When I was in second grade, I took a trip with my girl scout troop to tour a nursing college. I was immediately hooked, loving the environment, the people, and the fulfillment associated with nursing. As I progressed through middle school, mental health became a recurrent and intense part of my life, leading me to decide that I would instead become a psychologist. When I came out as transgender in high school, I got into advocacy for health education and equitable access to basic services for the queer community, which drew my interest back toward general health topics and back to the social aspect of healthcare, which I had never truly forgotten. By the time I graduated high school in 2021, I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field, having a deep interest in medicine, equity, and the mind. I had settled on psychiatry as my ultimate goal, oblivious to the fact that my second-grade self was waiting to resurface, this time, with a decade's worth of evidence that nursing was still my real calling. To get my foot in the door careerwise, I became a housekeeper at a senior living community. Residents in this community ranged from the recently retired to those in their final days, receiving third-party hospice care. An interesting aspect of senior living is how relevant physical health is in a person’s day-to-day life. Despite my role being to keep residents’ spaces clean, there was never a moment where I wasn’t also contributing to that caring environment and making residents feel heard and loved. I also took on a part-time role as a psychiatric technician at an adolescent residential facility, where I helped support young people struggling with severe psychological illnesses who were looking for independence in adulthood. Despite being in a completely different care environment, my responsibilities left me feeling the same way: I loved being a part of these residents’ lives and was honored to be involved in their care process. After 2 years in both positions, I have concluded that my ideal career environment will involve the same level of direct contact I’ve had with patients thus far. I feel personally committed to the people I work with and care for. Additionally, during my freshman year at WSU, I shadowed pre-med students at the Student Run Free Clinic. It was during this time that I realized that every moment I was sitting with the premed students discussing a single patient (how to interview them, which systems to assess, how to approach them based on appointment history), there was a nurse interacting with them directly. I decided that day that I longed to be the nurse in that situation. While my specific care interests may evolve in nursing school, the common denominator in my experience has been my want to become a direct-care provider that shows their patients that no matter their age or how they identify, they are welcome to (and deserve) the best care I can offer. Having the ability to contribute to an environment as welcoming as this is my goal for the future.

My name is Daniel Rossmiller. I am currently going into my third year at Wayne State University, yet it will be my first year in their College of Nursing. I will be taking a 3-year B.S.N. program in order to receive my R.N., and it is already much more expensive than my family was anticipating. Please hear me and understand that this is my passion. After I graduated high school in 2021, I knew I wanted to work in healthcare, having a deep interest in medicine and the brain; I had also come out as transgender in high school and knew that I wanted to help decrease disparities between LGBTQ individuals and healthcare settings. To get my foot in the door careerwise, I became a housekeeper at a senior living community. Residents in this community ranged from the recently retired to those in their final days, receiving third-party hospice care. An interesting aspect of senior living is how relevant physical health is in a person’s day-to-day life. Despite my role being to keep residents’ spaces clean, there was never a moment where I wasn’t also contributing to that caring environment and making residents feel heard and loved. I also took on a part-time role as a psychiatric technician at an adolescent residential facility, where I helped support young people struggling with severe psychological illnesses who were looking for independence in adulthood. Despite being in a completely different care environment, my responsibilities left me feeling the same way: I loved being a part of these residents’ lives and was honored to be involved in their care process. After 2 years in both positions, I have concluded that my ideal career environment will involve the same level of direct contact I’ve had with patients thus far. I feel personally committed to the people I work with and care for. Additionally, during my freshman year at WSU, I shadowed pre-med students at the Student Run Free Clinic. It was during this the time that I realized that every moment I was sitting with the premed students discussing a single patient (how to interview them, which systems to assess, how to approach them based on appointment history), there was a nurse interacting with them directly. I decided that day that I longed to be the nurse in that situation. While my specific care interests may evolve in nursing school, the common denominator in my past experience has been my want to become a direct-care provider that shows their patients that no matter their age or how they identify, they are welcome to (and deserve) the best care I can offer. Having the ability to contribute to an environment as welcoming as this is my goal for the future.

I'm a 2nd year undergrad student; last year I switched from pre-med to pre-nursing, and I plan to apply to my university's college of nursing next year. I made the switch not because of the amount of work facing me as an M.D., but because of the content of that work. I shadowed physicians at an office and was ultimately put off by the idea that the whole time I was watching them chart and make orders for things, there was a nurse interacting with their patient. I would rather be the nurse. My profile outlines some other experiences that solidify my affinity for hands-on, technical care. I respect physicians, but after some reflection about the field, I just can't imagine committing to a career that involves such little (relative) patient interaction. I want to use my experiences to bring relief to others in the future. I have wanted to be a nurse or psychiatrist since 2nd grade, and I'm now a neuroscience major, psychology minor. While started college last year with medical school in mind, I realized over the summer that nursing is what I want to do. I'm planning to pursue an accelerated nursing degree program once I've recieved my first B.S. So far, I've worked as a housekeeper in a nursing home, including assisted living/memory care units, and as a psychiatric technician for adolescent residential patients. Both jobs have taught me a lot about people, mental illness, and healthcare. I hope to return to both of these jobs next summer to offer any help I can and to gain more insights on how we think and communicate with one another. Both experiences have only strengthened my desire to pursue nursing, and increased my interest in treating mental illnesses. I want to close by thanking you for this opportunity. With my mother suffering from severe depression and undergoing regular ECT prodecures, she is unable to do typical work - my father still supports my education and our family, but I will not let him fund everything. If my scholarships are no longer able to reduce financial stress, I will move back home and find a college closer to me. My 3 younger siblings all have future aspirations for when they graduate high school; they deserve as much financial support as I've had, if not more. I want to be able to pay for as much of my own education as possible in order to give them the lives they deserve, so I am applying everywhere I can to do just that. I will be spending an extra year at my institution to fully complete my nursing program (assuming I'm accepted this cycle), so I am looking for ways to support my enrollment beyond my 4 year schoarships.

I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. While it's not as uncommon as I once percieved it to be, I can definitely speak to the filter that these illnesses held over my reality. The world turned into a much uglier place. The process of coming to terms with my gender identity did not help this situation, but things drastically improved upon my social transition. I spent many years believing that the future did not have room for me - only for Dorothy, the girl that everyone would acknowledge for my (Daniel's) accomplishments. While depression and anxiety placed a heavy filter over my perceptions, there was another filter being placed on me by my social environment, which caused everyone in my life to see a distorted picture of my true personality. Despite my outstanding grades, I saw no point in an inauthentic or forced future. When I came out as transgender, my mental illnesses became more manageable. My depression and anxiety did not go away after I came out. I hit a new low after getting into transgender youth advocacy work and actually spent some time in a hospital to be safe. I was told I was having an existential crisis by my providers because of my focus on how little a role I could ever play in the world. Intense pain will never truly end for everyone and many people are born into such a feeling without knowing anything different. I still struggle not to ruminate on what other human beings could be experiencing at this very moment. I digress. Upon discharge from the hospital, I was told to end my days by asking myself how many lives I changed that day. That is a piece of advice I still return to years later, and it is something I tell others who struggle to recognize the differences they make in others' lives. Additionally, I know what it can feel like as the oldest of four siblings within an unstable home environment; wanting my siblings to have a chance at learning basic life skills while a parent struggles with alcohol addiction had many implications for my future, and I'm still finding out what those are. I can go on about any of these topics if desired. Everyone's experiences can be lessons (if not, then maybe news) to other people, so when I have opportunity to share about my identity or experiences, I try to be open and honest. I take great interest in the experiences of other as well, and feel that having more intentional conversations about our troubles are the best way to bring relief of some kind. I want to use my experiences to bring relief to others in the future. I have wanted to be a nurse or psychiatrist since 2nd grade, and I'm now a neuroscience major, psychology minor. While started college last year with medical school in mind, I realized over the summer that nursing is what I want to do. I'm planning to pursue an accelerated nursing degree program once I've recieved my first B.S. So far, I've worked as a housekeeper in a nursing home, including assisted living/memory care units, and as a psychiatric technician for adolescent residential patients. Both jobs have taught me a lot about people, mental illness, and healthcare. I hope to return to both of these jobs next summer to offer any help I can and to gain more insights on how we think and communicate with one another. Both experiences have only strengthened my desire to pursue nursing, and increased my interest in treating mental illnesses. I want to close by thanking you for this opportunity. With my mother suffering from severe depression and undergoing regular ECT prodecures, she is unable to do typical work - my father still supports my education and our family, but I will not let him fund everything. If my scholarships are no longer able to reduce financial stress, I will move back home and find a college closer to me. My 3 younger siblings all have future aspirations for when they graduate high school; they deserve as much financial support as I've had, if not more. I want to be able to pay for as much of my own education as possible in order to give them the lives they deserve, so I am applying everywhere I can to do just that.

My ultimate career goal is to be in a position of service where I can bring quality relief and care to those who may not otherwise have access to that care (be it a social aversion to healthcare offices, insurance struggles, issues like humanitarian crises affecting healthcare access, etc.). I'm a 2nd year undergrad student; last year I switched from pre-med to pre-nursing, and I plan to apply to my university's college of nursing next year. I made the switch not because of the amount of work facing me as an M.D., but because of the content of that work. I shadowed physicians at an office and was ultimately put off by one concept: The whole time I was watching them chart and make orders for things, there was a nurse interacting with their patient. I realized that would rather be the nurse. My Bold.org profile outlines some other work experiences that solidify my affinity for hands-on, technical care. I respect physicians, but after some reflection about the field, I just can't imagine committing to a career that involves such little (relative) patient interaction. During my middle school years, I began to experience a lot of stress. While I had always been academically inclined, it seemed that I began to use those abilities to distract myself from home life, where one of my parents struggled with alcoholism. When I wasn't doing homework, I was trying to protect my 3 younger siblings from going on car rides or from engaging in inflammatory conversations. These years were incredibly difficult for me, but they served as a pressure cooker for my general maturity. I learned the value of accepting help, like when my school offered a general mental health screening to my class. I learned what it felt like to feel heard, and realized that I want that feeling for everyone (especially in the context of health). My parent is sober now, and I admire them every day for it. I will be going into nursing with the first-hand knowledge of what alcoholism/addition can do to a person and their family. I'm at an emotional advantage to my peers, as I have learned which interactions are worth taking personally, and how to apply empathy in a productive way. Every day, I feel a bit better about my switch to nursing. I will be spending an extra year at my institution to fully complete my nursing program (assuming I'm accepted this cycle), so I am looking for ways to support my enrollment beyond my 4 year schoarships.

I'm a 2nd year undergrad student; last year I switched from pre-med to pre-nursing, and I plan to apply to my university's college of nursing next year. I made the switch not because of the amount of work facing me as an M.D., but because of the content of that work. I shadowed physicians at an office and was ultimately put off by the idea that the whole time I was watching them chart and make orders for things, there was a nurse interacting with their patient. I would rather be the nurse. My profile outlines some other experiences that solidify my affinity for hands-on, technical care. I respect physicians, but after some reflection about the field, I just can't imagine committing to a career that involves such little (relative) patient interaction. In terms of specific areas, I have interests in neuropsychology, oncology, infectious disease, and public health. I don't expect to truly commit to any specific area until I've been through some rotations! I feel better and better about my switch to pre-nursing every day. I will be spending an extra year at my institution to fully complete my nursing program (assuming I'm accepted this cycle), so I am looking for ways to support my enrollment beyond my 4 year schoarships.

Journaling- I don't do this regularly, but when I do, I've found that it helps immensely with organizing my thoughts and stressors. One strategy I've been using in my current journal is not dating my pages. When I place dates on my pages, I feel pressured to return and journal every day, which is not a realistic goal for me. It can get to a point where I've missed so many days of journaling that returning to it feels like a mental chore. Since I've stopped dating my journal pages, I've felt much less pressure and stress regarding when and how I journal, which is how it is supposed to feel. Therapy- While I'm in a much better place than I was two years ago, I continue to meet regularly with a therapist, and find that this is an important way to ensure that I am acknowledging and articulating my daily stressors and talking through ways to resolve conflicts

I will soon be working my second summer as a part-time housekeeper at StoryPoint of Rockford. I feel privileged to be cleaning for these residents, knowing that it is a stress-relieving act which they can no longer perform on their own. I consider it a gift to be welcomed into these living spaces and being trusted to pick trash from treasure. I feel appreciated and know that my work is keeping my resident safe and comfortable. The people I clean for range from recent retirees to people who are on hospice care. People living with physical assistance and those with severe dementia. I love this job and the exposure it gives me new people and perspectives. My inclination to tidy things up is typically shared among the residents, which makes my work thorough. This quality of work is noticed not only by the residents, but also by the families that come to visit. They feel that their parents are cared for, which is my goal (because they certainly are!).