Growing up, Serena Royce spent much of her time within the four walls of a hospital room. From managing Type 1 diabetes to recovering from broken bones and even a traumatic brain injury, she became all too familiar with the healthcare system at an early age. Along the way, she experienced compassionate care, but also what it felt like to go unheard.

“I went from the pediatric doctors, like endocrinologists with my diabetes to the adult ones. I realized a lot of them think, ‘Oh, it’s your fault, you’re doing this wrong.’ They weren’t understanding that my diabetes could be different than the patient that they saw before,” said Royce.

Those experiences planted the first seed for a future in nursing.

“I wanted to make sure that my patients didn’t feel what I felt,” Royce said.

Drawn to patient care but still exploring where she wanted her career to lead, Royce enrolled in nursing school. She considered several specialties, including critical care, the ICU and neurology, before choosing to continue advancing her education through Galen College of Nursing’s LPN to ADN Bridge program at the Tampa campus.

“I knew if I wanted to make a bigger difference, and to move up, I needed to start getting more acronyms after my name,” Royce said.

While juggling multiple jobs, Royce completed her LPN education and accepted a position at HCA Florida Largo Hospital, where she works on a rehabilitation unit. Despite achieving her goal of becoming a nurse, her first year brought unexpected challenges. Self-doubt began to creep in, and just nine months into her career, she planned to turn in her resignation.

That same day, she received a recognition that would change her perspective entirely.

“I received that Daisy Award for advocating for my patient, because no doctor was understanding why she was in so much pain. I was writing in her chart, I left voicemails to these doctors, because of course it’s overnight. She was the one who said that if it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t have been where she was and succeeded so much in her rehabilitation,” said Royce.

The award showed she was reaching the goal she had been striving toward all along: making a meaningful difference in the lives of her patients.

Then, in July 2025, Royce faced one of the most difficult chapters of her life when her father was admitted to the ICU and later passed away from heart failure. During his hospitalization, she immersed herself in learning everything she could about his condition and care. The experience gave her a new perspective, this time as a family member navigating the healthcare system rather than a patient.

“It’s more so now seeing it from a perspective of being a family member and trying to understand. Because not every doctor’s going to give them all of that explanation, not every healthcare worker that comes across them is going to have the right words to say, and I want to make sure that my patients are heard, they’re advocated for, and that there is someone on their side,” Royce said.

The loss also solidified her interest in cardiac nursing. What began as a desire to help patients evolved into a mission to support entire families during some of their most difficult moments.

Royce returned to school at Galen, this time pursuing her Registered Nurse education, while continuing to work as an LPN. But Royce says it hasn’t always been easy. During her time, she faced academic setbacks, including having to repeat a course, and feelings of discouragement.

“I made a promise to him [her dad], and I guess me failing that class kind of felt like 10 steps back and away from that promise that I made to him. But then I remembered, you know, I am my dad’s daughter, and we don’t stop for anything. So that’s why I just kept pushing,” Royce said.

As she continues working toward her RN, Royce has also found ways to honor her father’s memory outside of the classroom and workplace. Alongside her team at HCA Florida Largo Hospital, she participated in the American Heart Association Heart Walk, raising awareness and funds for heart disease research while walking in his memory.

“Every donation that was made under my hospital’s name was also donated in my father’s name. So, we were walking for him as well. And even though my dad passed of heart failure, every step mattered, and every heartbeat mattered,” said Royce.

Now set to graduate as a Registered Nurse in March 2027, Royce continues to carry the lessons she learned as a patient, a nurse and a daughter. While her journey has included challenges, loss and moments of uncertainty, it has also reinforced her belief in the power of perseverance and purpose.

“Life doesn’t stop when you’re in nursing school. And if it’s something that you truly feel like you can make a difference in, just keep pushing for that,” Royce said.