Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to a diverse patient population.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to a diverse patient population.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to a diverse patient population.

My future self is a leader in a family practice medical clinic, working as a Nurse Practioner where I have a well-established and strong community that I help take care of, I am an advocate for women's health and I am a fun and ambitious traveler of the world.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that nursing is the career path for me.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to a diverse patient population.

Growing up I heard stories from my mom about her career as a Nurse, where she saved patients' lives, comforted people in their darkest hours of life, and saw people heal and return to their families. I went to my mom for everything, whether it was a bruised knee or a cut hand, she could always provide comfort and healing. Because of her stories and her ability to care for me and the people around us, I was always intrigued by the Nursing profession. In 2017 I graduated with a biology degree from the University of Washington and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare but I wanted more exposure to the options available and I wanted more experience with diverse populations so I joined the Peace Corps in 2018 and served as an Adolescent Health Volunteer in Guyana for two years. While volunteering abroad I saw the benefits of health education and public health but I had the most impactful experience working side-by-side with local nurses in my rural village. I knew that I could have the biggest impact on people both in America and abroad if I had a degree in Nursing so I left Guyana with a renewed desire to learn and become a healthcare provider. I returned home during the COVID-19 pandemic and jumped at the opportunity to gain first-hand experience as a nursing assistant in my local hospital. I worked with an exceptional group of nurses on the front lines of the pandemic and found a love for the hospital and my team of nurses and healthcare providers even through the darkest of days. I showed up to work every day with the desire to learn and grow as a nursing assistant and to provide the best care possible to my patients. With the desire to keep learning and challenging myself, I started working as a travel nursing assistant and traveled to a new hospital every three months to provide care in places that were extremely short-staffed. Through my unique experiences, I have been able to work with a diverse group of nurses and have been inspired to become a great nurse just like them all. I have learned about different healthcare systems abroad and locally and am excited to apply what I have learned in my future work. I cannot wait to become a nurse and work in emergency medicine. I plan on learning as much as I can and then continuing on to receive my Nurse Practitioner license so that I can one day own my own clinic. The nursing profession provides so many options and possibilities that the world really is my oyster and I am excited to see where I end up.

Leadership, by definition, is a position of power or authority where one is in charge of a group of people or an organization. By being in a position of power or being assigned a certain authority, one does not automatically become a leader. Having leadership means having the trust of those around you, being reliable, and setting a great example. To be a great leader, one must be a great person and be trustworthy and be able to lead by example. Leadership is a great quality that I strive to have in my everyday life but especially in school and among organizations. When I am a leader, I make those around me feel included, heard and uplifted. A great leader allows others to see their potential and their own leadership abilities. They use their strengths to make groups work as a cohesive team and bring everyones strengths to light. When I was younger I was given the opportunity to be the captain of the women's track and field team at my school. This was a leadership position where my teammates looked up to me to be a leader and a role model. This position allowed me to create a great team environment where all members felt included and had someone they could go to if they had questions or concerns about anything. I was a great leader because I practiced what I preached; I was kind to everyone, I worked hard, and I made sure our coaches knew if we had any questions or feedback about practice or meets. My position allowed me to create a positive and uplifting team environment, where everyone was equal and everyone felt supported. Leadership is one of the most important skills to have today. It is a skill that can be useful in all areas of life, whether its work, clubs, sports, or neighborhoods. Leadership allows for relationships to be formed, projects to be successfully completed, and change to be made. Without leaders, many people would be lost skills would go unused. I like to think leadership is like the glue that sticks use altogether. It creates guidance and support and bridges the gaps between us. Leadership creates efficiency and uplifts others by allowing them to see their abilities and contribute to society. I am naturally drawn to leadership positions because it allows me problem solve and work with those around me to create solutions to big problems and make efforts at changing the world.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations. I hope to work in emergency medicine and provide healing and comfort for those facing emergencies. In the darkest hours, I want to be someone's strength and light.

To describe my childhood and everything that came after, I would have to break it into identities. I was born a triplet, my first identity; one of three. Always matching and always sharing everything with my sister and brother. I had one older brother and two loving and hardworking parents. I learned quickly that I had to work very hard to stand out. How could I be more than just “one of the triplets” but specifically Elizabeth? I was born in Boston and moved to Washington state in the second grade. That move created a new identity; one of the triplets that also has a funny Boston accent. At this age though, I began to separate myself from my siblings by being a competitive athlete in gymnastics. This athleticism then transitioned well into track and field where I eventually became one of the best pole vaulters in the country. I went on to shed my identity as a triplet and morphed into “the pole vaulter”. With determination and grit, I received a college scholarship to continue pole vaulting at the University of Washington, where I found my love for science and medicine and majored in biology physiology. Then I graduated in 2017 and I lost my identity. Pole Vault was no longer the center of my universe. Sure, I had a college degree but I went from spending 40-plus hours a week in athletic facilities to a college graduate with unlimited possibilities that honestly overwhelmed me. It took some time to adjust but I knew my next step was Physician assistant school so I started finding jobs to gain more patient care experience. During this time of work, I met some amazing people and learned a lot but still felt that I needed to find another identity for myself. I applied to the Peace Corps and with some luck was sent to Guyana in June of 2018. In the Peace Corps is where I really found my identity, deep inside myself. I wasn’t known as a triplet or a pole vaulter there; I was Liz. I was passionate about healthcare, I loved teaching kids about health and life skills, and I loved working out, cooking, and being creative. The 21 months I spent in Guyana really allowed me to truly understand who I was as a person and what I valued and loved in life. It was a breath of fresh air away from all of my old identities that clouded my perspective. Today I am Liz; I aspire to be a nurse where I can use my passion for healthcare and knowledge to help others live their healthiest lives. I aspire to work in a local Emergency department as a nurse where I can work directly with my community members who are experiencing some of the hardest times in their life and provide comfort and healing. I hope to gain useful knowledge in emergency medicine so I can then travel to areas devastated by natural disasters or war and help those in need receive medical attention.

To describe my childhood and everything that came after, I would have to break it into identities. I was born a triplet, my first identity; one of three. Always matching and always sharing everything with my sister and brother. I had one older brother and two loving and hardworking parents. I learned quickly that I had to work very hard to stand out. How could I be more than just “one of the triplets” but specifically Elizabeth? I was born in Boston and moved to Washington state in the second grade. That move created a new identity; one of the triplets that also has a funny Boston accent. At this age though, I began to separate myself from my siblings by being a competitive athlete in gymnastics. This athleticism then transitioned well into track and field where I eventually became one of the best pole vaulters in the country. I went on to shed my identity as a triplet and morphed into “the pole vaulter”. With determination and grit, I received a college scholarship to continue pole vaulting at the University of Washington, where I found my love for science and medicine and majored in biology physiology. Then I graduated in 2017 and I lost my identity. Pole Vault was no longer the center of my universe. Sure, I had a college degree but I went from spending 40-plus hours a week in athletic facilities to a college graduate with unlimited possibilities that honestly overwhelmed me. It took some time to adjust but I knew my next step was Physician assistant school so I started finding jobs to gain more patient care experience. During this time of work, I met some amazing people and learned a lot but still felt that I needed to find another identity for myself. I applied to the Peace Corps and with some luck was sent to Guyana in June of 2018. In the Peace Corps is where I really found my identity, deep inside myself. I wasn’t known as a triplet or a pole vaulter there; I was Liz. I was passionate about healthcare, I loved teaching kids about health and life skills, and I loved working out, cooking, and being creative. The 21 months I spent in Guyana really allowed me to truly understand who I was as a person and what I valued and loved in life. It was a breath of fresh air away from all of my old identities that clouded my perspective. Today I am Liz; I aspire to be a nurse where I can use my passion for healthcare and knowledge to help others live their healthiest lives. I aspire to work in a local Emergency department as a nurse where I can work directly with my community members who are experiencing some of the hardest times in their life and provide comfort and healing. I hope to gain useful knowledge in emergency medicine so I can then travel to areas devastated by natural disasters or war and help those in need receive medical attention.

Collaboration involves working together with others to achieve a common goal, while diversity refers to the inclusion of individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Both collaboration and diversity are imperative in advancing the healthcare and medical field. Collaboration allows healthcare workers to work as a team and use their strengths to treat patients and solve problems. Diversity especially among the healthcare staff allows for unique experiences and perspectives to help create diagnoses, solve unique problems, and offer diverse solutions. In medicine, patients are very diverse and have unique experiences and situations and it helps to have a diverse team of doctors and nurses to work with them so that their questions are answered and their problems are solved. With my unique experiences abroad and in different healthcare settings, I know the value of diversity and teamwork and I will work every day to ensure that I am a team member when I become and nurse and advocate for diversity in the healthcare setting. In 2018, I was working as an adolescent health promoter in the Peace Corps in Guyana. My role was to work with a Guyanese teacher to improve the teaching and curriculum of the Health class in the local high school. Guyana has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STDs so the Peace Corps found that it would be beneficial to decrease these statistics at the source, with the adolescent teens. As a volunteer, I was assigned to work with a high school and I was paired with a health class teacher and we worked together for two years to see where the curriculum needed improvements and where the staff could benefit in order to better teach the tough subjects of sex and sexuality, etc. By working directly with the school and staff for two years, we found that the health class curriculum was completely lacking in terms of information but also useful ways to teach tough topics so the first order of business was to work with the local teachers to completely rewrite the curriculum and I used my healthcare knowledge to ensure all of the necessary information was provided. By collaborating with the teachers, we ensured that the curriculum was relevant to the student's cultures, religions, and backgrounds. They also taught me the right language to use and what words students would be most receptive to. I used my biology and health background to make sure the information provided was correct and accurate and I used my experiences from the states to make lesson plans that were fun and interactive. After two years, we had successfully made a health curriculum that could be mirrored around the country and that would hopefully make a stride in reducing the rate of teen pregnancy and STDs. None of this would have been possible without our collaboration and teamwork to achieve a common goal. Our diverse experiences and background made it that much more successful.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate for defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations.

In March of 2023, I will begin the accelerated nursing program at the University of Washington where I will receive my Bachelor of Nursing degree within the next year. This degree will allow me to work as a registered Nurse in the Seattle area. Through clinical experience, I hope to get a clear picture of which field of medicine I want to end up but with my current background and knowledge of healthcare, I think I want to work in emergency medicine and work as a registered nurse in a local emergency department. After a couple years of working as a nurse I hope to go back to school and get my degree as a nurse practitioner. I always knew I wanted to work in medicine but although it seems that I have my dreams all planned out, it took me many years to get to this point. Growing up I considered veterinarian medicine but then I learned I love working with people. I transitioned to setting my goals as a medical doctor so when I went to school in 2013 and started working on my first bachelor's degree, I got my degree in biology with the goal of medical school in mind. After two years in college, I learned that I didnt want to go to school forever and that I wanted to work more closely with my patients, which is why I change my career goal to nursing. After graduating, I wanted more experience in healthcare abroad so I joined the Peace Corps and worked as an adolescent health volunteer in Guyana for to years where I learned an invaluable amount about socialized medicine and caring for others in extremely poor and rural environments. I knew when I returned home, that I would have a broader understanding of healthcare and valuable experiences that would carry over into my training and work as a nurse. My plans were put on hold though, as the pandemic struck our world. I jumped at the opportunity to work on the front lines of the pandemic as a nursing assistant and worked for two years until I felt ready to go back to school and learn in person. Working on the front lines did teach me a lot and forced me to experience extreme situations that no one can prepare for but it made me a stronger healthcare worker and it made me feel like the hospital is where I belonged. All of my experiences have taught me so much and they have made me confident that nursing is the career field for me. I feel most fulfilled when I help others and I find peace knowing that I did my best to improve others' health and well-being. I love educating my patients on their diseases or diagnoses and answering their questions. I love advocating for my patients and working as a team with my other healthcare workers. This degree has been many years in the making but it is everything that I was made for.

College is an exciting and transformative time in many people's lives. However, it can also be a time of stress and anxiety as students are often juggling academic, social, and personal responsibilities. In order to succeed as a student, it is important to prioritize personal wellness. One of the most important ways to manage personal wellness while attending college is to prioritize self-care. This means taking time to do things that make you feel good and help you relax, such as baking, running, and spending time with friends and family. Additionally, getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and staying hydrated are all crucial for maintaining physical wellness. These habits can help me feel more energized and focused, which can translate into better academic performance, which is necessary for nursing school. Physical activity is another key component of personal wellness. Exercise has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and boost cognitive function. While it can be challenging to find time to exercise during a busy college schedule, even a short walk or yoga session can have significant benefits for both physical and mental health. I have found physical activity is my biggest stress reducer and helps me feel focused and energized for school. Seeking support when needed is an important part of maintaining personal wellness. College can be a stressful and challenging experience, and it is important to know that it is okay to ask for help. Most campuses have resources available for students, such as counseling services or academic support programs. Taking advantage of these resources can help me stay on track and manage stress more effectively. I know that I can also reach out to my friends and family members when I need support and someone to talk to. Maintaining personal wellness is not just important for physical and mental health; it is also crucial for academic success. When students are stressed or overwhelmed, they are more likely to struggle academically. In contrast, when students prioritize self-care and manage their personal wellness effectively, they are more likely to feel motivated, focused, and engaged in their coursework. Additionally, students who have strong social connections and a support network are more likely to persist in their academic goals. Managing personal wellness is an essential part of the college experience and I plan on making it a priority during my time as a nursing student. Prioritizing self-care, staying connected with others, engaging in physical activity, and seeking support when needed are all important ways to maintain personal wellness while attending college. By taking care of yourself, you can ensure that you are in the best possible position to succeed academically and enjoy all that college has to offer. Taking care of yourself also allows you to take care of others which is vital as a nursing student and soon to be nurse.

To describe my childhood and everything that came after, I would have to break it into identities. I was born a triplet, my first identity; one of three. Always matching and always sharing everything with my sister and brother. I had one older brother and two loving and hardworking parents. I learned quickly that I had to work very hard to stand out. How could I be more than just “one of the triplets” but specifically Elizabeth? I was born in Boston and moved to Washington state in the second grade. That move created a new identity; one of the triplets that also has a funny Boston accent. At this age though, I began to separate myself from my siblings by being a competitive athlete in gymnastics. This athleticism then transitioned well into track and field where I eventually became one of the best pole vaulters in the country. I went on to shed my identity as a triplet and morphed into “the pole vaulter”. With determination and grit, I received a college scholarship to continue pole vaulting at the University of Washington, where I found my love for science and medicine and majored in biology physiology. Then I graduated in 2017 and I lost my identity. Pole Vault was no longer the center of my universe. Sure, I had a college degree but I went from spending 40-plus hours a week in athletic facilities to a college graduate with unlimited possibilities that honestly overwhelmed me. It took some time to adjust but I knew my next step was Physician assistant school so I started finding jobs to gain more patient care experience. During this time of work, I met some amazing people and learned a lot but still felt that I needed to find another identity for myself. I applied to the Peace Corps and with some luck was sent to Guyana in June of 2018. In the Peace Corps is where I really found my identity, deep inside myself. I wasn’t known as a triplet or a pole vaulter there; I was Liz. I was passionate about healthcare, I loved teaching kids about health and life skills, and I loved working out, cooking, and being creative. The 21 months I spent in Guyana really allowed me to truly understand who I was as a person and what I valued and loved in life. It was a breath of fresh air away from all of my old identities that clouded my perspective. Today I am Liz; I aspire to be a nurse where I can use my passion for healthcare and knowledge to help others live their healthiest lives. I aspire to work in a local Emergency department as a nurse where I can work directly with my community members who are experiencing some of the hardest times in their life and provide comfort and healing. I hope to gain useful knowledge in emergency medicine so I can then travel to areas devasted by natural disasters or war and help those in need receive medical attention.

In 2021 I was driving with my mom when she broke the news that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The world kind of stopped and I couldn't think straight as I began to cry. My best friend in high school had thyroid cancer but it is one of those diseases you think you'll never be affected by until it does happen. Cancer is an unforgiving disease that does not discriminate. My mother is really healthy for her age and always takes care of herself and yet she got breast cancer and that diagnosis will haunt her forever. It turns out that she has the CHECK2 gene which runs in our family after further testing, which increases her risk for breast and colon cancer. After a year of surgeries and cancer treatment I can happily say my mother is cancer free! It is a scary process but it is nice to know that there is a lot of great research going into cancer treatment options. After my mother was diagnosed, I underwent genetic testing and found that I have the same gene that increases my risk of developing the same kind of cancer. It is daunting to live with this risk and fear in the back of my mind but the ability to do preventative testing starting at the age of 30 gives me some relief and hope. I am planning on getting my degree in nursing so that I can help others going through really hard diagnoses find some comfort and solace. Having personal experience with cancer gives me a unique perspective on the disease and treatment plans which will allow me to better support my patients. I have spent the last five months working on an oncology floor in a hospital as a nursing assistant and I can say that cancer patients are some of the strongest and most positive people I have ever met. When faced with the possibility of death, perspectives are shifted and attitudes toward life are changed. I have such a stronger desire to live in the moment and not take anything in my life for granted. Cancer makes you realize how precious life is and how important it is to love your family and friends and spend every day like it's your last no matter what. My mother's diagnosis was a wake-up call to my family and me to live life to the fullest while we still can. I plan on traveling the world with my friends and family as much as I can and becoming a nurse so that I can help others find healing so that they too can live out their dreams.

As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations. I plan on using my unique experiences to provide equitable care to all my patients as a nurse. Not only do I want to provide amazing care to my patients, but I also want to work to create a great work environment for my colleagues. Teamwork has a huge impact on patient care and outcomes so I want to be an amazing nurse that also supports my fellow nurses and nursing assistants so that the work environment is a high-functioning team or family. I want to use my outspoken personality to be an advocate for the nursing community and my patients so that patients receive the care they need and staff receives the support they require. With my nursing degree, I also plan on volunteering in my community when possible, whether it be helping with blood drives or volunteering with local events. My Nursing degree can provide care to so many people in so many different scopes of healthcare and I am excited to be able to do as much as I can to help my community.

Mental health has become such an important piece of my life today. Growing up mental health was never discussed, emotions and feelings were pushed aside and if you looked physically well then there was nothing wrong. That all changed when I went to college for my first degree at the University of Washington in 2013. I was on the varsity track and field team and I was surrounded by amazing women who were at their peak in physical ability but deep down so many of them, including myself, struggled with mental health. As athletes, we were judged for our physical appearances and our physical abilities so eating disorders, unfortunately, became extremely common and overall mental health to just be the best in school and in sports became very taxing. The resources available to athletes were surprisingly limited and so many of us struggled with poor mental health to the point of becoming injured, doing poorly in school, and some athletes even quitting their sport or school. Luckily during my time, no one took their life due to mental health but people were greatly affected and I wish I knew better ways to cope with the mental strain of it all like I do now. Physical activity can be such a blessing to mental health but when it is so competitive like at the division one level, it can have damaging effects. After graduating with a bachelor in science degree, I went on to join the Peace Corps and served in Guyana for two years from 2018 to 2020. While I was there, my mental health was tested in other ways it hadn't been tested before. I was away from home for two years with limited access to the internet. I was isolated and I saw my fellow volunteers struggle as well with their mental health. I made it a goal of mine to join the Peace Corps support committee where I received personalized training so that I could better support other volunteers during their service to ensure their mental health was okay. I received special communication training so that I could call and send letters to volunteers during their service, letting me know that they are not alone and that there are resources available if they need help. I found this committee very empowering and allowed me to offer support to those who might be struggling with their mental health. I valued the training I received and it has stayed with me even after my service. I have learned that mental health is one of the most important aspects of health that we experience and we must have good mental health so that we can all live fulfilling and productive lives. I have seen the effects poor mental health can have on people and how it is presented in many different ways. It is my philosophy that everyone is going through something internally even if on the outside, they look fine and well. I never make assumptions and I also offer a listening ear and support when I can. I hope to use my vast experience to help others as a nurse and encourage good mental health. Even in the workplace setting, mental health can be improved so I want to be able to offer my experiences and resources to help not only my patients but my coworkers as well. Whether it is through therapy, physical activity, art, or music, mental health can be improved and the resources available can be very impactful, but making them available is super important. With my nursing degree, I will make mental health a priority with myself, my patients, friends and family, and I will do everything I can to support those around me and make sure no one struggles alone and finds the resources they need to be happy and healthy.

The sun in shining on my face as I sit on my favorite chair on the dock of my lake house property. The water is calm and the air is warm and I am filled with peace and tranquility. Peace because my kids are in college and financially stable because I was able to set them up for success. Their college fund was started at their birth and I was able to make enough money to live comfortably while providing a future for my kids. This to me is generational wealth; Peace of mind knowing that some of life's biggest financial obligations are covered. College expenses can be extremely taxing on a family and the ability to go to college knowing you wont graduate with insurmountable debt is an amazing relief which can be accomplished through generational wealth. Along with college, having wealth that can be be passed down to the next generation while I am living and after I pass establishes generational wealth. Growing up my parents worked insanely hard to provide for my three siblings and myself. I was born a triplet so finances were always tight and the thought of sending three kids to college at the same time was daunting to my parents. My parents never received any kind of financial support from their parents so if they wanted me to have generational wealth, it had to start with them. They worked over 40 hours per week and my dad started working abroad in order to help out with college finances. I saw what my parents went through to provide for my siblings and I and I want to be able to do the same for my future kids. I plan on working in healthcare, first becoming a nurse and then later a Nurse Practitioner. I can use these degrees to start my own business. While saving a lot of my money and investing wisely, I will be able to create a lofty savings for myself that can then be used to invest in my children's futures. With my wealth I can buy myself a lake house with a beautiful dock and it can become a family heirloom that brings joy and serenity to those that visit. Generational wealth can come in forms of money but it can also be in proprietary items. I have always dreamed of having a lake house and my dream is to be able to buy one and then be able to pass it down to my kids. With my nursing degree and future endeavors I can build wealth so that my kids can one day enjoy the sun shining on their faces at the lake with optimism of the future.

My uniqueness started when I was born. I was a triplet, one of three. We are fraternal triplets, however, so I am extra unique because I do not look like my brother or sister. I am five feet ten inches tall, which makes me uniquely tall for a woman but that didn't stop me from living my dreams because of all sports, I participated in gymnastics until I was 17 years old. You could say I was fearless in my endeavors and I didn't let social norms or views dissuade me from following my passions. I have always been stubborn and unapologetically myself. I set lofty goals for myself and do everything in my power to reach them. Ever since I was born I have made an effort to be unique from my siblings, which resulted in being competitive in sports and becoming a nationally-ranked pole vaulter in high school and then college. When I set my mind to something I give it my all and never look back. I believe that every action should be done wholeheartedly or not at all. Once my career as a pole vaulter subsided, I had a small void left in my heart and I decided to fill it by joining the Peace Corps in 2018. Before I joined, I had realized that during my whole time growing up, so many amazing people had devoted their time to teaching me in school and in sports and it was now my time to give back. I joined the Peace Corps as an adolescent health promoter, where I used my experiences and knowledge to teach high school students in Guyana, the importance of health and taking care of their bodies. During my time abroad, I fell in love with health education and I realized the barriers that were limiting my students in learning about their health. In another effort to give as much as I could, I ended up writing a grant and creating Guyana's first ever health education classroom for my local high school. The classroom created the most perfect learning environment for my students to be able to learn and grow as young adults. It was the first step in providing supplies and resources so students can learn and improve their health. After my service in the Peace Corps, I returned to the states with the desire to continue my altruistic endeavors and give back to my community where I could. Once the pandemic hit though, I was limited so I spent my time volunteering at the local food bank, sorting food for families to pick up. I then went on to serve on the front lines as a Nursing Assistant, where I could work directly with my sick community members. I spent two years working on a Covid unit and it opened my eyes to the importance of healthcare and having community relationships and outreach. I plan to continue using my skills to give back to my community as a healthcare worker in the hospital setting. I want to become a nurse that works in the emergency department but also does local outreach projects with the community. There is always more that can be done and having the skills as a nurse will allow me to help so many people in my community.

In 2020, I was evacuated from the Peace Corps and forced to move into my parents home for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. I jumped at the opportunity to work on the frontlines as a nursing assistant on a medical/surgical unit that was transformed into a COVID-19 unit. The pandemic was stressful for all of us but I found that my time on the COVID unit had moments of intense stress, especially during the variant peaks. I spent two years learning and growing as a healthcare provider in the heart of the pandemic. There were weeks when I had a patient of mine pass away or get moved to the ICU to be intubated on a daily basis. I would take care of and get to know my patients while they received treatment and watch helplessly as the virus would overtake their lungs and cause a drastic decline in health. My team of doctors and nurses would fight everyday to ensure our patients received the best care possible but sometimes it just wasn’t enough to fight the virus. I loved showing up to work and giving everything I could to help my patients and team but the stress of losing a patient suddenly and unexpectantly definitely impacted my mental health. This stressful experience working on the frontlines taught me that I am meant to work in healthcare and I truly love caring for patients and working with a team of healthcare providers. Although many moments were stressful, I learned to appreciate the little moments I had with my patients and team members that made showing up to work worth it. I learned that I thrive under pressure and that I am meant to be a Nurse. I am going back to school so that I can gain the skills and knowledge to personally care and treat patients in times of need. During the COVID-19 pandemic, my mental health was impacted but I learned how to take care of myself to ensure that I could take care of others. I found activities at home that helped improve my mental health, like journalling, yoga, and baking. Having supportive coworkers and being able to talk with them was the most beneficial therapy. As I worked, I learned as much as I could so that when I go back to school I am more prepared. After gaining two years of experience in the hospital and surviving the pandemic, I knew it was time to apply to nursing school. I took every opportunity to learn and grow as a healthcare provider and I am very excited to finally get my nursing degree.

I was in high school when I lost my grandmother. She was the first person I had known to lose their life and it impacted me greatly. I had never experienced loss before and grief rushed over me in a wave of new and array of emotions. Life is so precious and can be lost in an instant. From that experience I saw how Nurses cared for her and brought so much peace to our family during that difficult time. I knew from then on I wanted to go into healthcare and become a Nurse to provide others with comfort and support during difficult and emotional times. My grandma was also a Nurse and I looked up to her and what she did for others. Losing my grandmother also taught me how to appreciate the little moments in life and embrace every day like it is my last. Time spent with family is a gift and I don't take it for granted. I value my time and who I spend it with so much more now and I want to become a Nurse so others can get the opportunity to spend more time with their loved ones as well. I want to fight to achieve health equity in our world and be on the front lines to providing equitable care to everyone in my community. We only have one life and the best way to live it is with total health.

It's Saturday morning, I wake up feeling sluggish. My head hurts and I have no motivation to get out of bed. I am young and yet my body is not pleased with my actions from Friday night. Greasy pizza and ice cream washed down with a couple drinks. I am paying the price this morning for my poor choices. All it takes is one meal of questionable food choices to impact my whole Saturday. No early morning to watch the sunrise or go for a jog and enjoy the beauty of nature. Instead, I am stuck in bed dealing with the consequences of my poor actions. Feelings like this have made me rethink what I consume and how I spend my time with friends. I don't want to waste a beautiful day outside because my stomach is upset with me when I could have just made better choices with the food and drinks I consumed. One meal is not going to make a huge difference in the long run of my life but I can make a conscience effort to eat better so that I always feel good and have the opportunity to seize a beautiful day when it arises. When I was young the Friday nights of poor eating and drinking were routine and with age I have grown to learn what I value and how I want to spend my time and money. I would rather drink water than alcohol because I feel so much better when I do. My head is clear, my stomach feels great, my body performs better and I have more energy. Vegetables have become my main food group for the same reasons. Over time, it is very obvious how my body responds when I fuel it with important nutrients that it needs to function compared to processed foods and alcohol. A healthy body and mind is really important to me and the best thing that I can do for my body and mind is eating healthy. Physical activity is really important to me, like running and hiking, and I notice when I eat well and have a balanced diet I am able to run further and faster and am able to recover faster. My mental health also notices a differences when I eat healthy. My mood is better when I eat well, I am able to sleep better, and my cognitive function is better. Food is fuel and high quality, healthy food is what our bodies crave and need to survive. I plan on running around the world for as long as I can so I rely on healthy food to keep me going.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations. I hope to work in emergency medicine and provide healing and comfort for those facing emergencies. In the darkest hours, I want to be someone's strength and light.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to diverse patient populations.

Confused, I fluttered my eyes open to my concerned mom looking over me. I would later find out that while she was combing through my knotted hair, I fainted. One stroke of the hairbrush caused my vision to go black, my ears to ring, and my muscles to go limp. Lying on the ground I was helpless and overcome with fear. This syncope episode would be the first of three that would occur in my childhood years. As a young girl, I was perplexed as to why my body would seemingly give up on me but I was thankful to have my mom by my side, who was a Nurse. I was evaluated for seizures and given the diagnosis that I was experiencing syncope episodes as a reaction to pain. Only time would tell if these episodes would intensify or disappear altogether. These thoughts haunted me as I competed in varsity sports and later became a Division One Pole Vaulter. With perseverance, I went from being the defenseless patient to recognizing my strengths and wanting to help others in my position, thus becoming a Nurse. I want to learn the skills that will enable me to be an advocate to defenseless patients by providing support, and tools for them to heal. I want to gain the knowledge and prowess to turn a helpless human into a hopeful one; one who can achieve their dreams and conquer any obstacle in their way because of the care and support they received from dedicated healthcare professionals. As if my personal healthcare experiences growing up weren’t enough to entice me to pursue nursing, I chose to gain more hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant, physical therapy assistant, and serve as an Adolescent Health Promoter for the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. While all of my experiences have taught me something profoundly different, I have had the most influential and educational opportunities while providing direct patient care to acute care patients in a rural hospital setting. Being abruptly evacuated from the Peace Corps because of the pandemic, I jumped at the opportunity to help on the front lines as a certified nursing assistant. Working under stressful conditions during this pandemic and evolving to care for and treat those with COVID-19, I have grown as a person and healthcare provider. These past two years have truly been filled with trials and tribulations and each day I go to work ready to do my best and provide as much care and support as I can to my patients and healthcare team. I have personally experienced the joys of seeing a patient recover and return home to their family but have also experienced a patient’s sudden decline and have worked effortlessly with my team to try and revive the person to no avail. I have loved taking vital signs, getting to know my patients, and providing quality care to an array of illnesses. Working alongside an amazing team of healthcare professionals has taught me the value of healthcare and the need for caring and flexible professionals. Through my experiences, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse patient population that is unparalleled to many others; I have been molded, crafted, and shaped into the woman I am today, fully confident that I will be a great nurse that can provide care to a diverse patient population. I hope that I can use my experience to help other young women, which is why I want to pursue pediatric nursing.

As a lover of learning, everything about college excites me. I love to learn! I am going back to school to get my degree in Nursing after previously graduating with a degree in Biology. I love gaining knowledge in a field that I am passionate about and being able to use what I learned to help others. College is the perfect environment to bring like-minded individuals together, to share ideas, knowledge, and stories. I am excited to get a degree that I can actually use in an amazing field of medicine. It's the perfect environment to meet new people, have new experiences, and grow as an individual. College can be challenging though and it's important to maintain a healthy mind, body and soul during the process. Exercise has always been a big outlet for me to release stress, clear my mind, and increase serotonin. I like to do yoga every day in my home and lift weights at least twice a week. Running is important to me and I try to run a few miles every couple of days if the weather is nice. Yoga and running help me clear my head so that I am less stressed and better able to focus and study. Spending time with my friends and family help me keep a healthy mind and soul. They support me through tough days and whenever I doubt myself or my abilities. I can always call my friends or family and talk with them whenever I need to vent or share my insecurities. Eating well also helps me maintain a healthy mind and body by providing nourishment and essential vitamins. Having a diet rich in vegetables and fruit keeps my brain healthy so that I can focus and study well. It also prevents me from getting sick and losing the ability to study well. Although college is exciting, it can be stressful and my previous experience has prepared me well to understand what I need to do this year in order to be a successful and healthy student. This year I plan to journal more to maintain a healthy body and soul, allowing me an outlet to share my thoughts and ideas while decreasing stress. I plan on meal prepping each week so that I can eat well and maintain a balanced diet. Exercise is also important to me so I plan on doing some kind of physical activity three times each week. There is a lot that goes into a healthy mind, body and soul, but my diet, exercise, and relationships keep me healthy and on track to success.

If you asked me what my favorite food was growing up, I would have said chicken tenders and goldfish crackers. I refused to eat hardly anything as a child besides chicken tenders! My parents tried there best to have balanced meals for dinner but I was such a picky eater. I would pack my lunch bag for school and always pack goldfish crackers and when I got home from school I prayed there would be chicken tenders. As I got older though, I became very competitive with sports and later participated in track and field in college, I learned that my body needed more. Through sports, I learned the importance of vegetables and a well-balanced diet. I became obsessed with eating right so that my body had the right fuel to help me maintain a healthy body for my physical activities. I experimented with veganism, and vegetarianism, and found what diet fits best for my body. Through college, I learned how much I love vegetables, especially broccoli and brussel sprouts. By eating the right food, I was able to excel in my sport and avoid major injuries. I learned to listen to my body and supply it with the nutrients it needed to allow me to function and perform well. Healthy habits aren't only about what food we eat but also about physical activity. After college, it took some time to adjust to a normal lifestyle without training every day and maintaining a certain physique for competitions but I am very happy where I am right now in my health journey. I had to retrain my body to only consume as many calories as I was burning since I wasn't working like I used to. Today, I eat very balanced meals, and always have a vegetable on my plate. I limit alcohol to social events once or twice a month and I always try to drink at least 60oz of water a day. I consider myself a pescatarian, and never eat meat unless it's given to me. I run at least once a week, do yoga every day, and lift weights twice a week. If my younger self saw me now, eating brussels sprouts and broccoli so often they would be in shock but I am happy my taste in food has evolved and has made me a healthier adult. Every day I strive to make healthy choices and I am looking forward to maintaining my newly adapted habits for the rest of my life, and I hope that I can pass them on to my future children.