At the pandemic's beginning, I had three consecutive weeks off work. I applied for the hospital labor pool, a group of volunteers willing to pick up any available shifts throughout the day. To my dismay, I did not receive a phone call during those weeks to help, likely because my position as a nuclear medicine technologist was specialized. During this time off, I began thinking about my career goals, a decade-old dream to volunteer for medical mission trips, and read a book about the history of racism in healthcare. My experiences during this time were pivotal in realizing that my old job would not allow me the growth I desired. I thought back to a Physician Assistant (PA) who impacted my personal healthcare experience, and I became envious of their role in healthcare. I had no intentions of returning to school, however, the impact they left on me was engraved into my memory and retrieved when considering my options for advancement in healthcare. Working with patients has always been my priority, and I did not want to forgo that role but rather enhance my skill set and give medical advice. Working in a field that performed intravenous injections of radioactive isotopes and administered radioactive-based therapies came with many challenges, such as trypanophobia, new cancer diagnoses, manipulation of physiological processes, and the loss of patients who have become family members. My patients ranged from a few days old, to over 100. The most important skill I cultivated in this job was how to interact with and treat a diverse range of human ages, personalities, family members, and coworkers. The most common compliment was that no healthcare professional has ever dedicated as much time to listening to their concerns and questions as I have. More deeply rooted in this theme is my reason behind becoming a PA: to provide care for individuals to whom other providers have not listened. Unfortunately, I have been the patient who sought the care of multiple providers before finding one who took my concerns seriously. Finally, this provider discovered the medical problem, changing my quality of life and mental health. I hear similar stories every few weeks while working with my patients, and the most that I could do was strongly encourage second opinions and push for them to advocate for themselves. Last year, we had a patient come into the department who was deaf, blind, and came to the appointment with a transporter unable to communicate with her. Rather than ignoring her rights, I exhausted all resources and I was able to book a Deaf-Blind interpreter who used tactile signing and was able to educate my other coworkers on why it is imperative to provide the proper services for our patients. As a PA, I look forward to being the provider who listens and takes their concerns seriously to improve their health and quality of care. I know that there are many excellent providers. However, the flaws in our current healthcare system inspired me to enroll in school and help create change through education. I have seven years of experience teaching and I plan to use these skills to uplift the lives of those around me. Teaching and education are a passion of mine, and becoming a PA will allow me to harvest this within one profession and allow room for continued growth. While I have learned more about myself, patient care, human rights, and communication than I ever imagined in my technologist job, I look forward to combining these skills with expanding clinical knowledge as a PA and student this year at Lawrence Technological University.