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How a change in major can change a life

Messiah Alumna Rebecca Franco ’14 says she learned to trust in God’s plan for her life throughout her four years at Messiah College. She testifies to the growth in her faith and her dependence on God as she sought His will for her life. Although it took her feeling defeated and confused as to where she should be, things became very clear her sophomore year of college. Franco entered Messiah as a nursing major, due to her desire of work in a caring profession. However, she realized early on that nursing may not have been her calling after all. Her heightened interest in fields like psychology, sociology and education encouraged her to switch her major to human development and family science with a concentration in children and youth services.

Once Franco graduated, she began working part time for an adoption agency as an adoption caseworker. She was also a substitute teacher during this time to save up for graduate school, which she began in 2016. While in graduate school, Franco became a paraprofessional for a young woman with a rare neurological disease. She says that this role helped her develop a deeper understanding as to what it was like to care for children with complex needs. She says it also grew her advocacy skills, as well. Today, Franco is a certified child life specialist in the pediatric emergency department at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens, New York. “On a daily basis, I am providing psychological preparation, developmentally appropriate education, emotional support and distraction to help children and teens cope more positively during procedures happening in an ER,” she says.

Franco is also an advocate for pain management during certain procedures, and provides therapeutic comfort. She uses toys and free-play as tools to normalize the hospital environment. Franco says that aside from normalizing the environment, it also helps distract the patients from the stress of their current situation. “You would often see me blowing bubbles for a scared two year old, playing I Spy with a five year old getting an ultrasound on her belly, or having a discussion about Marvel superheroes or Fortnite while a 13-year-old boy gets stitches on his forehead after falling off his bike,” she says.

She is also frequently working with other medical specialists to advocate for families and help make their stay at the hospital a positive experience. Franco is appreciative of Messiah’s human development and family science program and the doors it has opened for her. She is especially grateful for Dr. Erin Boyd-Soisson who was her advisor throughout her time at Messiah. Franco feels that Messiah College gave her the resources she needed in order to gain the experience that allowed her to get to where she is now.

When asked what advice she has for current students, Franco encourages them to completely trust God and the plan He has for their lives. “Never doubt that God is on your side and wants your life to be fulfilled and glorifying to Him,” she adds. “He has a plan, and sometimes, we want to take a peek at the blueprints before He is done.”