Fears Brings CHOA Experience To Heroes

The passion for nursing and the ability to help children started at a young age for Emily Fears, who as a young student would visit her friend at the hospital while she underwent cancer treatment. 

It was there in the hallways of the children’s hospital that Fears developed the key understanding that it took a special person to be able to take care of sick children on a daily basis. She was hooked. 

Fast forward several years later and Fears graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing Degree from Chamberlain University. After a medical mission trip to Kenya and some clinical rotations at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta during her senior year of college, Fears found herself working inside the hospital setting at CHOA. 

“My best friend in first grade, she had Leukemia, and my parents would take me to visit her in the hospital,” Fears said. “Being in the hospital setting at such a young age, I knew ‘this is where I am meant to be. This is what I am meant to do — help little kids like her.’

“CHOA fell in my lap and I loved it. I knew I wanted to do kids, and not grown ups. I had been there ever since until I came here.”

Fears decided to leave the fast-paced life of the hospital for Heroes Elementary School this year. It was a decision fueled by the opportunity to still serve in a nursing capacity and provide aid to students, while also being able to spend more time with her three young daughters, the oldest of whom is in Kindergarten at HES. 

“This is a great family work-life balance,” Fears said. “Being in the hospital full-time is three shifts a week. But those shifts are 12-hour shifts, but they are really like 14-hour shifts. So those days I didn’t see my kids at all. So being here, I get to get up with them in the mornings and go home with them in the afternoons. This is a great balance for us.”

A month into the new school year, Fears has found herself a new happy place as an inaugural staff member at Heroes Elementary School. She notes she believes something special is brewing among the staff at HES, and the culture within the building is second to none. 

“I love working here. I am proud to be a part of the team,” said Fears, who moved to Jackson County three years ago. “The camaraderie with the staff is amazing. It is really nice to be a part of something where we live, like put your roots down and be a part of the community.

“(The administration at Heroes) is building such a great environment for the staff and the students. It has been nice to build friendships and to see everyone come together and build something we can be proud of.”

Fears said she also understands the significance of her working inside of Heroes Elementary School,  a school themed and named to honor heroic careers like nursing and law enforcement, both of which are represented in her home. Fears’ husband, who she has been dating since high school, is a police officer with the Gainesville Police Department. She notes the opportunity to work at a school that represents the community is an honor. 

“I think the idea and name behind Heroes is awesome,” Fears said. “Right now, public servants are not always looked at in a positive light. So it was amazing to see those careers being recognized in a great way. I just thought it was perfect with our daughter was coming here and her daddy is a policeman and I am a nurse. We love it.”

Fears and the staff at Heroes Elementary School will have their first opportunity to honor those heroic careers on September 11, when the school hosts its first-ever 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony to honor the lives lost during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The school will hold the community ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11.