Service isn’t limited to the battlefield; it exists anywhere someone chooses to care for another person in their most vulnerable moment. Vulnerable moments can vary greatly for each person; for my stepfather, he did indeed witness and serve on the battlefield. For me, it will be for a life that might be struggling before they even take their first breath. Although I want to be a NICU nurse, my service is not just for the newborns. It’s for the support system within the room. My goal is to not only routinely care for a newborn but also to be empathetic with the parents. I have spent the past eight months getting the opportunity to shadow at the Women's Willow Creek Hospital NICU. I have witnessed babies with stressed-out mothers, mothers struggling to breastfeed, worried parents, fathers having to go to the NICU by themselves while they wait for the mother to be done in labor and delivery, single mothers, single fathers, but also the babies who, even in the NICU, have no support system. Imagine just being born into this world and starting life with nobody there for you. My goal is to be there for any type of baby support system or not, and make sure they get the start to their life they deserve. To become a registered nurse, I will be attending Oklahoma Baptist University. I particularly chose this institution because of the word Baptist, with OBU’s nursing program, which specifically teaches us to care for others, not only with our hearts but with the hands of God. To be the best nurse I can be, this is the route I believe I need to take. I hope to use the tools that will be given to me by the program and by Jesus to create a great impact in my community. I don’t want to just be the nurse who does routine care, no matter what, doing the same thing over and over again. I hope to affect the community by showing the healthcare workforce the importance of showing empathy and knowing your patient on a personal level, rather than “just being the nurse”. I want my patient to be able to talk to me about their problems and let me be there for them, for instance, a mother struggling to breastfeed, and instead of just saying “keep trying,” bring up alternatives like a nipple shield to help teach your baby to latch. Healthcare is so much more than just science, and that's what I hope to impact my community with. As a kid, I never imagined what it meant for us to move out to Fort Drum, New York. Although I was only in pre-school, I vividly remember the day we went to go meet my stepfather when he returned back home, the tears in everybody’s eyes of relief. I am beyond thankful for the service that my stepfather did. He served for four years as a medic in the army in Afghanistan. These four years set my family back a couple of years. My parents had to postpone their education for the sake of our family. They have just now, in the past couple of years, been able to catch up with their careers and become stable. For me, nursing is more than a career; nursing is a commitment to making a meaningful difference for the people and the community. I hope to carry forward the example my stepfather has set for me by caring for those in their most vulnerable state and supporting families and lives when they need it the most.