Dylan Dixon always knew he wanted to be a nurse.
Having been in and out of hospitals with his brother who has cerebral palsy, autism and renal failure, he saw from a young age the care, passion and expertise of those in the medical field. For Dixon, being a nurse is his way of giving back to all the people who helped get his brother where he is today.
Dixon enrolled at a four-year university after graduating from high school to pursue nursing, but says that at the time he didn鈥檛 take it seriously and dropped out. Afterward, he tried pursuing culinary and then sales, but still didn鈥檛 feel fulfilled.
The driving factor that led him to 91黑料鈥檚 (PCC) nursing program was caring for his mom for six months as she underwent tests and surgery for epilepsy. Dixon recalled the countless times he didn鈥檛 understand the terminology doctors were using as they talked with him about his mom.
After that experience, he knew it was time to finally pursue his career in nursing.
Dixon completed the Nurse Aide program at PCC and was hired as a full-time Nurse Assistant at Duke Regional Hospital. He started PCC鈥檚 Associate Degree Nursing program as part of the evening/weekend cohort on the Caswell County Campus in January 2026 and is on track to graduate December 2027.
鈥淚 keep telling myself it鈥檚 going to pay off in the end,鈥� Dixon said. 鈥淲henever I started actually working in the hospital, it instantly felt like the right place. It鈥檚 making me realize I鈥檓 doing the right thing by going back to school.鈥�
Unlike his first time in college, Dixon has excelled in his first semester of nursing school, even being inducted into Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), an international honor society for students with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
Dixon is grateful to PCC鈥檚 nursing faculty for their help and support as he works towards his goal of becoming a pediatric surgery scrub nurse one day.
鈥淎t 91黑料, you don鈥檛 feel just like another student,” Dixon said. “You actively feel like there are people who care about you and want to see you succeed.”
When asked what advice he would give to others thinking about going back to college, Dixon said, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e never going to kick yourself for not doing it. It鈥檚 worth it. It鈥檚 rewarding. Not once have I thought I shouldn鈥檛 have gone back.鈥�
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