Advocate, caregiver, researcher, educator, and medicator—these are just a fraction of the different roles that a nurse performs. Nurses are some of the most highly skilled and dedicated individuals. Their willingness to give of themselves day in and day out is astounding. Nursing is one of the only careers that takes care of people holistically at every age and empowers others to reach for ultimate health and wellness. I hope to become a nurse so I can make a difference in the lives of minorities and marginalized populations, such as the elderly and homeless, who I feel have the smallest voice in the grand scheme of healthcare. Before having kids, I considered becoming an Air Force flight nurse. Nowadays, I dream about volunteering aboard Mercy Ships and partnering with "Nursing Beyond Borders" or "Doctors Without Borders." I don’t want to just help my community but also give back on a global scale. My career goal is to become an intensive care, or ICU, nurse and eventually a trauma ICU nurse. I plan to become certified in critical care nursing and am considering becoming a flight nurse as well. I would also love to pursue travel nursing so that I can visit different places and learn to care for diverse populations. A hardship I have faced, which has made nursing school and my future career difficult, is becoming a single mother. After my divorce, I moved to Indiana, where I was offered a spot in nursing school. I moved across the country with my 1- and 3-year-old and made a safe, peaceful home for us, although the Midwest is very foreign to us. My kids and I are tremendously happier, but being a single mother in a new state with limited support does come with its own set of difficulties. Childcare and sick care are especially difficult to find and hard to afford. I am grateful for the government's support, which helps foot the cost of daycare and groceries, but my current struggle is finding someone reliable and trustworthy to pick up my kids from daycare when I have long clinical days and daycare is closing. I know that God willing, I will eventually find someone to help, but until then, I do worry. There is also a mental toll from worrying about the lack of time I’m spending with my children and how often they’re in daycare. I miss them constantly and worry about how they’re being treated and if they are given the same love, support, and encouragement I give at home. Before I left my ex-husband, I was a stay-at-home mother, so they spent every moment with me, and the change has been demanding on the three of us. Once I am a Registered Nurse, I know I will still have these same struggles, but thankfully, nursing is very flexible, and I am hopeful I will find an opportunity that aligns with my family’s priorities. Moving home to have greater familial support after school is also an option. I am thankful for job security in nursing and the countless opportunities that will arise in my career, further fueling my passion to become a nurse. I am grateful for the donors who generously aid in paying for the education of students, especially those of future healthcare professionals. You are not only assisting with paying for their education, but you are also contributing to nurturing the next generation who will serve you, your loved ones, and communities worldwide. Thank you for your kindheartedness in giving back to students, and your willingness to read a piece of my story and passions.

I became a mother at 22 years old. I was young, naive, and very unaware of the challenges that lay ahead in my new role. I loved my son dearly, but I struggled with postpartum anxiety and depression, trauma from his birth, and loneliness and exhaustion. I didn’t know how to raise a tiny human that communicated in shrieks, and I found myself crying in desperation along with him when I couldn’t console him. During this delicate period, my then-husband left us to go on a yearlong deployment, leaving me completely alone in a state 2000 miles away from my family to raise our son. Our relationship was already suffering after years of infidelity on his part. I was tired of being second in line to the women he pursued on social media and the tireless emotional abuse. Nevertheless, I persevered because I didn't feel like I had any other option. Fast-forward two and a half years after the birth of my first, I gave birth to my second bright-eyed, beautiful boy. From the moment he was born, I realized that he loved me fiercely—more than anyone else could ever love me. My children both became my strength and my admiration. Their joy fills my soul and drives me to complete even the most arduous task. Three weeks after giving birth to my youngest, I held my sweet, sleeping infant in my arms and confessed to my husband that I had no interest in continuing our marriage or enduring the fervent emotional abuse he directed towards me. A month later, with three suitcases and my sons in tow, I moved home to California, where my kids and I spent a year and a half sharing a small bedroom in my parents' home. During that time, I started researching nursing schools around the country. I had always dreamed of being a nurse, but it never felt like an option due to my husband's career and priorities. After much research and planning, I decided to move to Indiana to finally pursue my dreams of becoming a Registered Nurse. My children and I have spent six months living in my dear friend’s basement in Indiana as I navigate moving to an entirely new state. I juggled my first semester of nursing school (and passed with A's and B's), raised my children with little emotional, physical, and financial support, and successfully provided a healthy, safe, and peaceful home environment for them. It has remained one of the most difficult times in our lives, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I enjoy creating memories with them by adventuring to new places together, constructing elaborate toy set-ups together, and discussing all of the things I am learning in 'nurse school,' as my son calls it. Becoming a single parent has changed my entire view of life. It has made me a stronger woman and mother who wants more out of life because my children and I deserve it. I have become an unstoppable force that will do anything for my children and the success of our future. I plan on making a positive impact in my community and around the world by using my future nursing degree to serve underserved populations. I have not decided which area of nursing I'd like to pursue, but one of my dreams is to serve with Doctors Without Borders or Nursing Beyond Borders, whose organizations support medical professionals in various developing parts of the world and promote health and wellness, prevention of communicable diseases, and provide healthcare to children in these nations.