For nearly a year Juanita Wilson has worked as a registered nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital. 

She works in the emergency department helping people in need. But 16 years ago, when Wilson was just 17, she was the one who needed help.

She was attending a New Year's party at a hotel on Chili Avenue in Gates when a fight broke out.  

"Someone pulled out a gun, shot the gun. So everyone started running down the hall. I ran track in high school, so I'm like the fastest one, but this time I was the last one out the bunch," said Wilson. 

Wilson was shot. She was rushed to the ER at Golisano Children's Hospital. She remembers talking to the paramedics. 

"I just remembered looking at their faces and they had this really sad face and thought I was going to die and they just thought, ‘We're doing the best we can,’" said Wilson. 

That experience changed her life forever. She was considering becoming a lawyer, but decided on nursing. Now a mother of two, Juanita is working to make sure she can provide the best life for her kids. 

"It was a battle because I really wanted to be an attorney, but knowing what I went through and just letting god lead me to me to where he wanted me to be, it just all came together full circle," said Wilson.