Student Snapshot
Haley LaBelle
Major: Nursing
Career Goals: Critical care nurse, certified registered nurse anesthetist
Haley LaBelle has wanted to be a Pirate for as long as she can remember.
LaBelle’s father and several family members are East Carolina University alumni. She attended ECU football games and often competed in Greenville with her travel softball team.
“I just came to love the atmosphere here in Greenville,” she said. “There was no question this was
the school I was meant to attend.”
A graduate of Topsail High School, where the mascot is a Pirate, LaBelle also was drawn to ECU for its outstanding nursing program.
As a child, she helped give her mother medicines by injection to treat multiple sclerosis. “It is hard to see a degenerative disease progress in someone that you love and depend on, but this was just the start of my desire to care for people in need,” LaBelle said.
In addition, she was inspired by nurses who cared for her grandfather after five heart attacks and chronic health conditions. “I aspire to be that support for my future patients and family because I know how relieving it was when my family was in need,” she said.
At ECU, she’s received numerous scholarships including ones from the Golden LEAF Foundation, JA’s Uniform Shop, the Merry Widows of Topsail Island and other groups.
Following graduation, LaBelle plans to work as a critical care nurse before becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
“I really just want to be the best possible nurse for all my future patients. This goal is a constant reminder and motivator as I encounter all of the challenges faced in nursing school and now amongst this global pandemic.”