Becoming a nurse is something of a family legacy for Chadeau Daugherty – her grandmother, mother, aunt and uncle were nurses. As a young child, she helped care for her ailing grandfather after a stroke left him unable to walk. “For me, [being a nurse] is what I’m meant to do, because that’s all I was around growing up,” she says. “From a very young age, I have enjoyed helping people.”
Born and raised in West Los Angeles, Daugherty has faced significant challenges in her life. After graduating high school at 17 years old, she immediately enrolled in a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) program, with the goal of saving money for nursing school while working as a CNA. Her dream came true seven years later when Daugherty enrolled in a nursing program near her home in LA.
But when her grandmother passed away suddenly halfway through the program, Daugherty found herself struggling to continue. “I fell into a deep depression,” she shares. “On the day of her funeral, I had an exam. I was trying to push through. Looking back, what I should have done was take a break and allow myself time to mourn.”
Instead, Daugherty eventually left the program altogether. Over the next few years, she would attempt to complete three more nursing programs, each time failing for various reasons, including extreme financial hardship and homelessness.
Eventually, Daugherty decided to apply to Golden West College’s nursing school and it would turn out to be, in her words, “the best decision ever.”
Nursing faculty and administrators quickly took Daugherty under her wing, vowing to help her finish her Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). “They were so encouraging. They told me ‘what happened in the past is the past. It doesn’t define you,’” says Daugherty.
When money was tight and Daugherty didn’t have enough for groceries, the Associate Dean and Director of Nursing directed her to GWC’s on campus food pantry, The Stand.
When the GWC Foundation’s scholarship applications opened, Daugherty was encouraged to apply. In the Spring of 2024 Daugherty was notified that she received two scholarships — an Assistance League scholarship and the Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship.
When Daugherty was overwhelmed by fear that she wasn’t good enough or smart enough, nursing administrators and faculty would remind her of how strong she was. “They would tell me ‘you are going to make it. We are here to help.’ Just hearing those words gave me all the strength I needed,” says Daugherty.
Daugherty graduated with her ADN in Spring 2025, preparing her to take the NCLEX state licensing exam to become a Registered Nurse. She transferred to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at California State University, Dominguez Hills. And, she currently is working at the University of California, Irvine as a nursing assistant, with the goal of eventually being hired as a critical care nurse in the Level 1 trauma hospital’s ICU.
“I truly believe I’m standing here today because of [the administrators and faculty] at Golden West College,” says Daugherty. “Some people are afraid to admit that they need that extra bit of help and guidance. But that’s what I needed, and that’s what they did for me. That’s what GWC did for me.”
