--- title: A Nurse Is Born image: https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/A%20Nurse%20Is%20Born/1-PHI-2212179_2022ImpactReport-story9-social.jpg --- [![POE-Logo-Mobile](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/Cover/POE-Logo-Mobile.png?noresize&width=224&height=38&name=POE-Logo-Mobile.png) ![POE-Logo-Desktop](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/Cover/POE-Logo-Desktop.png?noresize&width=552&height=65&name=POE-Logo-Desktop.png)](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one?hsLang=en) [Donate](https://give.ccf.org/CCMAG) IMPACT STORY # A Nurse Is Born ## Share - [Share on facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/a-nurse-is-born&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook) - [Share on twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/a-nurse-is-born&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&url=https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/a-nurse-is-born&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&source=tweetbutton&text=) - [Share on linkedin](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/a-nurse-is-born&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) - [Share on email](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20A%20Nurse%20Is%20Born%20&body=Check%20out%20https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/a-nurse-is-born&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) Ayanna Lewis, left, found her calling as a coronary ICU nurse through the ASPIRE program. At right is Health Unit Coordinator Evelyn Penn. | Photo: Annie O’Neill Ayanna Lewis never gave much thought to nursing in general, let alone as a career. But that all changed after she joined Cleveland Clinic’s ASPIRE program. “We did so many different things,” Lewis says. “We learned CPR. We talked about health literacy. We shadowed nurses. It definitely held my attention.” ASPIRE is the brainchild of philanthropists Lorie and Nick Howley. **With seed funding and continued support from the Howley Foundation as well as support from Cleveland Clinic Board of Directors Chair Beth E. Mooney and the KeyBank Foundation, the program provides a pathway to healthcare professions for high school students from economically marginalized communities.** Launched in 2016 with a focus on nursing, ASPIRE has expanded to include future respiratory therapists, surgical technicians and sterile processing technologists. Lewis, a member of the first ASPIRE class, went on to pursue a nursing degree from Cuyahoga Community College, with her tuition covered by ASPIRE. She also gained hands-on experience working part time at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, most recently as a clinical technician in the coronary intensive care unit. She has a full-time job waiting for her there after she graduates this year. “In the ICU, you’re working with patients at their most vulnerable,” Lewis says. “You’re caring for people when they need it most. I find that very rewarding.” ASPIRE has given her not only a focus, but a secure future in a field that needs her. “I’ve felt supported,” she says, “every step along the way.” ## In this Report ### [![Two young female students wearing backpacks share a laugh in the hallway of the Lerner College of Medicine. ](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/Classroom%20with%20a%20View/1-PHI-2212179_2022ImpactReport-story8-small.jpg?width=242&height=214&name=1-PHI-2212179_2022ImpactReport-story8-small.jpg) IMPACT STORY Classroom with a View](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/classroom-with-a-view?hsLang=en) ### [![Doctor wearing mask and white coat leans over a patient's knees to administer an injection in a white clinic room.](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/Working%20It%20Out/1-PHI-2212179_2022ImpactReport-story10-small.jpg?width=242&height=214&name=1-PHI-2212179_2022ImpactReport-story10-small.jpg) IMPACT STORY Working It Out](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/working-it-out?hsLang=en) ### [![Black and blue illustration of donors for Power for Everyone Issue](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/Donor%20Spotlight/Donors_small.jpg?width=242&height=214&name=Donors_small.jpg) SPOTLIGHT The Power of Every Donor](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/the-power-of-every-donor?hsLang=en) ### [![A frame of blue and pink pixels on a black background](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Power%20of%20Everyone/Every%20One%20DV03/DV03-Sm.jpg?width=242&height=214&name=DV03-Sm.jpg) DATA VIZ 3 Every One](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/every-one?hsLang=en) - [Contact](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/2022-power-of-every-one/contact?hsLang=en) [Donate](https://give.ccf.org/CCMAG) [![Cleveland Clinic](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine%20Template%20Assets/img/logo-cc.png?width=300&name=logo-cc.png "Cleveland Clinic")](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/) © 2026 Cleveland Clinic. 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