At the Hardin-Simmons School of Nursing program, I am dauntingly approaching my second semester out of five. I have overcome many hardships to get to this point, including indecisiveness and ignorance, challenging courses, injury and all the demands associated with being a student-athlete. After freshman student orientation and a meltdown from the demands of what being a pre-med student would be like, my parents pushed me towards nursing, and my grandma, a retired nurse, provided firsthand insight into what being a nurse could be like. I wasn’t totally bought in, but I had faith in my family’s vison and God’s plan for me. Certified Nurse’s Aid- a requirement for nursing school and probably the task I looked forward to the least. Yet, it ended up being the most fulfilling. Coming out of this training program, I learned many skills but most importantly I realized the impact that a good, kind person has on someone’s journey toward health and having a high quality of life. Relationships I forged with patients are some that I will never forget, from braiding hair, playing dominoes or just being the person that took the time to give them the care and respect they deserve. This time solidified that nursing is a career that I can excel at and feel satisfied doing. Spring of my sophomore year, a moment happened that would change the course of my degree plans. On the softball field, I was involved in a freak accident resulting in needing an urgent surgery on my shoulder. This surgery was the last thing I wanted to do, however, the ligament tears and constant dislocation of my shoulder was too great, so surgery was the only logical option for me. Playing college softball has been my biggest dream since I was a kid, but there suddenly seemed to be many obstacles on my way to having a long, successful softball career. It is no secret that athletes often are forced to quit their sports or miss large portions of the season due to the time commitment of nursing school classes and clinicals. Patty Hanks Shelton, the consortium school I was on track to attend, was no contradiction. To me, it seemed my journey in softball would be over before it even began, as I was now worried how I would perform my first year back from surgery and if I would even be able present for games my senior year. Coincidentally, or maybe it was fate, Hardin-Simmons was pioneering towards the start of their first inaugural program, where their mission is to create servant leaders, with priority towards being flexible with the schedules of student-athletes. This program would start one semester after my predicted nursing school start date, and is one semester longer, extending my degree plan to a full 5 years. With my nursing school applications approaching fast, I had a big decision to make: stay where I am and graduate on time with a subpar softball experience or take a risk. Making that change was one of the best decisions of my life. I am thriving in school and softball, excited for what is yet to come and hopeful that my program will continue to live up to its expectations. While adding another year and subsequently a minor in exercise science wasn’t on my college bingo card, not even the financial burden of this could convince me it was the wrong move. Reflecting, I am proud of myself for reaching this point and believe I have the resilience to accomplish my dream.

I have fallen in love with the field of nursing, so much that even though I haven’t chosen a specialty yet, I know this field is where I will find the perfect career for me. Nursing provides a wide variety of education levels to pursue, as well as versatility within the workstyle itself. I am certain that the experience I will gain on my way to becoming a registered nurse will guide me towards my perfect path in nursing. Beginning in high school, I knew I was passionate about medicine. While learning about the human body, diseases, and healing measures, there was never a class I wanted to miss. When the moment arrived to decide my college major, I was at a standstill. Having only dipped my toes into the huge world of the medical field, I wasn’t sure how to decide on a major or knew what every job entailed. My parents helped me discover nursing, and my grandma, a retired nurse, provided firsthand insight into what being a nurse could be like. Now, as a college senior, I am so grateful to have been put on this path. I’ve investigated what options are available in nursing by observing at a hospital and working at a pain management clinic. Working alongside a nurse practitioner at the clinic has helped me learn more about myself and my interests. I love the idea of building on my education to have a career where I will assess and explain firsthand to patients their diagnosis and treatments options. I want to shine a light on them during their darkest times by being compassionate and making the complicated world of medicine not seem so scary. Beginning in the Hardin-Simmons School of Nursing program in January 2025, my experiences, teachers and classmates have only reaffirmed how I already felt about nursing. This program’s teaching style encompasses what it means to be a servant leader, which is greatly needed in the nursing field. While it wasn’t always easy, my success, interest and enjoyment from the past semester in lecture and clinicals is motivating me even more to continue my journey. I have developed an interest in so many areas, including OR, CRNA, ER and NP, and with an open mind I am ready to take on more clinicals to find the spot I love. Not only would the work be satisfying, but I can also have goals outside of work in this field. There are hospital and clinic settings that allow nurses to have diverse lifestyle choices. When I start my job as a nurse, being in the hustle and bustle of a hospital seems like an exciting and challenging way to begin my career. I want, someday, to settle down, have a family and be a mom. I want to be involved in my kids’ lives the way my parents were, for example by being their sports coach or volunteering to chaperone school field trips. Working in a clinic setting would give me better hours for spending time with my family, there would be holidays off, and overall, it would be more of the right space for me at that point in my life. I think the flexibility of nursing is suitable for the dream I have for my life. Throughout so many phases of my life, nursing has proved to be just the right career for me to pursue. I am excited to work hard to make this dream become a reality. I found this scholarship on Bold.org

While I might not have decisively picked a specific career in nursing, I have fallen in love with the field of nursing. Nursing provides a wide variety of education levels to pursue, as well as versatility within the workstyle itself. I am certain that the experience I will gain on my way to becoming a registered nurse will guide me towards my perfect path in nursing. Beginning in high school, I knew I was passionate about medicine. While learning about the human body, diseases, and healing measures, there was never a class I wanted to miss. When the moment arrived to decide my college major, I was at a standstill. Having only dipped my toes into the huge world of the medical field, I wasn’t sure how to decide on a major or knew what every job entailed. My parents helped me discover nursing, and my grandma, a retired labor and delivery nurse, provided firsthand insight into what being a nurse could be like. Now, returning to college as a junior, soon to enter nursing school, I am so grateful to have been put on this path. I’ve been doing a lot of investigating into what options are available in nursing by observing at a hospital and working at a pain management clinic. Working alongside a nurse practitioner at the pain clinic has helped me learn more about myself and my interests. I love the idea of building on my education to have a career where I will assess and explain firsthand to patients their diagnosis and treatments options. I want to shine a light on them during their darkest times by being compassionate and making the complicated world of medicine not seem so scary. Not only would the work be satisfying, but I can also have goals outside of work in this field. There are hospital and clinic settings that allow nurses to have diverse lifestyle choices. When I start my job as a nurse, being in the hustle and bustle of a hospital seems like an exciting and challenging way to begin my career. I want, someday, to settle down, have a family and be a mom. I want to be involved in my kids’ lives the way my parents were, for example by being their sports coach or volunteering to chaperone school field trips. Working in a clinic setting would give me better hours for spending time with my family, there would be holidays off, and overall, it would be more of the right space for me at that point in my life. I think the flexibility of nursing is suitable for the dream I have for my life. Even though I definitely did not jump the gun to pick nursing, much consideration has helped me decide that this is the right journey for me. I am excited to work hard to make this dream become a reality.

I deserve this scholarship because I am hard worker, community driven and responsible. I am a nursing major and exercise science minor at Hardin-Simmons University. There I am also a student-athlete on the softball team as well as involved in many extracurriculars. This semester I will be taking on my second year in Student Government Association (SGA) as the executive administrator. As a board official, I oversee that SGA is striving to improve our already beautiful campus. I am also secretary of the pre-nursing club at HSU. This club is a convention of students working together to pioneer first cohort into the nursing program at HSU. I enjoy taking part in community service/volunteer events sponsored by HSU such as Serve Like Simmons, High Five Fridays at elementary schools and donation drives. I am so grateful to my parents for their efforts in paying off some of my tuition, but I know majority of this burden will be carried on my shoulders. I am taking out my first loan this semester, and know I will continue to do the same for my next 5 semesters as my families savings to pay for my college has already been depleted. I work a job part-time in the summers to fund my daily expenses during the school year, but my main "job" while at school is the responsibility I have towards my collegiate softball team. Softball has always been my passion growing up; I love competing, celebrating victories with my teammates, and pushing myself to new limits. Unfortunately, I had a season-ending injury last semester that resulted in surgery and 6 months of rigorous physical therapy. I was provided the opportunity to extend my degree plan for another year in order to use my extra year eligibility in sports. I am so excited have this opportunity but the downside is racking up another $20,000 in student loans. The ability and skills to play collegiate sports typically only comes around once in a lifetime, and I do not want to regret not taking advantage of this thrilling adventure because of financial need. When I finally graduate, a bachelor in science of nursing degree will allow me to get a job as a registered nurse while I continue my education in nursing at a higher level. As a nurse, I understand the duty I have to my patients to provide them with quality care and comfort, emotionally and physically. I hope to use my education to become a nurse practitioner, where I will explain firsthand to patients their diagnosis and treatments options. I want to shine light on them during their darkest times in the form of compassion and making sure that complicated world of medicine doesn't seem so scary.