Vina valedictorian plans career in pediatric nursing

If Vina High School valedictorian Miranda King is as dedicated to her aspiring career as she was to her academic career at Vina, King will make an outstanding pediatric nurse.

The daughter of Steven and Stephanie King, Miranda will attend Northwest Shoals Community College next month to begin in the Nursing program and earn her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate this summer.

After two years at NWSCC, King plans to transfer to the University of North Alabama to complete the remaining two years to earn her nursing degree.

Thanks to a full two-year tuition scholarship from Northwest Shoals, King will be able to stay close to home and her family while she pursues her degree.

“I always knew I wanted to stay around where my family is, so being closer to home with college is just a better choice for me,” King said.

And when King talks about her ‘family,’ it takes on an additional meaning at Vina.

“When I tell people about Vina, I always say it’s a small town where everybody knows everybody, and cares about each other,” King said. “You can ask anyone for help if you need it. You pretty much have one big family in Vina.”

King left a legacy at Vina that went beyond just being at the top of her class. She was a two-sport athlete, in basketball and track, a member of the National Beta Club, was in the Upward Bound program at Northwest Shoals, and was active in Beta Club local food drives and projects to help the community.

More than anything, King exemplified a student completely dedicated to whatever it was she set her mind to.

Vina High School Counselor Sharon Sparks explained.

“Miranda excelled in just about anything she put herself into. She’s a determined student whose interest is nursing now,” Sparks said. “That’s the career she’s pursuing and she is an outstanding, dedicated student who obviously did well here. And I’m excited about what she will do in the future.”

King’s older sister Kaitlyn graduated from Vina in 2020. An outstanding student herself, Kaitlyn was a positive role model for her younger sister.

King will always be thankful for her Vina school family, too, especially her English teacher Alisha Newton, Sarah Jane Hattaway, her BETA Club sponsor and Sparks, her counselor.
”Mrs. Newton is the kind of teacher who will help you any way she can with anything you need. and Mrs. Sparks was always here for any help or support, just like Mrs. Hattaway,” King said. “Each of them really care about you and helping you be confident and successful.”

When it comes to school work though, Miranda didn’t need a lot of push from her family or teachers.

While academics and grades were very important to her parents, King said they were always involved with her education, but never pushed her because they saw her doing so well in school.

For a young woman so resolved to become a pediatric nurse, it’s hard to believe what King’s first career interest was.

“Cosmetology. I was thinking that’s what I would be interested in. But a couple years later I realized nursing was what I wanted to do,” King said.

“I’ve always enjoyed working around kids and making them feel better about themselves so pediatric nursing will allow me to plan my future career and still be around something I love,” she added.