Sisters Tori and Tabitha Smith attend this year’s Survivor Night at the RubberDucks, an annual celebration hosted by the Akron RubberDucks baseball team for current and former childhood cancer patients.
Tabitha and Tori Smith share more than a last name. These sisters, who both currently work at Akron Children’s, are on a journey to becoming registered nurses (RNs) together. Enrolled at Stark State College, they are set to graduate in 2025.
Tori’s desire to become a nurse is deeply personal and stems from her childhood battle with stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma. At just 11 years old, she underwent chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant.
“When I think back to my time in treatment at the Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, I can’t help but admire the nurses and doctors who took care of me,” Tori recalled. “Every nurse treated me as a person, not just as another patient. They got to know who I was.
“I still have a great relationship with some of those nurses 10 years later,” she added. “Now I want to be that person for someone else.”
Tori and Tabitha were inspired to pursue nursing careers after Tori’s childhood cancer battle with Ewing Sarcoma at age 11.
Working now as a secretary in the Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit at Akron Children’s, Tori thinks her role has prepared her well for a future in nursing. “I assist in visitation and communicate between providers, families and other departments. These experiences are helping me develop the skills I’ll need as a nurse,” she said
Tabitha’s interest in nursing began with her sister’s diagnosis. “Just before I turned 17, Tori was diagnosed with cancer. It was such a life-changing experience for our entire family,” she said. “The nurses didn’t just take care of Tori; they took care of me, too. That’s something I will forever be grateful for, and I want to be that person for someone else someday.”
Tabitha, who is already a licensed practical nurse (LPN), currently works in Akron Children’s Allergy/Immunology department. She administers allergy shots, performs allergy testing, and works with the Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) program, where patients with severe peanut and cashew allergies are slowly desensitized to the proteins that trigger their reactions. “I really enjoy getting to know the families, especially those who come in every week,” Tabitha shared. “It’s fulfilling to help them manage something that could otherwise be life-threatening.”
During treatment, Tori and Tabitha attended A Prom to Remember, an event geared toward teens in cancer treatment.
For both sisters, the decision to pursue their nursing degrees was made easier thanks to Akron Children’s educational assistance program. “I found out about the tuition assistance program at one of my survivorship appointments,” Tori explained. “Without that support for tuition and textbooks, I don’t think I would’ve been able to go back to school.”
“Knowing Children’s would help pay for my education made going back to school an easy decision,” said Tabitha. “We didn’t plan to go through nursing school together, but it’s pretty cool that we’ll graduate at the same time.”
Both women hope to work in Hematology/Oncology after graduation.
“I have firsthand experience of what these kids are going through, and I want to offer a perspective that most nurses can’t,” Tori said.
Both women hope to work with hematology oncology patients after they graduate from nursing school.
“Hematology/Oncology has a special place in our hearts. I know we would both like the opportunity to work on that floor,” said Tabitha. “But if it comes down to it, I want Tori to have the job of her dreams. My future sister-in-law is a NICU nurse, and I think I would enjoy working in that environment.”
As they look ahead to their graduation in 2025, Tabitha and Tori are excited about the future—not only as nurses but as sisters who have walked this journey together. With their sights set on caring for the next generation of patients, they’re ready to give back to the hospital that gave them so much.
“Akron Children’s has been a huge part of our lives,” Tori said. “Not just in helping us become nurses, but in giving us the chance to be a part of something bigger—to help other families the way they helped ours.”
Learn more about careers at Akron Children’s.
