Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Tina Prince Ellis has dedicated her professional life to helping those less fortunate.

A San Juan Elementary School and Marco Forster Middle School alumnus, Ellis is a 1974 Dana Hills High School graduate. Early on, Ellis was interested in helping others. In high school she served as a nursing assistant for the elderly. She later became a registered nurse and served in a rural village in Guatemala for the United States Peace Corps. Following her return, Ellis volunteered as a nurse for the South County Community Health Center in San Juan Capistrano before continuing her education.

While working in clinics for Hispanic farmworkers, Ellis received her Public Health Nurse Certificate in 1989 and later earned her masters of science degree in cross-cultural nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. Upon completion of her degree, she found her "dream job" with the Washington D.C.-based Farmworkers Health Services, Inc. (FHSI).

For the past seven years, Ellis has worked as a migrant outreach nurse for FHSI in 11 different rural communities along the eastern United States. She provides greatly needed health care for a variety of migrant farm workers including those from Mexico, Jamaica, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Haiti. She has also worked with local, state and national social service agencies and political policymakers to try to improve the overall quality of life for migrant farmworkers. Thanks to her dedication and service to those less fortunate, Ellis has been distinguished in the Who's Who in American Nursing and awarded the 1999 Outstanding Clinician by the Bureau of Primary Health Care-Division of Migrant Health.

Through education and an intense desire to help others, Ellis has impacted the lives of thousands of minority men, women and children who serve as farmworkers throughout the country. Nominated by her mother who lives in San Clemente, Ellis resides in Fort Myers, Florida with her husband.

"My CUSD experience helped prepare me for my career and life by teaching me how to be part of a team, the importance of finding our talents and building on them, how to articulate and write well, respect for others, helping those less fortunate, and to believe one person can make a difference," said Prince.