I had a crazy experience of having one of my lungs collapse. My first experience was in 2018 and then a year later it happened again, but it was more severe. This was around the same time I got broken up with, a storm fried a few things in my apartment, and I just was physically and emotionally broken. Thankfully, God helped me through such a crazy time, and I still honor him by serving at my church. No matter how hard life gets. I can still get up and move forward with a smile on my face.

This is Honey! I came across this cutie at an animal shelter about 4 years ago. Believe it or not, she was the office dog at the place, and she had the freedom to roam around with the staff workers every day. She has absolutely changed me and my entire family's lives. Her personality is through the roof and she just loves to be spoiled and loved on. Her presence is like a little light in a dark place. She can change the dynamics in an entire room. I am extremely thankful to have met her! @bluefabi121

I have always wanted to help people, whether that be physically or spiritually. Not only did I have the honor of living with my parents and my two sisters growing up, but my grandpa also lived with us. He had a significant impact on my life, and to this day, I still reflect on the many valuable things he taught me. Unfortunately, he passed away during my 7th-grade year, and it changed my perspective on life in many different ways. He suffered from emphysema and a heart condition that prevented him from doing really anything. It got to the point where he was admitted to the hospital for about two weeks. Once he was released, he was sent home on hospice care, and in this stage of my life, it took a toll on me mentally and emotionally because I felt helpless as the hospice care workers cared for him. From that point on, I made it my mission to grow in my skills to become a Worship Leader because of the enormous influence that was around me at my church. As I continued throughout high school, I gravitated to learning more about science and music. This, in turn, led me straight to attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale to pursue a dream of a career in veterinary medicine. After completing my first year, I felt a strong calling to worship ministry and nursing. I then attended Lincoln Christian University to pursue both degrees, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Since graduating, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to help others, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, working at Great Oaks Community Church for over four years. I now feel strongly led to make a physical difference in this world by helping save lives. COVID-19 revealed that there is still a desperate need for people in the medical field. Not being able to help people physically reminded me of the time I felt helpless when my grandpa was on his deathbed. After going through all of this, I am ready to make a difference in the world and pursue nursing as a career. There are several major reasons as to why I am excited to attend Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing. One very personal reason is because I was admitted to Saint Francis Medical Center in October 2019 due to a spontaneous Pneumothorax. This was my second collapsed lung within a year. Being a patient at OSF was a great experience, but what stuck out was all of the students and graduates working there. I had a chance to talk to them about their experience in the nursing program, and each person said that they genuinely enjoyed it. The graduates that I spoke to said they felt prepared coming out of the program as well. I also had a few classmates at Lincoln that went through the nursing program, and they told me that they were happy with their decision to attend Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing. Hearing everyone’s positive comments, I am so ready to be a part of this fantastic nursing program. In fact, my goal is to graduate from this program and to be a nurse wherever I am needed. As a Pastor, it is not out of the ordinary to move to another location where the need is greater. As stated above, I would make it my mission to go to a higher density population to help as many people as I can. Uncle Ben from Spiderman stated, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I would switch the word power with the word knowledge, and this is how I believe people should live life. If God grants me the ability to comprehend difficult subjects in the healthcare field, then I believe it is my responsibility to utilize it to impact lives. Life is precious, and there are so many people that have a disorder, disease, or illness. If I could make just the smallest difference in a person's life, then I would be the happiest person alive. There would be no greater joy than seeing a person's grin coming out of the recovery room. I am overjoyed to attend Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing because I feel called to the nursing profession, I am eager to see lives change, and the current and past students have said nothing but good things about this school. I have no doubt that this is the next chapter in my life, and I wholeheartedly believe that I will receive a quality and life-enriching experience in this nursing program. I am thrilled to take on the challenges that go along with this program. I am eager and ready to learn, and I look forward to what the future holds.