Faith is not something someone possesses but rather something someone is made of. I believe that all people have some kind of faith that encourages them. I felt touched by God for the first time when my family discovered that my grandmother has dementia. My abuelita was an extremely hardworking single mother who had strong faith that kept her from letting the most devastating events detriment her. When we discovered she could not remember us it was extremely heart shattering and left my entire family distraught. I had doubt in my faith initially because I was so upset with the situation handed. My mother knew that God does not hand us anything we cannot handle. Mama told me if I am doubting God that it is a sign I need him the most. That night I prayed to God and begged him for a sign. I dreamt of the city streets and a grand building I have never been to before. The building was made of brown bricks and filled with shining stained glass windows and pointed roofing. It was engulfed by a bright light. In the morning I told my mom about the dream. Mama explained that it was a message that God placed. She believed it was my grandmother's childhood church and a sign to bring her to Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn. A couple days later the family took a trip to the church. My grandmother was extremely confused at first but as we got further into the city she began to act more like herself. Once we arrived to the church, I realized that it was the exact same church from my dream. As we walked through the church, we felt so full of life. The church had bright white walls on the inside and hanging chandeliers. It was the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Abuelita told us this was the first time she had been back home in the city in 7 years and began crying. She remembered us after 4 days of feeling alone and forgetting us completely. Every year we make sure to take her back to that church so she can feel God's Presence with us. I have carried my faith with me ever since. If feel lost I pray and allow him to send me messages through my dreams. My senior year of high school I realized I could not have financial support for college and prayed every night for that year and got an influx amount of aid from my college. As I entered nursing school I learned so much as a first generation student. I feel that I finally have all the tools I need to help others in very dire circumstances. I had always loved school and wanted to have a job that could give back. Mama than introduced Nursing to me so I can give those care who lack it and spread faith as long as I am living which is now my dream. Working while being a full time student is extremely difficult but rewarding and I know that God has never handed me anything I could not handle. He gave me all my gifts for a reason to give others the love they deserve. I work as hard as I can each day and keep my faith because I know with the education and experiences I have now I can not only become the best nurse but can also be the best version of myself like my abuelita always wanted for me.

There are many people all over the world who lack the proper care, a helping hand, and a compassionate companion. The United States is filled with poverty, discrimination, and improper access to health care to those who need it most. It is easier to look away from issues that may not effect us than face them head on or believe that you are large enough to make a difference. I have never taken the easy path over the right one. I was taught to treat every community as if it yours because we are responsible to all beings that inhabit the earth. My family struggled with paying off medical bills and reaching ends meet but we understood that there were people who needed help more than we did. While growing up my mother taught me the importance of caring for others in little ways. Tiny actions can make a bigger impact than expected. My mother would make bags of toiletries, snacks, and other goods for the homeless. We would drive by, pass the goodie bags out, and make someone's day. The majority of cars passed and ignored the homeless because it is simply easier and less stressful to stop. She always made us stop when she had the time and the bags. She explained that those with big hearts must share their gifts to others. I remember how bright so many individuals faces lit up after receiving the bags. I've been taught that helping others is how the world becomes a better place rather than minding your own business. I learned my heart was plenty big enough to connect with others and help even if it seemed slightly inconvenient. Those who are ignored, abused, hungry, and underserved deserve more attention, affection, and growth. They are consistently ignored due to others believing the selfish thought of "it is not my problem". This causes more individuals to be sheltered from the tough truth that people struggle everyday. Not everyone is born fortunate enough to have proper education , healthcare, food options, and a home. I wish to positively impact those who live in less than ideal situations within my medical career as a nurse. Doing so would fulfill my need to be compassionate, connect with others, and would also give others the resources possible to thrive. Without caring medical workers, these communities' detrimental issues will never be approached. There should never be fear that there is not enough medical equipment or workers for any community! Many feel as if they have no one to depend on and that they cannot trust anyone to care for them. I believe that everyone deserves that safe space that I was fortunately born into. Without change we are crippling communities and allowing them to relive cycles of illness, pain, fear, poverty, and homelessness. I want to pass my mothers teachings on and make a large enough impact as possible. I want those living in these conditions to feel safe and comfortable in a hospital. I want them to feel that they have someone to advocate for them and their needs without having them panic over money by finding them accessible care and programs. Helping those who are most vulnerable is so valuable to me and will allow me to become the best version of myself which can do the same for my patients. Patient-Centered Care is my goal and that is the type of assistance underserved communities need because they deserve better than this cycle they were thrown into by the selfish acts of others.

Severo Ochoa is a biochemist who's brilliant mind discovered that the enzyme polynucleotide phosphorylate can be used to synthesize RNA. This hispanic icon influenced many after him to further research RNA and bacteria to benefit the health of those around the United States. Without his work we would not be able to have the progressive COVID-19 vaccination and many others prior which saves lives everyday. Biochemistry is the building blocks of life as we know it and without Ochoa we would lack a deep understanding of our world and suffer without these ideologies.

Being a first generation student pushes me harder each day to not only thrive academically and economically but to reinvent myself in order to assist others. Healthcare was my dream for as long as I can remember. I would play doctor and nurse with my older brother whenever he would scrape his knee and had a fascination with the body. I remember how hard it hurt my heart seeing others in pain and how helpless I would feel. I watched my family struggle with so many medical issues and struggling to pay off bills due to poor insurance. Although I have been through many hardships they have been my anchor that caused my growth and prosperity. The struggles my family has faced were anything but little. My father struggling with mental illness and HIV without a proper understanding of either illnesses, my diabetic grandmother with dementia, and my mother having pre-breast cancer. It was so frustrating to know that there are helpful solutions that my family could not afford. I have been taught that in order to achieve great things you must work hard and believe that they are achievable. A lot of pressure was placed on me as a student and as a child in general. I was raised to assist my parents pay for rent by working and maintaining my 4.0 GPA in high school so I can excel in college due to academic scholarship. My parents both grew up in poverty and my father left us early on in my life. My mother told me school was everything and that would be the way that I can reach my dreams and break the chain of poverty. It was exhausting watching my mother struggle to put food on the table, raise my brother and I, and care for my grandmother. It saddened me to watch my family struggle to pay off medical bills and be terrified to go to the hospital due to needing to pay for food or rent. I felt that my family just like many others deserved more than that. I allowed these unfortunate experiences to drive my work ethic so that my future can be whatever I please rather than what was handed to me at birth. Being in this position really grew me into a responsible, caring, and hardworking person because I had to be in order to even make it to college. I pay for my own school and am only able to do so because of the ethics engrained in me from these experiences and my status of a first generation student. After reaching college and remembering my family's poor medical care I was inspired to become a nursing student. Becoming a nursing student was a battle I knew was not easy. Working endlessly, making flashcards, buying hundreds of nursing text books, needing to find ways to prepare for tests, and receiving the RA position on campus was harder to tackle than I ever could imagine but I refuse to give up. I finally am reaching my future and my dreams. I will make a difference in people further than physical wellness but overall wellness. When I am discouraged I think of my poor hardworking mother who is stuck and does not receive proper care for her condition and I push myself to keep moving for her. If I continue to work hard, no matter how difficult it may be, one day I will be able to make a difference and give women like my mother a chance to have healthcare.

I come from a family with a long line of strong women who run their households as single mothers. The women in my family do not allow anyone to underestimate our strength, power, intelligence, and hard working demeanor. The women in my family, especially my hardworking mother have a huge impact on my education and personal goals. I have been taught as a latina woman to always stand my ground, learn from experiences, and work hard for my high goals. I am the first woman in my immediate family to enroll in college. My mother did not attend college but embraced the importance of education. My entire life I have been raised to be ravenous for my goals and embrace all opportunities that came my way. My mother, Killy Maria Espada, raised my brother and I and was a victim of domestic abuse. She is the strongest person I have ever met. She protected us from our abusive father and engrained all my core values into me. My mother is truly the most impactful person in my life. Most of her life my mother had been sexually and physically abused by the men in her life. Although her trauma is horrifying she used all her power to ensure I did not endure the same fate. She always gave me love, support, kind words, and most importantly confidence to earn what I deserve. I grew up with low self esteem, anxiety issues, and abandonment issues but my mother proved to me that I could move past that. She taught me that you can be beat down to your lowest and still rise like a phoenix in the ashes. My mother refused to let me tarnish my future and inspires me to work harder everyday I awake. My mother always wished she had gone to college so she made sure college was at least academically achievable for me. She came back from working two jobs, caring for my grandmother, and would assist me with homework although it seemed impossible. Watching her work so hard and still have such care for other people inspired me and pointed me the healthcare route. When I told her I wanted to be a nurse when I turned 14 my mother said that she knew it was my gift. Many young adults have no idea what they want to do and what person they wish to become and she taught me I am very lucky to be the anomaly. Without my mother and her core values I would never be where I am today and feel that I can reach my career aspirations. Many of my family members have underlying medical conditions that further sparked my interest in nursing due to having so many encounters with kind hearted and compassionate nurses. My mother most recently has been diagnosed with early onset breast cancer and somehow maintains a positive attitude. She pushes through her pain and cares for my 86 year old grandmother with dementia. My mother is an unstoppable force and everyday I strive to be just like her. My mother cannot support my education financially but empowers me everyday to work hard for my education through new job opportunities, applying to scholarships, and entering with high academic integrity. She told me she does it all for me so that one day I can surpass her strength and that one day my children will surpass my strength. Without my mother I would be a lost little girl and not the hardworking and caring woman I am. She deserves all the credit for me becoming a nurse.

Being a first generation student pushes me harder each day to not only thrive academically and economically but to reinvent myself in order to assist others. Healthcare was my dream for as long as I can remember. I would play doctor and nurse with my older brother whenever he would scrape his knee and had a fascination with the body. I remember how hard it hurt my heart seeing others in pain and how helpless I would feel. I watched my family struggle with so many medical issues and struggling to pay off bills due to poor insurance. Although I have been through many hardships they have been my anchor that caused my growth and prosperity. The struggles my family has faced were anything but little. My father struggling with mental illness and HIV without a proper understanding of either illnesses, my diabetic grandmother with dementia, and my mother having pre-breast cancer. It was so frustrating to know that there are helpful solutions that my family could not afford. I have been taught that in order to achieve great things you must work hard and believe that they are achievable. A lot of pressure was placed on me as a student and as a child in general. I was raised to assist my parents pay for rent by working and maintaining my 4.0 GPA in high school so I can excel in college due to academic scholarship. My parents both grew up in poverty and my father left us early on in my life. My mother told me school was everything and that would be the way that I can reach my dreams and break the chain of poverty. It was exhausting watching my mother struggle to put food on the table, raise my brother and I, and care for my grandmother. It saddened me to watch my family struggle to pay off medical bills and be terrified to go to the hospital due to needing to pay for food or rent. I felt that my family just like many others deserved more than that. I allowed these unfortunate experiences to drive my work ethic so that my future can be whatever I please rather than what was handed to me at birth. Being in this position really grew me into a responsible, caring, and hardworking person because I had to be in order to even make it to college. I pay for my own school and am only able to do so because of the ethics engrained in me from these experiences and my status of a first generation student. After reaching college and remembering my family's poor medical care I was inspired to become a nursing student. Becoming a nursing student was a battle I knew was not easy. Working endlessly, making flashcards, buying hundreds of nursing text books, needing to find ways to prepare for tests, and receiving the RA position on campus was harder to tackle than I ever could imagine but I refuse to give up. I finally am reaching my future and my dreams. I will make a difference in people further than physical wellness but overall wellness. When I am discouraged I think of my poor hardworking mother who is stuck and does not receive proper care for her condition and I push myself to keep moving for her. If I continue to work hard, no matter how difficult it may be, one day I will be able to make a difference and give women like my mother a chance to have healthcare.

My inspiration to further my education and enroll in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program was my goal to impact others positively in all aspects of my life. I wish to be that person who brightens everyones day and makes them feel validated. I want everyone to feel touched by my care and appreciated because everyone is important in the grand scheme of things. Everyone has a grand purpose in the world and I want to help people achieve their goals to get there. I decided I wanted to become a nurse after years of taking care of my diabetic grandmother with dementia. I grew to understand her condition and what type of healthcare workers I appreciated. There are many healthcare workers who look at people and just see their condition but many nurses are holistic. I wish to be the nurse that not only helps their patient but makes them feel as they are valued. Nursing school is just the start of my ever-going journey to achieve my ambitious goals. Seeing my family's fearful faces each time we went to the hospital truly inspired me to go to specialize in critical care nursing. Another situation that further influenced my need to become a nurse and positively impact others was watching my fathers struggle with his medical conditions. My father has many underlying conditions due to his alcohol and substance abuse. I had watched him suffer in the ICU multiple times throughout my life and he had an amazing nurse. Richard is a very difficult man and has trouble communicating kindly with others due to his high anxiety and traumatic past. This nurse communicated to us frequently keeping us reassured. She continued to care for my father as not only a patient but as she would treat her family member. Even when he has his moments of temper and confusion she allowed him to lean on her for emotional support. It was so relieving and inspiring to watch this woman care for my father during his most difficult moments. My goal is to be as helpful and caring as that nurse. She made my family feel accepted, loved, and listened to. I will one day be that nurse to someone and their family. I want to make others feel that way I felt. I want my patients to know I am authentic, honest, and present for them. I want them to see my competency and feel like I am not only relatable but reliable as a nurse. I have many goals some large and some very small but all very dear to my heart. I wish to be that shoulder to cry on. I wish to keep learning everyday of my life and healthcare will help me achieve that. My dream starts with becoming a critical nurse but I also wish to one day further my education to become a midwife. I believe helping those in there most vulnerable moments such as being in labor is such a gift. I wish to be excel from midwifery if I please and become a surgeon. The truth of these goals is that they give me an opportunity to touch others in a way they may have never thought of. People do not understand the importance of nurses until they are stuck in a poor situation. I want to prove those who do not think nurses are reliable and capable wrong. People want to be listened and I want to be one of the world's best listeners.

My everything is the opportunity to make a positive impact on those who need some sunshine. There are many people who are placed into unfortunate circumstances and denied a helping hand. I wish to give those people support so they could feel a little less scared in an already terrifyingly big world. My everything is my goal to become a nurse. Being a nurse is not only being a healer or someone who assists those who are physically sick, it is a job where one needs to be compassionate, capable, and open. A nurse needs to be emotionally available and empathize with others so they feel cared for overall. The art piece of bees that I created is a symbol for nursing. Bees like nurses have many tasks that tie together and are specific for the bee/person uniquely. Bees also know the importance of their jobs and the big ideology that they work into. Bees and nurses are both insanely hardworking and collaborate because they depend on each other just like people do. But the difference between bees and nurses is that bees are handed the some opportunities and people can come from places that may not be as fortunate. I come from a place where money becomes a barrier to people's goals and it towers over a person in hopes of discouraging him or her. I was raised by a single mother and am a first generation college student. My mother supports me the best she can but cannot assist me with my college education so I use my determination to drive me to raise money on my own. Although my financial struggle makes my goals seem less achievable I refuse to give into giving up because my goals are "too high". I believe that no goal or dream can be too high to achieve as long as you put hard work into them. No matter how difficult some barriers may be I choose to push myself harder each day so I can grow. I am so passionate about helping others and connecting with those less fortunate. I have been caring for others for as long as I can possibly remember. I want to touch others the way I have been kindly touched by my mentors that further push me to become the best version of myself and follow my dreams. I wish to positively change the world even in little ways by talking to others when they feel lonely, helping them while sick, and listening to others as much as possible. I believe everyone is important and has their own purpose so all life is important. In all aspects of my life I will choose to work hard and achieve my everything because my everything may save lives and impact others. Maybe my kindness can lead to further kindness and that would be a start.

My greatest inspiration in life is the opportunity to become a person who not only helps others but makes a large enough impact on his or her life. I want to touch others' hearts and allow them to feel as they are appreciated, understood, and supported entirely. I have always admired those who are first responders and put others before they prioritize themselves. There is a great need for healers and those with open hearts especially in this time of the pandemic. It has been my dream to become a nurse since I was a young child due to my parental's medical hardships. My father was diagnosed with HIV when I was young and my mother most recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. My family life and financial struggles are less than favorable but I allow my dream to become a nurse practitioner to drive me to work hard to achieve my dream and make waves in our very big world. I envision the person I wish to be and keep my goals high and remain ambitious regardless of the many obstacles I face. I work part time, obtain a work study, and ensure my grades remained 3.2 and above to keep my good standing at my nursing school. I go to school primarily based off of scholarships and loans because my parents cannot assist me in any sort of payments. I save my money and work all summer so I can pay off my loans and hopefully have a good amount saved for next semester. I have been awarded the position of resident assistant and sacrifice a lot of my social life to working on my goals and raising money so I can become the person I always dreamed of being. Nursing and assisting others means everything to me and I will do everything I possibly can to achieve these wishes. I want to break the chain of women in my family not pursuing college and depending on their husbands and wish to be my own independent woman who does not feel the need to leech off of others to get by. I want to give my future family the opportunities I was never given and make every patient I encounter feel that they were properly cared for. I want to connect to others in a way that not only heals their body but eases their mind.

Adversity can seem unescapable. It traps you in its four walls and buries you deep in worry, fear, and discouragement. Adversity may seem so invincible that after you tear down the ceiling of one floor, you still are buried deep below more. The way to overcome this issue is being honest to yourself. This however, is easier said than done because although nobody knows yourself better than you, that precisely is what makes it so challenging. The lack of control in your life is what causes us to become victims of adversity. If you learn how to adequately adjust to the constantly changing world and improve yourself based on those changes you will become content with your current place in the world. I am currently struggling with financial adversity and have been for three years. I was raised in a single parent household. My mother has been my pure provider ; working multiple jobs so my family could survive. My mother made hardly enough to feed us, pay for insurance, pay for my brother’s room and board, and had negative earnings. Our financial needs increased as more was placed on her plate. I was told that I had no money for my college education and that in order to go I would need to do a number of things. My goals were “thrive through high school with a 4.0, work a minimum wage job to assist paying rent, and find ways to raise money for college”. I need to be a nurse. It is my dream and the world needs more nurses. I need to break the cycle of poverty and uneducated families. I decided to get my first job at Home Style Bakery at the age of 14. I worked after school most days and every weekend. I earned ten dollars an hour and I knew that if I worked at least 30 hours every two weeks that I could pay rent with my mother and help her buy groceries. The more frequently I worked the less time I had to focus on school. I had to maintain my 4.0 and work three eight hour shifts a week. I had some cash to myself but hardly had any time to spend it due to the financial dependency my mother had on me. I felt guilty when I would give up a shift to just enjoy myself or catch up on work or sleep because it was one eighty dollars lost to help. I studied all night, worked all day, and slept whenever I could. Sometimes I felt like I could not handle the constant pressure, I would panic and wonder how I would ever pull it off but I never took my eyes off the prize. I applied myself and knew that one day it would all be worth it. In the beginning of senior year I applied to colleges and due to my constant hustling got accepted into 5 out of the 7. I was filled with emulous glee and pride knowing I survived and due to my 4.0 received just enough financial aid that if I hustle all summer I could afford going. My mother is ineligible to take out loans but currently I am keeping my grades up and applying to an enormous amount of scholarships and aid. I will continue hustling because I will achieve my goals and be the first female in my immediate family to go to college and graduate. I wish to be in control of my crazy reckless life and love myself until I graduate nursing school. I will make a change in other’s lives like no one before because I know who I am and that I am unstoppable. I have finished my freshman year of nursing school with a 3.75 overall grade point average and have been awarded the position of resident assistant but still must pay these heavy bills for my clinical work for the next two years. I refuse to give up and use my good work ethic and opportunities to improve myself and not become a poor statistic of the adolescents who drop out due to financial debacles. I work throughout the school year in a work study and work full time over the summer to try to lighten my load. Adversity tried to trap me in its four walls but I knocked them down with a bulldozer. Anything life throws at me I will dodge and appropriately handle because I have built resilience.