FAYETTEVILLE — When Lakeisha Yelverton received her acceptance letter into the University of Mount Olive’s nursing program, it felt like life had come full circle. After decades of balancing work, ministry and family, she finally found herself standing at the threshold of a dream she had carried since childhood.
Born and raised in Warsaw, Yelverton was exposed to the medical field early in life. She and her identical twin sister, Felicia, spent much of their childhood in hospitals after being born prematurely and struggling with chronic asthma. “I vividly remember the nurses who took care of me and never forgot it,” she recalled. Those early experiences planted the seed of a calling that never went away.
Her dream of becoming a nurse first took root in high school, when she earned a Health Technician/CNA certification. But her path forward was far from straightforward. At 17, Yelverton became a teen mother, determined to provide a better future for herself and her son. She worked hard to finish high school, later securing a position at O’Berry Center as a nursing assistant, where she spent eight years. Despite life’s obstacles including divorce, single parenthood, and balancing full-time work, she refused to give up on her dream…