BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) -- Southern University and A&M College made history last week by introducing its largest class of Black male nurses in their nursing program. Southern University Dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Dr. Sandra Brown says she's excited her students are a part of history. "Less than one percent of nurses in the United States are African American males," said Brown. After the announcement, they gained national attention. Brown says they weren't expecting to get that amount of recognition. "We never thought that what we were doing here at Southern University, an HBCU in south Louisiana, would garner national attention," she said. Many of the students say this is just the start of the journey they've been working towards. Level two nursing student Stanley Valentine says making history motivates him to make it in the medical field. "We're working in a female-dominated industry," said Valentine. "And to see us be able to have that breakthrough and to kind of change the narrative of our university, it's going to be history that's going to travel for years." Donaldsonville High School graduate with doctorate, love of teaching is the new principal Among the class are twin nursing students Kyren and Kyree Pierce. They say it's rare to see twin nurses, and twins usually majoring in the same field. With already being close, they say being a part of this history makes their bond even stronger. "I feel like since we're together, it's going to make us go harder," Kyren said. "When we graduate, we were even thinking about, like traveling together, you know, for travel nursing like all that," said Kyree. Brown says she's forever grateful to be a part of the history and continue leading students to shape the future and be SUSON strong. The program was also given a $339,000 grant from the American Nursing Foundation. Latest News Louisiana governor to support states affected by hurricanes Southern University makes history with largest class of Black male nurses in nursing program Here's why experts are so worried about Hurricane Milton Raccoon sparks chaos in stands during Broncos game against Raiders Harris pressed on changing positions, economic plan in '60 Minutes' interview