I know adversity and challenges on a personal level. I am a 38-year-old single mother to two girls, ages 7 and 12. My ex-husband and I separated when my youngest was not six months old and still exclusively breastfed. I was completely overwhelmed and emotionally devastated. I struggled to believe I would ever feel okay again. However, with the passage of time, combined with actively working to learn patience and forgiveness, I found myself feeling happy and whole again. It was not easy. In early 2020, I had a 4-year-old in 4K and wrap-around daycare, a 9-year-old in 4th grade, and I was commuting 2 hours a day to work full-time. We had a precisely orchestrated schedule, but I was constantly stressed about what would happen if any little thing went awry. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and our structured life was turned on its head. My kids were at home full-time, both doing online schooling while I was attempting to work full-time from home, in a hastily put-together office/classroom at our kitchen table. We had one laptop for the three of us to share. My daughters struggled with online school and I had to take a part-time leave from work to support them emotionally and practically. I was terrified because I needed that income, and I did not know how long we could make it. Everything I had so carefully rebuilt post-divorce was coming apart, while at the same time facing an unprecedented medical and public health crisis. I persevered and was able to adapt our routines and our budget to make the new normal work. Online school was not working for my older daughter, who also struggles with anxiety and depression. I decided to shift our "schooling" focus to practical skills and exploring nature. We took outings to local parks and wildlife areas to study the natural environment. We did science experiments on the kitchen floor. I taught them basic stitches and we sewed cloth facemasks for ourselves and others. We built a raised garden in our backyard that spring and grew what would be our first garden of vegetables. We took buckets of pond water home one day to let settle in glass jars to study the organisms living within the muck. We discovered it contained bullfrog tadpoles, so we found a large aquarium, researched how to raise them, and spent the next few months watching our tadpoles grow into frogs. We released them back to the pond they came from in the fall. My daughter was engaged in learning, and we were bonding and making the best of isolation. As we settled into this routine, I was able to increase my working hours and my employer begrudgingly adapted to the work-from-home model. The pandemic was a time of needless death and suffering for many, and it initially shook my world apart. But I also learned I had far more strength, resilience, and potential than I had realized. I began looking for online educational programs to go back to school myself, with a newfound interest in medicine and public health. I found classes at the local technical college were now offered online due to the pandemic, meaning I could take the prerequisites I needed remotely, studying in the evenings after my kids were asleep. I have since been accepted to an Accelerated BSN program that begins in August of 2023. My daughters are my world, and my career change to nursing will allow me to support them and their future dreams. I am excited for the future and grateful that, through adversity, I found hope and opportunity.

I am currently in the throes of making a career change from the legal field to nursing. I will begin an accelerated BSN program in August 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic changed my worldview, challenged me as a parent and as a community member, and propelled me to make a change in my professional life. I felt compelled to pursue medicine, nursing in particular, to be able to physically help and care for people every single day. I am a carer, a nurturer, and taking care of other people comes naturally to me. I look forward to making a difference in people’s lives, to being part of their path towards health and recovery. I look forward to helping reassure, comfort, and nurture both patients and families who may well be experiencing some of the worst times of their lives. I have through trial and tribulation come out with a hopeful and positive outlook on life. I have learned to find the good in people and situations that may be disagreeable. I forgive and I love with my whole heart, and I try to show compassion to everyone I interact with. Life is precious and too short to live with fear, anxiety for the future, or regret for the past. I hope I can help patients and their families to share this outlook and appreciate and enjoy life, even during times of pain and sickness. My current goal is to begin working as an ICU nurse. I thrive in high-pressure situations and I believe I possess a level of calmness and maturity as someone coming into nursing at a somewhat older age. I have seen and been in an array of situations that younger graduates made not have had the fortune—or ill fortune—to have yet experienced in life. I believe the ICU will be somewhere I can excel and grow my skills as a new nurse, while ascertaining the direction I will go with my education thereafter. My longer-term plan is to apply to a Master’s in Nursing program after working 3-5 years in the field. I am yet undecided as to the specific specialty I will pursue as a Nurse Practitioner, but I am confident that will become clear in the first few years of working as a RN. Further down the road, I hope to have the opportunity to work internationally, or through short stints as a volunteer, once my children are grown. I have a deep appreciation for the opportunity I have been given, to return to school and become a nurse, and I plan to pay it forward and give back in every way I can for the rest of my career. Thank you for your consideration.

I am currently making a career change from the legal field to nursing. I will begin an accelerated BSN program at Edgewood College in August 2023. I am becoming a nurse because I want to physically help and care for people every single day. I look forward to making a difference in people’s lives, to being part of their path towards health and recovery. I look forward to the emergencies, the chaos, and the urgency. I look forward to helping reassure, comfort, and nurture both patients and families who may well be experiencing some of the worst times of their lives. To prepare for this career change, I have been working full-time while completing prerequisite courses in science and math over the past 16 months. I have spoken at length with friends and relatives in the medical field and asked for guidance and insight as I enter the field. I have also secured a wonderful and supportive network of people--my "village"--who will help me and my young family while I am completing the nursing program. Post-graduation, my goal is to begin working as an ICU nurse. I thrive in high-pressure situations and possess a level of calmness and maturity as someone coming into nursing at a somewhat older age. I have seen and been in an array of situations that younger graduates made not have had the fortune—or ill fortune—to have yet experienced in life. I believe the ICU will be somewhere I can excel and grow my skills as a new nurse while ascertaining the direction I will go with my education thereafter. Long-term, I plan to obtain a Master’s in Nursing degree. I am yet undecided as to the specific specialty I will pursue as a Nurse Practitioner, but I am confident that will become clear in the first few years of working as a RN. Further down the road, I hope to have the opportunity to work internationally, even for short stints as a volunteer. I have a deep appreciation for the opportunity I have been given, to return to school and become a nurse, and I plan to pay it forward and give back in every way I can. On a personal level, I believe that my positive outlook on life will be of use to me in this career and will be of benefit to my patients as well. I have learned to find the good in people and situations that may be disagreeable. I forgive and I love with my whole heart, and I try to show compassion to everyone I interact with. Life is precious and too short to live with fear, anxiety for the future, or regret for the past. I believe my years of life experience, coupled with my experiences as a single mother, have prepared me in a unique way for nursing. I approach my path to nursing with great enthusiam and excitement for the future. I hope I can help patients and their families to share this outlook and appreciate and enjoy life, even during times of pain and sickness. Thank you for your consideration.

I am pursuing a career as a nurse because, in short, I like to help people. The reason I am pursuing this career change now, as an older, returning adult student, is directly related to my experiences as a mother combined with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a single mom to two working full-time, I had my life very strategically organized. It was a carefully planned balance and I was constantly afraid that something would go wrong and the pieces would fall out of place. When the pandemic began, in the span of a week I had two kids at home doing virtual schooling, I was trying to adapt to working from home at the same time, and I was strategizing with my older adult parents on how to stay safe. All of my plans imploded, but we adapted. The abrupt change and my family's ability to adapt helped propel me to begin looking seriously at returning to school: if we could survive and thrive through COVID, anything was possible. During the following couple of years, I was also exposed to the medical field in several different ways, each time further piquing my interest in nursing. First, my children would go through a handful of medical events: a complex fracture of the lateral epicondyle, anaphylaxis and an ambulance ride to the ER resulting from a previously undiscovered tree nut allergy, a few sprains of different extremities, and a completely unexpected dog attack while we were at the pet store. When my daughter went in to finally get the pins taken out of her elbow, the surgeon was waiting for his nurse to reach the exam room (the hospital was in the throes of COVID and staffing was struggling). He eventually asked if I would assist him a bit instead. I held her steady while he removed the pins, then applied pressure to the opening while calming her after the quick procedure was over. It was a terrifying moment for my daughter, regrettably, but a very exciting opportunity for me to assist, even in a small and unofficial way. The following summer, we witnessed or were first on the scene of two very scary car accidents. Those events made me feel deeply inadequate in terms of having medical training to actually help, but at the same time encouraged me to go ahead and continue working towards becoming the kind of professional who could attend to an injured stranger in public in the future. I also realized that I was calm and rational in that type of emergency, which bolstered my confidence to move forward. Finally, as we--and the rest of the world--anxiously awaited vaccine availability, I was simultaneously helping my parents stay isolated and safe within their particular levels of comfort and medical necessity. In the early days, I sewed cloth facemasks for them and later, helped book vaccine appointments. Each experience I have had with medical emergencies, medical treatment, and even routine appointments, has reinforced my interest in the field of nursing. When my children are grown, I do not want to stop helping and caring for people: it is something I am good at, I enjoy doing it, and there is an enormous need for trained, qualified nurses right now to fill open positions. Thank you for considering my application and for your generosity.

I am a unique student. I am a 38-year-old returning undergraduate changing fields from law, where I currently work as a paralegal, to medicine, as I pursue a BSN degree. I am a nontraditional student due to my age, but also because I work full-time while parenting my two daughters on my own. My daughters and I together volunteer with Diamond Dogs Rescue, LLC, an organization we have fostered rescue dogs for since 2016. I am involved in volunteer activities at various local events for community organizations as well, like Friends of the Eager Free Public Library and my younger daughter's Girl Scout troop. I am also unique in that I was raised in a nontraditional religion, the Baha'i Faith, which gave me a unique perspective as a child of being an outsider. We celebrated different holidays and traditions than my mainly Christian peers in our small, rural midwest town. We worshipped differently, attended services out of town, and practiced customs that were regarded with curiosity and skepticism. At an age when kids are trying very hard to fit in and blend in neatly with their peers, I felt very visibly different. It can be uncomfortable to go against the grain, to be different, to be unique, or to take a stand for something you believe in when it is unpopular. I learned at a young age that being different will not kill me: it may not get me elected prom queen, but sticking with one's beliefs and family has its own rewards. Eventually, I learned how to survive the gossip and stares, to feel comfortable in my own being, and to thrive while embracing the unique individual I am. By the time I reached adulthood, for unrelated reasons, I left the faith I was raised in, but I take the lessons I learned as a youth with me. I have the strength and will to follow my own path, to make my own decisions, and not be swayed by the pressure of the majority. I am now at an age where I am redefining myself yet again, and finding a new career path that will allow me to serve my community and do good in a more hands on, direct way, than legal services can provide. I am a helper by nature, and am always looking for ways to take care of other people. I have had the good fortune of being given second chances in life and have been helped by others in many ways, great and small. I love people and I love life and I believe that nursing will allow me to do an enormous amount of good during the remaining years of my career. I am hoping to secure a position as an Emergency Room nurse upon graduation, which will involve providing medical care to people with severe, emergent illness and injury as well as to chronically underserved patients who fall back on the ER for less-than-urgent medical needs. The ER is where medical crises and community needs are addressed and resolved, and I want to be in the heart of that, putting my skills to use for my community. Thank you for your consideration and your generosity in supporting this scholarship fund.

I currently work in the field of immigration law as a paralegal. Immigrants' rights and social justice are what led me to work in this field after college. I have been passionately advocating for my company's clients since 2007, working to obtain legal status, citizenship, and other benefits in a field that can be overwhelmingly difficult to navigate, particularly for clients with Limited English Proficiency. I am troubled, however, by the sheer cost of private legal representation, and frustrated by the bureaucratic obstacles and political hurdles in the immigration system. The pandemic spurred me to explore other possible career options. I was looking to go back to school in a field where I could do hands-on work, have moderate independence (i.e. not have my licensure tied to a supervising attorney), give back and serve my community, and, overall, do good. I come into nursing with those values and goals. I am now seeking an undergraduate BSN degree through an accelerated program. I believe my legal experience, my bilingual-bicultural (Spanish) fluency, and my personal path and struggles as a single mother will all help me become an outstanding nurse. I am compassionate and driven and will fight for my patients. I hope to work initially in an Emergency Room setting upon graduation, and would also like to get experience in Public Health, helping the most vulnerable and underserved communities in our area. I anticipate learning a lot about the health insurance system and the incredible frustrations faced by patients in navigating that system. I hope my unique background can help as I guide patients through the legal and administrative mazes of healthcare, while at the same time working to heal physical ailments. I take inspiration from my mother, who is a retired RN-BSN. She worked most of her career in home healthcare, assisting elderly and disabled individuals in their own homes. She also worked in Public Health for intermittent periods, including at an early AIDs clinic at the UW-Madison Hospital in the early 1990s. Her work there, or my recollection and impression of her work as a child, has had a lasting impact on me. During a time when AIDs was still a death sentence, when the population who was most affected by the disease was highly stigmatized, and when the work was grueling and emotionally draining, she still went to work every day with an immense passion and love for her job and her patients. Now retired, she recalls that position as the highlight of her career. I have the passion and drive to be a nurse, but now I need the academic foundation. I am excited and grateful to return to school full-time this fall as I earn my undergraduate BSN degree. I want to serve my community and give back, and this scholarship in support of my education would be an enormous boost to help get me to the finish line. Thank you for considering my application.

I am applying for this scholarship as a returning adult student seeking to make a career change into nursing. My mission in completing a BSN and becoming a RN is to serve my community, to help people, to heal people, to listen, support, and render aid. I like to help people, especially in times of crisis. A few life events in the last few years have helped prompt me to enter the field of nursing at this time: I witnessed or was first on scene at two car accidents. I did everything I could to logistically and physically assist, but wished I had the skills to physically render aid. I cannot watch someone suffer or struggle without trying to help. It is part of who I am. Additionally, my kids have each been unfortunate in needing the paramedics recently, one for a dog attack and the other an allergic reaction resulting in anaphalaxis. I handle emergencies well and I saw myself being the nurse in the hospital helping other scared kids when bad things happen. My older daughter identifies as LGBTQ+ and she, incidentally, also struggles with depression. As a result, in my role as a mother, I have worked closely with her medical care team over the last two years, and I have a deep empathy for mental health as well as physical health ailments. These events, coupled with the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, have reinforced my deep desire to serve my community in the medical field. I am compelled to help others, especially in times of crisis, medical or otherwise, and becoming a RN will allow me to do that every day. I will be completing an accelerated BSN program while also working to support my two children on my own. Despite the challenge, I am strongly committed to finishing the program and becoming a RN. My immediate goal is to work as an Emergency Room RN. My long-term hope is to return to school and earn a Masters degree as a Nurse Practitioner thereafter. I am seeking this scholarship because I simply do not have the financial means to pay for school on my own. I am a single parent and I work full-time already, so scholarship aid is invaluable to me. I am incredibly grateful for the donors who make scholarship funds available because without you, non-traditional students like myself would not have the opportunity to continue their education. I take this opportunity to continue my education and enter healthcare as a responsibility to serve my community and give back as well. I am excited for this next chapter in my career and life, and eager to begin. I want to take care of people and do good, and that, in short, is my mission for joining the healthcare industry. Thank you for your consideration.