[education]

Danielle Nafanua Jennings, born and raised in San Francisco, already lived away from home and had enrolled in college in California when she learned of parents’ plans to relocate to American Samoa. “I’ve always had a deep love of all things Samoan, as described to me by my grandparents, so I wanted to come with my parents,” she says. “I investigated the American Samoa Community College web site, and found out they had a Nursing program that prepared students for the National License Exams. That sealed it.” Thus, Danielle joined her father, Alex Jennings, originally from Swains Island, and mother Rowena Liu Jennings, originally from the village of Pavai’ai, on their return to the islands.

Asked why she chose Nursing as her major, Danielle explains, “My grandparents all had major roles in my upbringing. When I was in middle school, however, these roles changed when each fell ill. My great grandmother endured several minor strokes and heart episodes. Staying with her while she was hospitalized exposed me to different nurses with different styles. Later, we took care of her at home, until she passed away in 1998. Soon after, my grandfather and grandmother also fell ill, so during my high school years, our home in California was centered on their care. After my grandparents passed away, I felt like I knew how to take care of people, and I enjoyed doing it. Nursing seemed like the most natural profession for me to enter.”

Upon settling in American Samoa, Danielle’s father took a job as a commercial pilot, and was later elected to the post of Swains Island delegate to the American Samoa Legislature. Danielle, meanwhile, found assimilating into ASCC easier than she had anticipated. Describing her transition from California to American Samoa, Danielle recalls, “It’s an amazing experience to move from a place where you have to explain that Samoa is not Somalia or Hawaii, where you’re the minority, and where your culture’s values don’t coincide with the mainstream, to a place where you’re surrounded by your own people. People here know the value of family, and understand that that some things don’t change. Despite some trivial things about ASCC that required adjusting to, I was very happy being surrounded by my people and learning more about Samoa and the culture.”

Danielle’s enthusiasm enabled her to absorb the local culture so quickly that after only a few years, she competed successfully for the title of Miss ASCC 2006-2007. Chosen by judges from a pool of contestants during a yearly pageant, the reigning Miss ASCC acts as the College’s ambassador for cultural and social events, and therefore needs an in-depth knowledge of cultural protocol, which Danielle easily demonstrated. She recalls some of the highlights of her reign as Miss ASCC including her serving as a judge in the Territory’s first ever Little Miss Samoa Philippines Pageant, and later accompanying volunteers of the South Pacific Christian Missionaries of Hawaii on their mission to the Independent State of Samoa. Danielle also competed in the Miss American Samoa Pageant this past fall, coming in as first runner-up and also winning the Miss Congeniality award.

Danielle also participated in a historical event this past April when she joined Governor Togiola Tulafono’s delegation on a visit to Swains Island and Tokelau. “This was the first time an elected governor from American Samoa visited Swains,” she explained. She describes her father’s birthplace as “very peaceful and very beautiful. For my family, of course it’s sacred, because you can still see the remains of my great-grandfather’s home, and many of my ancestors are laid to rest there.”

While serving as Miss ASCC, Danielle simultaneously fulfilled her goal of completing her first Nursing credentials, passing the national examination last year to earn certification as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She received hands-on experience working at the local LBJ Tropical Medical Center. “While attending school full time, I worked on weekends at the hospital,” she says. “Since the end of the semester, I work five or six days a week, for 12-hour shifts. I’m basically able to carry out all the duties of an LPN now.” As for the long hours, Danielle explains, “In the States, the nurse-to-patient ratio is usually one nurse to five or six patients, but due to the severe shortage of nurses here, on some days, I have as many as 10 to look after. Some of the patients you encounter, you never forget. You see people during the happiest times of their lives when the get well, and also during their most difficult times, sometimes all in one day.”

Danielle will leave behind the 12-hour shifts when she returns to California this summer, but her future plans include more intensive study in her chosen field. “I intend to pursue my B.S. and then my M.S. degrees in Nursing”, she says.” Someday I’d like to return to the Territory and open a hospice program. While taking care of my grandparents, the hospice program made it possible for us to care for them in our own home, rather than putting them in a nursing facility. Some of the patients I’ve encountered at LBJ require long term care and hospitalization for months. I think patients like these and their families would greatly benefit from a hospice program in American Samoa.”