Stephanie Staggers Curtis Memorial Scholarship

My name is Leandra Austin and I was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina, and I am 37 years old. As a mother of two, my motivation has always been to provide my family with a better future and be a good role model for my kids. I have always been interested in helping others, especially kids, and healthcare. This interest has developed over time into a distinct career goal of becoming a nurse, focusing on children. Creating a stable, nurturing environment for my family and giving back to the community that has supported me throughout my life is just as important as pursuing a job for personal fulfillment. As I've gotten older, my long-held desire to become a nurse has become more significant. As a mother, I'm more committed than ever to establishing a career that will enable me to have fulfilling and influential work and provide financial support for my family. My main objective is to obtain my nursing degree and pursue a career as a registered nurse, possibly focusing on pediatrics. I am very enthusiastic about providing children and their families with compassionate treatment that includes medical knowledge and emotional support during trying times. In addition to focusing on patients' physical well-being, I want to be the nurse who reassures and comforts needy families. My family, especially my kids, will be significantly impacted if I succeed in my career. I intend to give children a stable and secure future by pursuing a career in nursing, which will enable our family to prosper. I place a high value on spending quality time with my children, and the flexibility of nursing scheduling will allow me to do both. I want to demonstrate to my kids that no matter their age or life circumstances, they can achieve their goals if they put in the necessary effort and persevere. As kids mature, I want to teach them this important lesson. I will also be able to provide for my family in ways other than financial security by pursuing a career in nursing. I will be able to set an example for my kids as a nurse, showing them the significance of hard work, empathy, and giving back to others. I will be able to inculcate these similar ideals in my children by using the self-assurance and abilities I acquire from my nursing career to assist them and encourage them to seek occupations that benefit their communities in addition to themselves. One of my main career goals is to give back to the community after earning my nursing degree. Helping people outside of my immediate patients is a duty that comes with being a nurse. I intend to donate my time to local clinics, particularly those that assist marginalized or impoverished communities. Additionally, I would like to raise awareness about wellness and preventive care by participating in health education, especially for families and kids. I also want to mentor others who want to become nurses, especially those who might return to school later in life like me. In conclusion, becoming a nurse is more than just reaching a personal and professional objective; it's also about improving my family's future and giving back to the community. By taking this route, I intend to satisfy my desire to serve people while giving my kids financial security and important life skills. I want to enhance the lives of those around me by volunteering, mentoring, and supporting health education initiatives after receiving my degree. Reaching my career objectives will enable me to have a long-lasting influence on my patients, my family, and my community.

I am a driven and self-motivated mother to 3 beautiful children. I was born and raised in South Carolina and graduated high school in 2008. I went off to pursue my undergraduate degree at University of South Carolina Upstate but life happen my second year. I left USC Upstate with the anticipation of completing my bachelor's degree but that did not go as planned. I was involved in an unhealthy abusive marriage that resulted in a divorce years later in 2017. I have taken small strides in completing my education since then. I received a diploma in Medical Assisting in 2017 and just recently graduated from South University with an associate degree in Allied Health Science in August 2024. My goal is to obtain my bachelor’s degree in public health at South University. I want to work as a health educator specialist or an environmental health officer. With my background in healthcare, I have a love for health but also, I am a natural born teacher. I would love to bring the two together and work in a field where I have strong sense of importance and being impactful. Being a mother is my highlight and pride and joy. I have learned to be more organized, plan, and allow grace. I want to be a great example to my children and provide for their needs and wants without such a financial challenge. At this present time furthering my education will help increase my income and this burden. I also want to show my children that it is important to keep striving for your dreams despite of the obstacles that may come. I have 2 daughters and 1 son. My oldest is a freshman in high school and currently wants to be a nurse. She wants to follow in my footsteps of a healthcare job. She said watching me go to work as a medical assistant and hearing what my duties and responsibilities are she wants to experience the same of helping care for someone. Our gift is nurturing, and she is nurturing even to a stranger in need. Even though I do not want to be a clinical health professional my daughter and I may work together at different capacities at some point of our careers, and this is our dream. My son is 8 and says now he wants to be a nurse as well. It makes me feel good knowing my children are looking up to me and want to model my behavior. For me to help encourage them and guide them I feel I first need to be an example. The example starts with me obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

I am a single mother of a 6-month-old little boy, I am also a junior at Saint Augustine's University in North Carolina majoring in psychology. I am hard working and just trying to excel in life and become successful enough to put my son through school when it's his time. I want to be able to show him that if his mommy goes to school full time while being pregnant during the spring of 22 semester and pushed forward and graduated with him on my hip and show him that he wasn't a setback or a mistake. I want him to know he helped me get through the tough years of school. I have help from the village that I do have around me, and I am so very grateful for them. I do not think that I would have made it as far as I have from 2018 starting at a school that was in the middle of nowhere to transferring to a new school, changing majors a few times and then getting pregnant at 21 and still deciding to finish school without taking time off. Having a son is wonderful, but having a Black son is terrifying because of the world we live in. Young black boys aren't able to just walk around free and do as they please. They have a target on their backs just because of the color of their skin. As a mother I am terrified to send my son into the world that is so hateful towards people who have a little more pigmentation than the person to their right or left. These young men's cognitive state is never in question when the police pull guns on them or their peers. No one asks them are they okay and anything, the first comment from anyone even elders in the black community is " what did you do for them to target you" or " they must have been doing something" when in all actuality all they are guilty of is walking while black. So, I plan to give back to the community once I obtain my degree. Giving back to the community is a priority but giving back to the Black community is an even bigger priority. Giving back to the black community is important because there are not many things given to the black community especially the young men in the community. I am a psychology major, and I plan to use my degree to start programs for African American adolescent males to help them express their feelings and get an understanding of their mental health. They stereotype for a man in general is to be strong and not show emotions at all. It is a general idea in the male mind that crying or showing emotion makes them weak and not a man at all, sometimes they are told to "stop being a sissy and stop all that crying". After graduation I plan to start a non- profit organization that allows young black men to come and express how they feel with no judgement attached to them. This program will also allow them to learn about their mental health as well. We will teach them that mental health doesn't make you a sissy or weak, we will teach that their mental health is important, and they are also important. These will be the morals and mission statement of the program. These morals are also what I will instill into my son when he is old enough to understand his feelings and be able to express himself to myself or others.