Page 30 - Harnett Life Spring 2021

Former CCCC

student

Andrew Sescilla

accepted into

Yale program

Pictured Left: Andrew Sescilla, a previous student of CCCC,
is one who has gone over and beyond to find his calling in
life. He has been accepted into the Yale School of Medicine
Physician Assistant Program!
at CCCC.
Caring for people around him has always been a top priority
for Andrew Sescilla. Now, the former Central Carolina Com- Part of that lesson came from his own experience — squeezing
munity College student will make that pursuit his life’s work as study into short breaks in his EMS work schedule and taking
he begins study in the prestigious physician assistant program long walks with class notes in hand. Oddly enough, the walks
offered by the Yale School of Medicine. gave him the time and mental refreshment needed to memorize
the massive amount of information covered in his anatomy and
Not long ago, the University of Pittsburgh graduate in busi- physiology classes.
ness administration was thinking about anything but medicine,
serving as Director of Army Engineer operations, where he Then, he learned a lot from his fellow students, many of whom
provided assistance to people facing crisis situations across the were facing some of the same challenges. “I met more students
United States and in other locations around the globe. But that than I expected that were like me,” he says. “These students
experience sparked an interest in healthcare, a path he decided were either changing or advancing careers later in their life. It
to pursue after leaving the U.S. Army — first as a paramedic was also a great experience to share having to do school work
in Chatham County, where he has lived for the last decade, and with my kids.”
soon as a physician assistant.
When the first year of study begins with online classes in top-
Sescilla will be studying in an online master’s degree program ics as diverse as human anatomy, patient assessment, pharma-
that prepares graduates to seek licensure as physician assis- cology and behavioral medicine, it won’t be easy. But CCCC
tants. While courses are delivered online, the 28-month, full- Biology instructor Dr. Amy Kennedy has no doubt her former
time program requires some in-person instruction, as well, student is up to the challenge. “He is an exceptional worker,”
with clinical rotations near students’ home communities and Kennedy says. “He seemed to juggle a lot of balls, yet man-
three weeklong, hands-on “immersions” in New Haven, Conn., aged to fulfill his varying roles well.”
on the Yale University campus.
Sescilla is confident, too. He says the CCCC faculty has pre-
Pursuing an online degree program, even with plenty of in- pared him to reach his professional goals, even in a medical
person instruction, wouldn’t have seemed like a viable option a
few years ago. Sescilla admits that it took him a while to adapt field that he would never have considered just 10 years ago.
to online instruction, though he eventually discovered during And he carries with him one important lesson that he offers
his return to college that the online format actually did fit his for current CCCC students and that should serve him well as
learning style. he launches into study in one of the nation’s most respected
universities. “Something that took me a long time to learn in
Another challenge: Juggling his new academic pursuits with life,” he says, “is that asking for help is a sign of strength, not
family obligations, though the devoted father learned a lot a weakness.”
about how to make it work during his return to the classroom
Page 30 Harnett Life ~ Spring 2021