Success looks like peace. The kind of peace that only comes from within. Resulting from countless trials and tribulations, detours and continuously starting over until you know you are on the right track. My name is Courtney and I am currently on the upswing of my journey to success. After graduating from Savannah State University with a bachelor’s in Behavior Analysis in May 2015, I thought I had found success. I am the first black woman in my family to graduate from a 4-year institution, attend HBCU and create a new identity of education for my family. Reality soon struck and quickly created numerous unplanned and undesirable opportunities for alchemy. My focus was to secure a long-term position, attend a graduate program and start a family. I explored the field of science and research, data analytics, network engineering and education and with no success. At the time, I could not quite understand what I was missing since all of those occupations were reputable choices. Then one day, I spoke to someone that had found true purpose. I listened for hours as they talked about their day to day roles and responsibilities and the ripple effects purpose had on their life outside of work. That was the moment I knew I was not on the right track. I found myself in awe and yearning for the same but had no idea where to start. They said, “it is something you already do but do not realize its importance because you do it so naturally”. I pondered this thought endlessly and in hindsight passed over purpose day after day. I continued replay over and over any and everything that created even a remote moment of “awe” in me. Suddenly, a heavenly realization came to mind as I cared for an ill newborn, as I had done so many times before. “This is purpose”, I thought to myself. As effortlessly as purpose arrives, so did the challenges to establish my confidence to become a registered neonatal nurse. It took about 4 years for me to generate the momentum I needed to become a certified nursing assistant, secure a medical position in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and enroll for prerequisites for an associate’s in nursing. Along the way I have lost close connections with friends and family, accrued thousands in student loan debt and have been fiscally responsible for taking care of my immediate family. As a NICU nursing assistant, I have also experienced some tumultuous, bone-chilling cases that made me reconsider and even doubt my ability to navigate the NICU sphere. I have seen babies born with their abdominal organs outside their bodies, develop severe edema because their kidneys are not fully developed or functional, physical abnormalities and deformities and even death. Yet and still, I could not dream of being of assistance to any other population. I say this to provide context and illustrate my tenacity, resilience, benevolence and flexibility throughout my journey to success. Because without a shadow of a doubt, I know that becoming a NICU nurse is my purpose. Everything about NICU nursing creates that ripple effect I described earlier. I am happy to report that on this great day I am officially apart of the Summer 2025 nursing cohort and am approaching my 1-year anniversary in the NICU. Being awarded this scholarship will help fund my action plan and reduce the burden of debt so that I am able to embrace the peace I seek.

Success looks like peace. The kind of peace that only comes from within. Resulting from countless trials and tribulations, detours and continuously starting over until you know you are on the right track. My name is Courtney, and I am currently on the upswing of my journey to success. After graduating from Savannah State University with a bachelor’s in Behavior Analysis in May 2015, I thought I had found success. I am the first black woman in my family to graduate from a 4-year institution, attend HBCU and create a new identity of education for my family. Reality soon struck and quickly created numerous unplanned and undesirable opportunities for alchemy. My focus was to secure a long-term position, attend a graduate program and start a family. I explored the field of science and research, data analytics, network engineering and education and with no success. At the time, I could not quite understand what I was missing since all of those occupations were reputable choices. Then one day, I spoke to someone that had found true purpose. I listened for hours as they talked about their day-to-day roles and responsibilities and the ripple effect's purpose had on their life outside of work. That was the moment I knew I was not on the right track. I found myself in awe and yearning for the same but had no idea where to start. They said, “it is something you already do but do not realize its importance because you do it so naturally”. I pondered this thought endlessly and in hindsight passed over purpose day after day. I continued replay over and over any and everything that created even a remote moment of “awe” in me. Suddenly, a heavenly realization came to mind as I cared for an ill newborn, as I had done so many times before. “This is purpose”, I thought to myself. As effortlessly as purpose arrives, so did the challenges to establish my confidence to become a registered neonatal nurse. It took about 4 years for me to generate the momentum I needed to become a certified nursing assistant, secure a medical position in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and enroll for prerequisites for an associates in nursing. Along the way I have lost close connections with friends and family, accrued thousands in student loan debt and have been fiscally responsible for taking care of my immediate family. As a NICU nursing assistant, I have also experienced some tumultuous, bone-chilling cases that made me reconsider and even doubt my ability to navigate the NICU sphere. I have seen babies born with their abdominal organs outside their bodies, develop severe edema because their kidneys are not fully developed or functional, physical abnormalities and deformities and even death. Yet and still, I could not dream of being of assistance to any other population. I say this to provide context and illustrate my tenacity, resilience, benevolence and flexibility throughout my journey to success. Because without a shadow of a doubt, I know that becoming a NICU nurse is my purpose. Everything about NICU nursing creates that ripple effect I described earlier. I am happy to report that on this great day I am officially apart of the Summer 2025 nursing cohort and am approaching my 1-year anniversary in the NICU. Being awarded this scholarship will help fund my action plan and reduce the burden of debt so that I am able to embrace the peace I seek.

My name is Courtney, I'm originally from Chicago, IL and currently reside north of Atlanta, GA and I am a first-generation graduate. I attended Savannah State University Fall 2015 and graduated Spring 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Behavior Analysis and a minor in Abnormal Psychology. During my undergraduate coursework, I worked as a research assistant in cancer detection and prevention, community health and psychoactive medication with the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health for a total of 4 years. I didn't have the most success in transitioning from college into the workforce and worked a lot of temporary positions. One day someone recommended I become a teacher, and I started working in public schools in Fall 2018. Simultaneously, I started a part-time graduate program and thought that's where my career would begin and end. Unfortunately, that wasn't my experience, and I ran into a lot of roadblocks. Progressing in spite of roadblocks has led to my success. In December 2020, I received a work-related head and neck injury from a student while working as a special education teacher’s assistant. I endured months of physical therapy paired with severe pain, and limited range of motion of my head, neck and shoulders. During that time, I was terminated and made the decision to pursue a career with minimal risk for injury which led me to the NICU. I became a certified nursing assistant in December 2021 and started working on a mother-baby unit. A year later I transitioned into the NICU and started my nursing program. My greatest lesson has been self-accountability. Thus far I have worked full-time as a nursing assistant and been a full-time student while maintaining above a 3.0 GPA. I have had to make sacrifices to balance my schedule, practice weekly planning to stay on task and review my progress to identify strengths and areas for improvement. This has been difficult at times because there have been times that I was sure I was doing a great job and after a midweek review have been proven wrong. However, self-accountability has been the reason I have been able to maneuver so well. After completing nursing school, my goal is to become a NICU resuscitation nurse, also known as a RESUS nurse. They attend high risk or emergent vaginal and cesarean deliveries, evaluate the baby, update the parents and transport them to the NICU for care. As a nursing assistant in the NICU I have the pleasure of attending deliveries to learn more about the day to day to steps of a RESUS nurse which is helping me prepare for my goal.

My name is Courtney, I'm originally from Chicago, IL and currently reside north of Atlanta, GA and I am a first-generation graduate. I attended Savannah State University Fall 2015 and graduated Spring 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Behavior Analysis and a minor in Abnormal Psychology. During my undergraduate coursework, I worked as a research assistant in cancer detection and prevention, community health and psychoactive medication with the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health for a total of 4 years. I didn't have the most success in transitioning from college into the workforce and worked a lot of temporary positions. One day someone recommended I become a teacher, and I started working in public schools in Fall 2018. Simultaneously, I started a part-time graduate program and thought that's where my career would begin and end. Unfortunately, that wasn't my experience, and I ran into a lot of roadblocks. Progressing in spite of roadblocks has led to my success. In December 2020, I received a work-related head and neck injury from a student while working as a special education teacher’s assistant. I endured months of physical therapy paired with severe pain, and limited range of motion of my head, neck and shoulders. During that time, I was terminated and made the decision to pursue a career with minimal risk for injury which led me to the NICU. I became a certified nursing assistant in December 2021 and started working on a mother-baby unit. A year later I transitioned into the NICU and started my nursing program. My greatest lesson has been self-accountability. Thus far I have worked full-time as a nursing assistant and been a full-time student while maintaining above a 3.0 GPA. I have had to make sacrifices to balance my schedule, practice weekly planning to stay on task and review my progress to identify strengths and areas for improvement. This has been difficult at times because there have been times that I was sure I was doing a great job and after a midweek review have been proven wrong. However, self-accountability has been the reason I have been able to maneuver so well. After completing nursing school, my goal is to become a NICU resuscitation nurse, also known as a RESUS nurse. They attend high risk or emergent vaginal and cesarean deliveries, evaluate the baby, update the parents and transport them to the NICU for care. As a nursing assistant in the NICU I have the pleasure of attending deliveries to learn more about the day to day to steps of a RESUS nurse which is helping me prepare for my goal.