Tommisha Dodson

Visalia Adult School

Nominated in 2025

Tommisha is the first person in her family to obtain higher education. By determination and necessity, Tommisha has provided complicated nursing care to her family members. She cared for her grandmother and her father while in nursing school. Tommisha's father passed away unexpectedly 2 days before her licensing exam.

During high school, Tommisha became a teenage mom to a child with severe health conditions including cardiomyopathy and a seizure disorder. Tommisha had to quickly learn complex medical skills to care for her child. Tommisha’s daughter had a heart transplant at age 6 months. Tommisha learned to give injections, g-tube feedings, and complicated treatment regimens without formal education or training.

Despite these challenges during her high school years, Tommisha managed to graduate from high school with her class by attending high school, night classes, and independent studies.

According to Tommisha, when her baby was 3 years old, she tried to tell the doctor "something was wrong with her baby". The Emergency Room doctor indicated that she was too young and too inexperienced to know anything.

Sadly Tommisha was right within a few weeks her infant child was receiving a heart transplant and died from medical issues by 3 years of age.

These early experience and helping others inspires her to be a nurse.