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Up close and personal
John-Pierre Quimbo knows SPC is a good option.
When John-Pierre Quimbo learned that he wouldn’t be able to pursue a medical degree at a prestigious Ivy League college, and instead would have to enroll at a community college near his home, he was crushed.
 “I felt as though my life was ending,” he recalled. “I felt as though all my hard work was going down the drain.”
Quimbo had traveled around the world with his sea captain father and his mother. By the time he graduated from Pinellas Park High School, he had attended nine different schools and he had excelled at all of them.
But unexpected family circumstances forced John-Pierre to lower his academic expectations. Instead of studying medicine at an Ivy League school, he found himself enrolled in a two-year nursing program at St. Petersburg College.
And much to his surprise, he found himself loving it.
It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done,” Quimbo said. “I was surprised how great a school SPC really is – the top-notch professors, the small class sizes, and the affordability.
“I think nursing will give me a great background, and it gives me a chance to see first-hand how to care for people.”
Quimbo recently graduated with an associate’s degree in nursing. But he hasn’t given up his dream of being a doctor.
“If I do go on,” he said, “I’ll be able to transfer my credits to just about any university.”
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