Aneka Reid | Graduation Story
Opportunity Knocked
Thanks to Osceola Prosper, Aneka Reid is finishing nursing school without student loan debt or financial concerns.
— by Linda Shrieves
As a child, Aneka Reid wanted to become a teacher.
By high school, she’d started to consider something in the medical field. So when a family member experienced a serious health crisis, she turned her attention to nursing.
“I saw a different aspect of care that I’d never seen before,” says Aneka. “I saw how intentional that care was and how impactful it was to my family member, and that led me to re-examine my choices.”
As a dual-enrollment student, Aneka had already taken classes at Valencia College. But when she was a senior at Gateway High School in 2023, she was thrilled that the Osceola County Commissioners announced they would provide every graduating senior in the county with a scholarship to Valencia College through the Osceola Prosper program.
“In high school, I definitely thought about college, but I didn’t think about the logistics and how to pay for it,” says Aneka, now 20. “When I heard about Osceola Prosper, I thought, ‘Wow, there’s a pathway for me that I can continue.’ It would cover the financial aspect that so many people worry about.”
Aneka was especially grateful after she filled out the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and learned she didn’t qualify for federal aid. Without Prosper, she would have had to pay the full cost of tuition to Valencia College.
“I would have had to consider student loans or work full time to pay for college, so Osceola Prosper really became the backbone for me.”
She also recognized how lucky she was when she saw other students worry about paying for college.
“I used to work in the Osceola Atlas lab,” she says, “and when we had payment deadlines, we would see students rushing in and having panic attacks. Osceola Prosper definitely took the stress off me.”
Aneka finished her Associate in Arts degree in December 2024, and will graduate with an Associate in Science in Nursing (ASN) degree in August 2026. She’s currently doing clinical rotations, during which she and other nursing students work in different units at local hospitals. Those experiences have confirmed that the nursing program at Valencia College was the right choice for her.
“I chose nursing for a complex number of reasons,” says Aneka. “For one, the type of holistic care that nurses provide. You’re not just caring for someone in that moment, but you may be helping them emotionally and physically.”
But she also wanted to work in a field that would allow her to contribute to her community.
“I found that nursing would create a way that I could make an impact in our community, especially for those in the hospital,” she says. “As a nurse, you play such a big role in someone’s life at such a vulnerable moment. That’s something to take pride in, to take seriously.”
Aneka Reid decided to become a nurse after watching a family member experience a health crisis. She loves the idea of helping patients both physically and emotionally, while also giving back to her community.
For future students who have the opportunity to go to college thanks to Osceola Prosper, Aneka offers this advice: Take it.
“Osceola Prosper creates a bridge. A lot of people after high school, they struggle and they don’t know whether to go college or not. My advice is: Take advantage of the resources that are given to you.
At Valencia College, we work every day to create a level playing field for college students of all backgrounds, fashioning a college where every student can succeed. And our students continue to amaze and surprise us. Read more of their stories.