Special to The Island News
In many ways, Alani Crawford is an average 19-year-old.
She loves shopping, music and movies, and has a girly streak, gravitating toward all things pink.
The ambitious teen, however, is anything BUT average.
Alani spent her high school years challenging herself athletically and loading her schedule with community service, clubs and other extracurricular activities.
She graduated with a full-time job lined up at Beaufort Memorial, and she says her journey in healthcare has only just begun.
A taste for healthcare
As tempting as it is for a teenager to lay around “bedrotting” (Gen Z slang for lounging around in bed), Alani said she has always been a go-getter.
In high school, Alani was a cheerleader, a tennis player, a record-breaking track and cross-country superstar, a leadership ambassador and president of the “Ladies First” club at Whale Branch Early College High School, as well as vice-president of her school’s branch of HOSA-Future Health Professionals.
That interest in healthcare brought her to Beaufort Memorial through the Rising Star Youth Volunteer Program in June 2024. The two-week program, which allows high school volunteers to experience different career areas within the main hospital, shed new light on the healthcare profession, Alani said.
“It was a big eye-opener to go from roaming the hallways in high school, talking with friends and going to class, to a place where people are saving patients’ lives,” she remembered.
Alani was one of the inaugural high school seniors who entered the Beaufort Memorial PATH (People Achieving their Highest) program as part of the health system’s partnership with the Beaufort County School District.
After her cohort completed the PATH program, five graduates, including Alani, accepted jobs at Beaufort Memorial.
By the time she received her high school diploma in May 2025, Alani had not only a job but, thanks to dual enrollment opportunities with Technical College of the Lowcountry, a completed associate’s degree of both Science and Arts.
“It’s great to go off to college and have fun,” she said, “but I’ve found that with Beaufort Memorial, there are some really good opportunities right here, and I’m in a really good place.”
She’s now a certified patient care technician (CPCT) on the hospital’s third floor.
“It felt really good to know that I had a job secured before I graduated,” Alani said. “Knowing that the PATH program supports you each step of the way was really reassuring.”
Support from all sides
Alani always shows up to work with a smile on her face and a positive mindset. Her team on the floor is very close-knit, and she has found a strong support system there.
She’s the “baby” of the floor, she added with a laugh.
“All of the nurses I work with are always willing to help and teach me,” Alani said. “Teamwork is huge on our floor. I really feel like I belong here.”
She’s always inspired while watching the physicians and nurses work together and has learned strategies to manage stress during high-intensity situations.
Having the support of her team helps, she said.
“When you’re as close as we are, it makes stressful moments easier to deal with,” she said. “You start to get used to it and learn to be calm and think critically – like a nurse.”
While her work family inspires her constantly, her support system also has a critical component cheering her on from home: her mom, Latessa, has supported her through everything and is her best friend.
Planning for the future
Alani is currently enrolled at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and has her sights set on nursing, thanks in part to her inspiring team on 3T.
When she gets her license, she wants to become a nurse on the floor.
“I want to keep climbing the ladder,” she said. “After that, maybe a nurse practitioner. I want to keep going back to school. Maybe I’ll even be a director or a doctor here one day…who knows?”
Expanding services, growing careers
As Beaufort Memorial continues to grow, including the planned opening of a second hospital in Bluffton and a combination emergency and urgent care facility on Hilton Head Island in early 2027, opportunities to join its healthcare workforce are expanding, too.
Beaufort Memorial is hosting a “Careers & Connections” career fair on Thursday, Aug. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton.
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet leaders from across the organization and explore current and future job openings in nursing, imaging, clerical and patient care roles.
Register to attend this free career fair and networking event at BeaufortMemorial.org/CareerFair.
