“[It] is ‘You don't come this far to only come this far,’” she says. “Life sometimes is difficult, but it is always beautiful!”

Wu's motto for life: You don't come this far to only come this far.

Wu’s motto might seem like it comes from an uplifting place, but she admits her childhood didn’t really involve a happy family life.

Growing up in the Guangdong Province in southern China, Wu didn’t have a relationship with her parents. She would take turns living with her four aunts and would deal with constant childhood bullying.  

“I didn’t have a good family atmosphere,” Wu says. “I didn’t even know how a normal family—like parents and kids—how they all get together and enjoy their life. Throughout my childhood I didn’t know what that feeling was.”

As she grew older, she grew closer with her aunt, Jie Qiong Huang. But as the years went by, Jie Qiong started to fall ill, becoming blind and dealing with kidney failure. Wu would do her best to take care of her, trimming her nails, doing her laundry and just being there for her.

Unfortunately, not long after Wu started taking care of her, Jie Qiong died. But before that fateful day, she had one message for Wu: Go to college, study hard and earn a degree.

Graduating as a first-generation student means breaking barriers and fulfilling dreams that once felt out of reach for my family.

Yanfei Huang Wu '24, College of Health Professions

More than a decade later, Wu honored her aunt’s wishes by graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Towson University’s Department of Nursing in the College of Health Professions.

By doing so, Wu became the first member of her family to earn a college degree.

“Graduating as a first-generation student means breaking barriers and fulfilling dreams that once felt out of reach for my family,” Wu says. “This achievement is not just my own—it represents the expectation, encouragement and steady support of my family and friends, who dreamed of a brighter future for me.”

A fresh start 

Wu and her husband, James, settled in Baltimore in 2015, and began working in restaurants around the area to help make ends meet.

But as she worked, Wu couldn’t help but remember her aunt’s wish. Thinking of her aunt also helped remind her how much she liked helping people, and how much she might like a career in nursing.

The customers she regularly waited on also saw how much heart and compassion she had for other people and were the first to encourage her ambition.

“They would tell me how sweet and caring I was and told me how I should go into nursing,” Yanfei remembers. “I also worked at a restaurant near a hospital, and I would wait on medical professionals, and I would ask them about working in medicine.”

Yanfei started taking classes at the Community College of Baltimore County in Essex. After getting her core classes out of the way, she started applying to nursing schools, choosing TU as her first choice.

Yanfei Huang Wu giving her speech at Commencement

Finding her voice 

Before coming to TU, Yanfei would describe herself as an introvert. In fact, she would go even further, saying she was a shy person who had no confidence. But as she started in TU’s nursing program, she started to find herself and her professors noticed.

She excelled in the program so much she worked as a supplemental instruction (SI) leader. SI is a peer-facilitated academic support group the Department of Nursing adopted for select courses that are traditionally challenging for students. 

As an SI leader, Yanfei would lead group study and tutoring sessions that helped reinforce what students learned in the classroom.

I have no doubt that her experience ˿Ƶ and as an SI Leader contributed to her having a competitive edge in her nursing career.

Patrick Pyott, student success coordinator in the Nursing Department

Patrick Pyott, student success coordinator in the Nursing Department, says students that regularly engage in the program often report a better understanding of course material, an increase in self-confidence and an improvement in study habits.

For SI Leaders like Wu, they develop their leadership, communication and problem-solving skills while continuing to strengthen their knowledge in nursing concepts to support themselves on the NCLEX-RN licensure exam and in practice long after their time at TU.

When Pyott met with Wu to become an SI leader, her drive to help others really stood out. He remembers a quote she shared with him — “You cannot change the environment, so change yourself.”

And before her first session, they met to discuss her plan. Pyott remembers how Wu shared her anxiety for public speaking and excitement for the opportunity to strengthen the educational foundation of future nurses.

“Through the frequent observations over her three semesters as an SI Leader, I watched Yanfei’s creativity ignite, confidence bloom and excitement grow,” Pyott says. “Her selfless nature and commitment to service, not to mention her solid understanding of the content she learned through the nursing curriculum, made her a superb SI Leader.

“I have no doubt that her experience ˿Ƶ and as an SI Leader contributed to her having a competitive edge in her nursing career.”

Working with her peers also inspired another passion—teaching. Yanfei is hoping that after she spends time in the field, she can go back to school to learn how to be a nursing professor.

“I have some of my students that I tutored still emailing me to say thank you for helping them pass their class,” Yanfei says. “It makes me so happy to see all of their hard work pay off and their grades improve because of my tutoring.”

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College of Health Professions

TU's Nursing SI Program

For more information about the Nursing SI Program, connect with Patrick Pyott, . Nursing SI sessions are regularly scheduled throughout the semester and are free, voluntary and anonymous.

More About The Nursing SI Program

Along with providing help for her peers, she found help herself.

She found her study group girls, friends who cared about not only helping Yanfei learn but also if she understood their conversations. With English not being her first language, the study group would make sure she would understand the subject they were studying and the inside jokes they would share.

“They try to explain everything for me,” Yanfei laughs. “Every time when they said something, they're like, ‘Do you understand that?’ And when I say no, they’re always ready to explain it for me.

When Yanfei was chosen to speak ˿Ƶ’s 2024 Winter Commencement, it was her study group girls who were the loudest when she took the stage. 

“And they encourage me to do everything and are so happy for me when I get something done.”

This included when Yanfei was chosen to speak ˿Ƶ’s 2024 Winter Commencement. It was her study group girls who were the loudest when she took the stage.

“They were jumping and shouting for me,” Yanfei says. “They were so happy for me. It’s hard for immigrants to make friends in America, so they’ll stick to people who are from the same background. But I made friends and had a real college experience.

“I loved my TU experience, and I’m proud to graduate from here. I became more confident here, and TU allowed me to show myself and my personality.”

Yanfei Huang Wu in her graduation regalia

A full circle career 

After graduating from TU, it didn’t take long for Yanfei to find a job. This March, she started a position as a cardiovascular surgical nurse in Johns Hopkins Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).

She is in the first phase of the position, where she works with a preceptor to get used to the clinical setting. So far, she says it’s been an easy transition thanks to the education she received ˿Ƶ.

“The clinical program through TU’s nursing program prepared me so well for the ICU,” Yanfei says. “The university has so many relationships with local hospitals, I was able to get some incredible experiences in different areas before graduating.”

I loved my TU experience, and I’m proud to graduate from here. I became more confident here, and TU allowed me to show myself and my personality.

Yanfei Huang Wu '24, College of Health Professions

Now that she’s found a focus in the ICU, Yanfei gets to work with patients who need the most care.

For Yanfei, it’s not hard to see her aunt in some of the patients that she helps. She knows that her aunt would be proud of the work she’s done to keep a promise she made more than a decade ago.

“I think if she was still alive, she would cry and be so proud because I was the first in my family to get a college degree,” Yanfei says. “But also, she’ll live in my life forever. I’ll care for people in the ICU like I cared for her. I’ll try my best because I love her so much.”