Nurse, Leader, and NFL Girlfriend: Inside Brooklyn Adams’ Inspiring Journey
- Brooklyn Adams, 26, is a registered nurse and girlfriend of Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
- She helps lead the St. Brown Foundation, a nonprofit in Michigan dedicated to youth literacy, founded by the St. Brown brothers.
- Her nursing background informs her work with the foundation, which addresses literacy—a key factor influencing health outcomes.
As a new nurse, Brooklyn Adams, 26, faced a choice that many of us in nursing understand all too well—figuring out how to align her nursing career with her personal goals.
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But Adams also had a unique circumstance to juggle in her life and nursing career: her high-profile relationship with Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
A Budding Relationship And a Dream
While St. Brown is practically a household name for football fans in and outside of Michigan, the couple got their start on a much smaller scale: in high school.
Adams and St. Brown were paired together for an English class project during their sophomore year at their high school in Anaheim, California. Fast-forward nearly a decade, and their long-distance relationship endured while Adams pursued nursing school in Orange County and St. Brown chased his NFL dreams in Detroit.
“We put so much on hold in our relationship,” Adams shared in an exclusive interview with People. “He was so focused on football. I was so focused on nursing school.”
Adams graduated from nursing school in 2024 and almost immediately decided to use her health background and influence to help improve public health on a broad scale for the children in her boyfriend's new town through a non-profit, the St. Brown Foundation.
A Strong Foundation
The St. Brown Foundation focuses on youth literacy in Michigan, a cause that ties directly to addressing social determinants of health.
“I knew I wanted to work in the hospital, but it led me down a different path,” Adams told People. “We’re a nonprofit focused on kids in education and giving them better opportunities.”
This pivot is a great reminder that nursing skills go far beyond the bedside. Nurses can be trained to save lives, but health education also equips us to make a difference in communities in unique ways. Michigan’s literacy rates, for example, are a public health issue. Research shows that poor literacy can lead to worse health outcomes, so Adams’ work with the foundation has a ripple effect on the well-being of the kids and families they serve.
"It's a focus on literacy, to help get their literacy rates up, because literacy in the United States, but specifically in Michigan, is really low," the RN explained to People. "We started this foundation with the mindset that Amon-Ra and I always had great opportunities in education. Our parents did an amazing job giving us those opportunities. Looking back at what we were given, we realized that few people have that. We wanted to give back and make sure that kids get that."
Adams may not be working the bedside as a nurse, but she is very proud of her identity as a nurse. A quick visit to her Instagram shows it: she proudly displays her title of 'Registered Nurse" first and foremost in her bio.
Nursing, Her Way
Adams’ journey from nursing student to nonprofit leader is proof that there’s no one-size-fits-all nursing career. Whether you’re working 12-hour shifts on a med-surg floor, running a clinic, or starting a community initiative, nursing is what you make of it.
Her work with the St. Brown Foundation shows how we can use our skills to tackle big-picture issues like literacy and education, which ultimately impact health outcomes. It’s a good reminder that nursing isn’t confined to the walls of a hospital—we can make meaningful change in all kinds of settings.
For nurses feeling stuck or unsure about their next step, Adams’ story is a nudge to think outside the box and define success on your own terms. Nursing is one of the most versatile careers out there, and you have the power to shape it in a way that aligns with your passions, values, and goals.
So whether you’re scrubbing in, starting a nonprofit, or doing something completely different—remember, you’re more than “just” a nurse. You’re someone making an impact every single day. Brooklyn Adams’ story reminds us that the skills we learn as nurses can open doors we never even imagined. And who knows? Your next chapter might surprise you in the best way possible.
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