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HOUSTON - Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Keenan Fitts, a native of Houston, TX, assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), has always been driven to surpass his own expectations.
“I’ve always wanted to do my best,” said Fitts. “I’ve never wanted to be mediocre. I realize that I can’t be the best at everything I do, but I can still do my best at everything that I do.”
Fitts was recently accepted into the Navy’s Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECP), a commissioning program offered to qualified enlisted Sailors to earn an entry-level nursing degree followed by an appointment as an Ensign in the Nurse Corps.
By being accepted into the program he has achieved a childhood dream of working in the medical field.
“I’ve always been drawn to the medical field,” said Fitts. “Even when I was a kid I used to tell my mom all the time that I was going to be a doctor. I came into the Navy to become a nurse, get into the medical field, and become something great.”
Fitts was introduced to the medical field early on in life.
My mother was a nurse and it influenced me to pursue a career in the medical field said Fitts.
His mother also influenced his attitude of working hard which ultimately led him into being accepted into the MECP program.
“I think a lot of my drive comes from the genes that I got from my mom,” said Fitts. “This is somebody who was my only parent growing up. She was a single mom; she went to school during the day and worked at night.”
Fitts’ principle of hard work and dedication has helped him throughout his 10 years in the Navy.
His first station after completing field medical school was Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Iraq. I was a 19-year old hospitalman recruit and went straight into the war in Iraq, said Fitts.
“I probably grew up a lot there,” said Fitts. “Being a corpsman out there in the war, you are their (Marines) sole provider. I was an E-3 taking on that role and understanding that role and it took me awhile to really understand how critical that role was.
After serving four years at Camp Lejuene, Fitts was stationed at Naval Hospital Jacksonville in Florida. While at Jacksonville, he learned more about the Naval Nurse Corp and the process of applying for MECP.
He began to take classes at a local community college and at the same time studied for advancement exams, worked at the hospital, and continued to be a husband and a father to his family.
“I had to learn fast while also maintaining school, get good grades, and I still have a family,” said Fitts. “Everybody says don’t put your eggs all in one basket but sometimes you have to. The greatest didn’t become great by halfway doing stuff so I definitely had to put everything I had into it.”
Fitts’ dedication paid off when received his associate’s degree before transferring to Ford.
At Ford, Fitts’ dedication and knowledge is prevalent as he has taken on the role of training petty officer and teaches Ford Sailors basic medical procedures.
The quality of work that he does is always impeccable, said Hospital Corpsmen 1st Class Robert Coleman, Fitts’ leading petty officer.
“He’s been doing all of the BLS (basic life support) and that is actually a role that usually the nurse on a ship does,” said Coleman. “So he’s actually been doing the role of the officer and helping our ship’s nurse get the crew 100 percent certified for crew cert.”
Lt. Cmdr Sachiko Ikar, ship’s nurse said, “Working with HM2 Fitts these last two years has been amazing because of the strong work ethic that he holds and carries throughout all assigned tasks. His hard work and flexibility has been invaluable in ensuring that a crew size of over 2,000 personnel are trained in basic lifesaving skills and I would not have been able to accomplish this without his hard work.”
While at Ford, Fitts never lost sight of his goal and continued pursing his acceptance into MECP. After his first package was not accepted, he applied again and with the help of Ikari and Lt. Cmdr. Shane Lawson, he successfully locked in good references and received high marks on his package interviews.
“If you put together a package as if it was your last package, then a lot of times it will be the last package you put in,” said Fitts.
Fitts received notification of his acceptance into the MECP program Dec. 29, 2015. No one was happier and more excited for his acceptance than Fitts’ wife.
“My wife she cried; she cried more than I did,” chuckled Fitts.
She put going back to work and school on hold in hopes of me getting picked up for the program said Fitts. “She was always behind me and rooting for me.”
The journey that he started in 2010 has now come full circle. He will depart Ford in late July and begin classes at the University of South Florida. Fitts will work towards his bachelor’s degree in nursing and then will be commissioned in the Navy Nurse Corp.
Fitts credits his persistence and never losing sight of his goals for his success.
“I had the instruction with me all the time since 2010 when I printed it out and said I was going to do this,” said Fitts.
When asked what advice he would give Sailors on achieving their goals Fitts said if you have a goal in mind keep it and write it down and look at it everyday.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2016 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 193498 |
| Location: | HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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