This new Tar Heel is a step ahead in her health care career

When Emma Farson’s father came home after a series of tests at the UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, he couldn’t stop raving about the nurses and care he received, and how beautiful the campus was. The timing could not have been more perfect – Farson was in her senior year of high school and in the process of applying to colleges.

“For some reason I had thought I might not get into Carolina, or that it might be too expensive,” said Farson, who is from Linden, a small town about 60 miles south of Chapel Hill. “But I already knew I wanted to go to school to be a nurse, so I was definitely interested after talking to my dad.”

“I realized right away, ‘Wait, UNC is amazing,’” she added. “Why shouldn’t I apply?”

Farson, whose father is in the military, grew up both on base at Fort Bragg and in various towns around the Fayetteville area. A first-generation college student, she is also a Vetter Military Family Scholar, awarded to students from military families who qualify for the Carolina Covenant.

It was after her family settled in Linden during high school that she discovered the opportunity to enroll in classes in the Academy of Emergency Medical Science, a four-year program that educates and trains high school students in multiple areas in the medical field. While she jokes she initially joined because she heard she could wear scrubs to school every day, Farson was hooked after her first class on health careers her freshman year.

Students could choose from a variety of fields, including emergency medicine, dental hygiene, surgical sterilization and nursing. Farson chose the EMT pathway and earned her license in May, but is still focused on her goal of studying nursing at Carolina. “I just want to help people,” she said. “A lot of people in my family work in the medical field, and I feel like health care and nursing is a great foundation for being able to do that.”

Moving around with her dad’s job, Farson realized her passion for helping others early on. In middle school, she joined Junior Student 2 Student, an organization that welcomes military kids to the school, after being on the receiving end when her family moved to the area. Farson also credits her mom for setting a strong example throughout her entire life.

“My mom has always been my role model,” she said. “Even when we were struggling financially, she was always helping others. I remember going on base with her and bringing a bag of chips and a bottle of water to all the soldiers who had to stand at the check-in stations in the middle of summer, in full uniform. She’s always thinking about others, and I think that’s where I get it from.”

As she looks forward to continuing to pursue her passion for nursing at Carolina, Farson, a high school swimmer, is equally as excited about possibly joining the swim club and meeting new people on campus.

“I really just can’t wait to make new friends,” she said.