The idea of pursuing nursing came into the picture during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. During the pandemic, I was enrolled in a pre-veterinarian program at my community college. At that point in my program, I was unhappy with the decision of pursuing vet school and because of that, I was failing almost all of my classes. I had plans on retaking the semester after finishing and continuing the pre-vet program, but that all changed very quickly. When I saw videos and social media posts all of the nurses and healthcare professionals who worked tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, I was truly inspired. After finishing up that semester with a low GPA of 1.8, I changed my major to pre-nursing. I spent the next three years taking pre-nursing classes in order to be accepted into the Registered Nursing, or ASN, program at North Idaho Community College and was denied by said program twice due to my low GPA. I retook as many failed courses as possible to bring my GPA up, which seemed to work as my third and final application was accepted. I just finished my first semester of the ASN program with a 3.4 GPA and I am beyond happy and grateful about it. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients as a CNA, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are bad days in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift. Unfortunately, I have seen some things in my job already that I will never forget. That's life, and life is sad and unfair. I know I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace, patience, and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

Growing up, the goal of going to college was a must for me. My parents never went to college and still have successful careers, but being the first-born, they wanted me to go to college and achieve my desired degree. I knew even as a little girl that my desired degree would be in veterinary medicine. After graduating high school in 2019, I immediately went into a pre-veterinarian program at North Idaho Community College. It was a transfer program so that when I finished the program at the community college, I could transfer to a University in order to receive a bachelors or higher in vet medicine. I realized very shortly after my first semester of the pre-vet program that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Not only did I dislike every class they had me take, but after two semesters, the Coronavirus pandemic ensued, and I failed almost everything in that third semester. As most people during the pandemic, I felt hopeless and depressed as we were all stuck in our homes for months on end. I felt beyond burnt out and frustrated that everything was online and that all the school was allowing me to take were plant biology classes. This meant that I was not even going to learn anything about animal medicine until I transferred after completion of the program. I felt so defeated and I wanted to change my major and program, but I also didn't want to fully abandon the medical field. After witnessing all the nurses and healthcare professionals over the news work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, I felt unbelievably inspired. Since then, nursing has been my priority and my new dream. I quickly changed my major after finishing up that semester of pre-vet classes and spent the next two years taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC. Unfortunately, this goal was harder to achieve. Without any medical experience, my chances of being accepted into the program were very slim. With this, I was denied the first time I applied. I then achieved my CNA certification and began working at a nearby hospital, where I am still working today. Even with medical experience, my second application attempt was denied once again due to my lower GPA. It took me one final try at applying to be accepted, and I just finished my first semester in the program. It was extremely hard to get this far in my educational journey, but I never gave up. Even when the light at the end of the tunnel seemed so dim, I kept working as hard as I possibly could despite the obstacles. I am very proud of where I am today, and I am even happier that I didn't give up when were tough.

Nursing wasn't always my goal in education. As a little girl, all I wanted to do was be a veterinarian. After graduating high school in 2019, I immediately went into a pre-veterinarian program at North Idaho Community College. I realized very shortly after my first semester that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Not only did I dislike every class they had me take, but after two semesters, the Coronavirus pandemic occurred, and I failed almost everything in that third semester. I felt beyond burnt out and frustrated that all the school was allowing me to take from then on were plant biology classes. This meant that I was not even going to learn anything about animal health until I made it to the 4-year mark in the program. I felt so defeated and I wanted to change my major and program, but I also didn't want to fully abandon the medical field. The idea of trying out nursing came into view during the pandemic. After witnessing all the nurses and healthcare professionals over the news work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, I felt unbelievably inspired. Since then, nursing has been my priority and my new dream. I then spent about two years taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC. I am currently in the program and going into my second semester after this summer while also taking BSN programs in the summers in between the RN program semesters. I now dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics, the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients on a Cardiac Medical/Surgical Unit, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. I aspire to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are dreadful circumstances that I will have to handle in healthcare as a nurse and I have experienced some terrible events and scenarios in my current job as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I won't lie, there are some things that I have witnessed that will never leave my mind. That's life, and life is cruel and unfair. I know I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace, patience, and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

Nursing wasn't always my goal in education. As a little girl, all I wanted to do was be a veterinarian. Growing up in Northern California, I was constantly around animals. We had pets at the house, of course, but my mom had a full-time job riding, training, and taking care of horses at a ranch. Being raised around horses just fueled my ambition to become a veterinarian even more. I stuck with that goal throughout elementary school in California and through middle school and high school in Idaho. After graduation in 2019, I immediately went into a pre-veterinarian program at North Idaho Community College. I realized very shortly after my first semester that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Not only did I dislike every class they had me take, but after two semesters, the Coronavirus pandemic occurred, and I failed almost everything in that third semester. I felt beyond burnt out and frustrated that all the school was allowing me to take from then on were plant biology classes. This meant that I was not even going to learn anything about animal health until I made it to the 4-year mark in the program. I felt so defeated and I wanted to change my major and program, but I also didn't want to fully abandon the medical field. The idea of trying out nursing came into view during the pandemic. After witnessing all the nurses and healthcare professionals over the news work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, I felt beyond inspired. Since then, nursing has been my priority and my new dream. I then spent about two years taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC. And I am currently in the program and going into my second semester after this summer. I now dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics, the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients on a Cardiac Medical/Surgical Unit, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. I aspire to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are dreadful circumstances that I will have to handle in healthcare as a nurse and I have experienced some terrible events and scenarios in my current job as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I won't lie, there are some things that I have witnessed that will never leave my mind. That's life, and life is cruel and unfair. I know I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace, patience, and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

Nursing wasn't always my goal in education. As a little girl, all I wanted to do was be a veterinarian. Growing up in Northern California, I was constantly around animals. We had pets at the house, of course, but my mom had a full-time job riding, training, and taking care of horses at a ranch. Being raised around horses just fueled my ambition to become a veterinarian even more. I stuck with that goal throughout elementary school in California and through middle school and high school in Idaho. After graduation in 2019, I immediately went into a pre-veterinarian program at North Idaho Community College. I realized very shortly after my first semester that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Not only did I dislike every class they had me take, but after two semesters, the Coronavirus pandemic occurred, and I failed almost everything in that third semester. I felt beyond burnt out and frustrated that all the school was allowing me to take from then on were plant biology classes. This meant that I was not even going to learn anything about animal health until I made it to the 4-year mark in the program. I felt so defeated and I wanted to change my major and program, but I also didn't want to fully abandon the medical field. The idea of trying out nursing came into view during the pandemic. After witnessing all the nurses and healthcare professionals over the news work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, I felt beyond inspired. Since then, nursing has been my priority and my new dream. I then spent about two years taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC. And I am currently in the program and going into my second semester after this summer. I now dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics, the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients on a Cardiac Medical/Surgical Unit, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. I aspire to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are dreadful circumstances that I will have to handle in healthcare as a nurse and I have experienced some terrible events and scenarios in my current job as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I won't lie, there are some things that I have witnessed that will never leave my mind. That's life, and life is cruel and unfair. I know I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace, patience, and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

At the moment, I work as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at a hospital in Northern Idaho. I am also going into my second semester of nursing school, where I hope to graduate with my RN-BSN in order to work in pediatrics. Before I had any medical experience, though, I worked at a local "Family Fun Park". As any typical amusement park goes, kids were our most valued customers. I worked at this fun park for almost three years and I was considered a "Lead", which is basically a shift lead for a specific attraction. One attraction that I usually lead was the 35-foot indoor ropes course. Children were allowed to be harnessed with an adult if they were shorter than the height requirement, or if they met the requirement, they can be harnessed and attached on their own with no limitations. Usually, when children were on their own, they would be bold and go up to the top 35-foot level as soon as they entered the course. There have been more times than I can count where I would watch a child go up to the top, immediately look down, and become glued to platform in fear as they realize that this was a lot higher up than they thought it was. Because of this, there were many times where I had to go up and try to help them. These were actually my favorite moments though because it meant that I could have the chance to help them get over their fears. I loved being able to talk them into going with me and holding their hand on obstacles until they felt safe enough to do so on their own. There was one time where I showed a little girl, who was maybe about 7 years old, that it was impossible to fall off with the harness attachment by letting go and hanging in the air by the belay ropes. When she finally let go and was suspended in the air with me, we just hung there together and talked until she felt comfortable to get back up again. As a pediatrics nurse, I want to be able to hold their hands and walk them through a scary time in their lives until they aren't so scared, just as I did on the ropes course. I want to make an impact in these children's lives, as well as their parent's lives, and try my absolute hardest to see them go home safely. I know there are ugly situations in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine with every shift. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single kid I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace, patience, and compassion. That is what being a nurse is about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is recently happily married to my best friend, and we live together in a tiny duplex here in Coeur d'Alene. At the moment, I am in my first semester of my ASN program at North Idaho College and I'm started another program in the summer to get my BSN simultaneously with my RN. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital, and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, I was very inspired and that was all I wanted to do. Since then, I've been working hard trying to get into nursing school, and now that I'm actually in the program, my dream doesn't feel as far away. I dream of someday having those valuable letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can finally take them home. I babysat younger kids and infants for years before I had an actual job, not to mention I have two younger siblings that I helped take care of, so children are my everything. I also worked in a Family Fun Park before my hospital job and my absolute favorite part of it was getting to work with kids who were scared of the rides and watching them have the best time when I helped them get over their fears. Specifically, the 30-foot ropes course that I constantly worked. There have been countless times when little kids would go up to the top level and quickly realize it was higher up than they thought it was. I loved being able to talk them into going with me and holding their hand on obstacles until they felt safe enough. In a way, I want to do that for them as a nurse as well. I want to be able to hold their hands and walk them through a scary time in their lives until they aren't so scared anymore. I want to make an impact in these children's lives, as well as their parent's lives, and try my absolute hardest to see them go home safely. I know there are ugly situations in healthcare, and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift. I sadly have some experience already in that sense from my job currently. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single kid I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are bad situations in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, I would know that already from working at my hospital. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

In Northern Idaho, the autumn season starts early at the end of August. As the hot summer weather slowly fades away, it's replaced with the crisp, chilled air of fall. Gold and crimson leaves slowly begin to fall gracefully from all the trees in our area. You're excited it's finally fall and even more excited that pumpkin-flavored everything is coming back into season, including pumpkin coffees. With that, Starbucks publically releases its new fall menu, and you decide to pay them a visit on a specific autumn day. As you start your car, you notice the frost and fog on the car windows. You can see your breath in front of your face as you climb in and you unexpectedly smile as your body shivers, happy because it's the beginning of a gorgeous season. As you pull up to Starbucks, you order something you've never tried before; an iced pumpkin chai with pumpkin cream cold foam. An iced drink on a cold day may sound absurd, but the description of this drink sounded too good not to try. Now leaving the infamous coffee joint, autumn beverage in hand, you take a sip before pulling back onto the road. Creamy, spiced, with hints of pumpkin surrounded by the delightfully overpowering taste of chilled chai tea hit your tongue. Even though it was iced, the drink tasted and felt like a warm hug. It tasted like opening a new book on a chilly morning, the crisp feel of untouched paper on your fingertips and the smell of the pages as you flip through to read the day away. It tasted like sitting by the warm fire, hearing the embers delightfully crackle and pop as you snuggle up closer to the warmth while being immersed in a thick, cozy blanket. It tasted like baking a fresh batch of cookies, having the oh-so-nostalgic smell of baked goods engulf your home in such a comforting way. It tasted like the crunch of leaves under kids' feet as they excitedly go from house to house trick-or-treating on Halloween night. It tasted like warm oversized sweaters and even warmer socks. It tasted like trekking for hours in a vast pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin to carve with your significant other, having them scoop out the guts of course since you hate the feeling on your hands, but they're happy to do it because they love you. It tastes like Thanksgiving dinner, sharing drinks and laughs with close family, finishing up with board games until midnight. This drink tasted like the epitome of all fall seasons and more to come. You're transported back to reality as you set the cup down in the cup holder. You grin down at your drink, realizing that just after a single sip, this is your new favorite.

Education has always been extremely important to me. I made a valiant effort throughout high school to achieve good grades and a GPA above 3.5 because my ultimate goal was to get a college degree. I am the oldest child in my family and neither of my parents has a college degree, so I almost feel responsible to make it through college since they couldn't. I know there's a stigma around being "unsuccessful" without a college degree, but truthfully, both of my parents have great jobs that make them happy. My mom found a job where she can teach little kids how to ride horses, and she also has a part-time secretary job that she mainly works when the weather is too rough outside for the horses. My dad may not have gone through college for a degree, but he does have technical certifications in welding, and because of his experience, he teaches a welding job at a technical school here in North Idaho. I know they are going to be proud of me whether I go to college or not, but it just feels important for me to accomplish. Additionally, the job I wish to have requires one. I debated more than once about my decision for a major or specific program once I was accepted into a college or university, but currently, I am waitlisted into the Associates of Science and Nursing program at my community college. It's different going through college without my family having any experience or advice to give me. The barriers I also have in my situation are mostly financial, but I struggle with working full-time on top of going to school full-time. For the first two years of college, I used financial aid through my school to help me out. After that, I was lucky enough to find a decent-paying job, but that meant I wasn't as eligible for financial aid. Since 2020, I have been paying for my tuition each semester out of pocket. My parents make a decent amount of money as well, but they couldn't afford paying the bills that they have and help me out with college, and I wouldn't expect them to go broke for me. It was tough to manage working and finding a study schedule that didn't cost me a night's sleep. Eventually, I figured out a schedule that works okay with my current job, but it doesn't make things easier to juggle so much at once. I do, however, feel as though I am rather lucky to live so close to my college because it helps my time management skills as well as my stress levels. Through the struggles of not having someone in my family to look up to for advice and guidance through higher education, my parents still attempted to be there for me in every way they could. I am thankful I can go to college and earn my degree, and I'm grateful and proud to be the first-generation college student in my family.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or even the NICU unit at my current hospital. I could experience the joy of nursing babies back to health or helping sick kids and seeing the little ones get to go home safely with their families. It would be my dream to help people in my community in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact on other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see ill people go home safely and in better health. I know there are awful scenarios in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, and I have unfortunately witnessed the not-so-good side of healthcare in my job. That's life, and life is cruel and unfair and, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I have spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I did hear back that I am on the waiting list for acceptance! I am also a first-generation college student in my family, which makes me feel prideful and grateful that I'm accomplishing so much already. Being a woman as well and planning to go through such a difficult route in my education makes me feel rather successful and intelligent, which I haven't really felt before in my educational journey. It probably sounds conceited to say those things, but truthfully, I am proud of myself for getting this far without losing hope or giving up. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are awful scenarios that I would have to deal with in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, as I have unfortunately witnessed through my current job. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

Nursing wasn't always my goal in education. As a little girl, I didn't dream of growing up and becoming a nurse; instead, all I wanted to do was be a veterinarian. Growing up in Northern California, I was constantly around animals. We had pets at the house, of course, but my mom had a full-time job riding, training, and taking care of horses at a ranch. Being raised around horses just fueled my ambition to become a veterinarian even more. I stuck with that goal throughout elementary school in California and through middle school and high school in Idaho. After graduation in 2019, I immediately went into a pre-veterinarian program at North Idaho Community College. I realized very shortly after my first semester that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Not only did I dislike every class they had me take, but after two semesters, the Coronavirus pandemic occurred, and I failed almost everything in that third semester. I felt beyond burnt out and frustrated that all the school was allowing me to take from then on were plant biology classes, meaning I was not even going to learn anything about animal health until I made it to the 4-year mark in the program. I was so defeated and I wanted to change my major and program, but I also didn't want to fully abandon the medical field. The idea of trying out nursing came into view during the pandemic after witnessing all the nurses and healthcare professionals over the news work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus. Since then, nursing has been my priority and my new dream. I have spent about two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients on a Cardiac Med/Surg Unit, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. I aspire to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are dreadful circumstances that I will have to handle in healthcare as a nurse and I have experienced some terrible events and scenarios in my job as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I won't lie, there are some things that I have witnessed that will never leave my mind. That's life, and life is cruel and unfair and, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

The dream version of myself has the two letters, RN, at the end of her name and she has the utmost compassion, patience, drive and passion to be the healing hand for those who are at their worst.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. When the COVID pandemic hit I was constantly reading articles and watching the news of all the nurses and healthcare professionals who were working tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, and after seeing their bravery and hard work, that's all I wanted to do. I have spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I will say that my hearing disability has made a few things challenging. I was born with a defect in the malleus bone in my right ear that makes it so the bone doesn't have enough room to vibrate enough to transmit sound from my eardrum to my middle ear. Funny enough, I knew I was born with hearing loss my whole life, but up until recently this year I didn't know the reason until I had a CT scan in January. Because of this defect, I have about 40-50 decibels of hearing loss in my right ear, which is considered mild to moderate hearing loss. I went my whole life without really any big issues until I started nursing. When I first began the section in my nursing assistant certification class where we learned how to read blood pressure, it was extremely hard to hear correctly. Not only are the sounds quiet but having a hearing loss on top of that, nothing was loud enough for me to accurately measure anything with the stethoscopes. Because of this, I failed my certification exam just because of my blood pressure reading and I had to take the entire 2-month course over again. When I took the course again, I applied for disability accommodations for the first time in my life, and I finally passed my exam. I was so embarrassed because I felt like I was cheating, but the accommodations helped me so much and it made me worry a lot less. At work, sometimes it's hard to hear my patients or even my coworkers on top of the usual hospital noise. At school, it's difficult to hear my professors in the big lecture rooms, but luckily I learned to sit in the front row from then on. I'm so grateful, however, that my school is so accommodating and they kept my disability application in case I ever needed help in my next semesters. They even said I could rent out an amplified stethoscope for when I start nursing school! It's not easy at times to live with the cards I was dealt, but I will never let that stop me from achieving my dreams. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home healthy. I'm excited for the day I achieve this goal, even with my hearing loss.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. When the COVID pandemic hit I was constantly reading articles and watching the news of all the nurses and healthcare professionals who were working tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, and after seeing their bravery and hard work, that's all I wanted to do. I have spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I will say that my hearing disability has made a few things challenging. I was born with a defect in the malleus bone in my right ear that makes it so the bone doesn't have enough room to vibrate enough to transmit sound from my eardrum to my middle ear. Funny enough, I knew I was born with hearing loss my whole life, but up until recently this year I didn't know the reason until I had a CT scan in January. Because of this defect, I have about 40-50 decibels of hearing loss in my right ear, which is considered mild to moderate hearing loss. I went my whole life without really any big issues until I started nursing. When I first began the section in my nursing assistant certificatoin class where we learned how to read blood pressure, it was extremely hard to hear correctly. Not only are the sounds quiet, but having hearing loss on top of that, nothing was loud enough for me to accurately measure anything with the stethoscopes. Because of this, I failed my certification exam just because of my blood pressure reading and I had to take the entire 2-month course over again. When I took the course again, I applied for disability accommodations for the first time in my life, and I finally passed my exam. I was so embarrassed because I felt like I was cheating, but the accomodations helped me so much and it made me worry a lot less. At work, sometimes its hard to hear my patients or even my coworkers on top of the usual hospital noise. At school, its difficult to hear my professors in the big lecture rooms, but luckily I learned to sit in the front row from then on. I'm so grateful, however, that my school is so accommodating and they kept my disability application in case I ever needed help in my next semesters. They even said I could rent out an amplified stethoscope for when I start nursing school! It's not easy at times to live with the cards I was dealt, but I will never let that stop me from achieving my dreams. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home healthy. I'm excited for the day I achieve this goal, even with my hearing loss.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are bad angles in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, I would know that already from working at my hospital. I've watched people take their last breath, bathed people who had passed several hours beforehand, seen abused elders come in for their injuries, witnessed a younger adult get diagnosed with brain cancer that could not be treated, and much more that I could go into, but I won't. Are the things I've seen sad? Of course. That's life, and life is terribly sad and unfair. The things I've seen and endured are part of the job, and even though they are difficult to comprehend they make me a better care provider and it makes me want to make greater efforts in helping my patients. of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, and less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is recently happily married to my best friend and we live together in a tiny duplex here in Coeur d'Alene. At the moment, I am highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are bad angles in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, I would know that already from working at my hospital. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is recently happily married to my best friend and we live together in a tiny duplex here in Coeur d'Alene. At the moment, I am highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. I babysat younger kids and infants for years before I had an actual job, not to mention I have two younger siblings that I helped take care of, so children are my everything. I also worked in a Family Fun Park before my hospital job and my absolute favorite part of it was getting to work with kids who were scared of the rides, and watching them have the best time when I helped them get over their fears. Specifically, the 30-foot ropes course that I constantly worked. There have been countless times when little kids would go up to the top level and quickly realize it was higher up than they thought it was. I loved being able to talk them into going with me and holding their hand on obstacles until they felt safe enough. In a way, I want to do that for them as a nurse as well. I want to be able to hold their hands and walk them through a scary time in their lives until they aren't so scared. I want to make an impact in these children's lives, as well as their parent's lives, and try my absolute hardest to see them go home safely. I know there are ugly situations in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, I would know that already from working at my hospital. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single kid I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is, at the moment, highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are bad angles in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, I would know that already from working at my hospital. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is truly about.

My name is Haylee Scott, I am a 22-year-old female who is recently happily married to my best friend and we live together in a tiny duplex here in Coeur d'Alene. At the moment, I am highly focused on getting into the ASN program at North Idaho College to achieve my ASN degree as well as my BSN degree. I currently work in healthcare full-time as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a Cardiac/MedSurg unit at Kootenai Health Medical Center. I love it at my hospital and I enjoy helping people and learning new things about medicine with every shift I work. When I'm not studying or working, I enjoy doing theatre and art. I've been drawing and sketching independently for my amusement since I was in middle school; it is such a great stress reliever for me. Theatre is fairly new for me since I started auditioning and acting for local community theatres for only a couple of years now. I have such a passion for theatre since it allows me to be creative while also forcing me to go out of my comfort zone. I've acted and sung in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and I'm currently in "Matilda", which opens in a couple of weeks! Even though I admire theatre, my real passion is medicine. Before starting my pre-nursing classes at NIC a couple of years ago, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. That quickly changed when the COVID pandemic hit, and ever since seeing all the nurses and healthcare professionals work tirelessly to help all of those who suffered from the coronavirus, that's all I wanted to do. I spent two years so far taking pre-nursing classes to be accepted into the ASN program at NIC, and I have already been denied from said program twice. I applied for a third time, and hopefully the last time, this past month for the Spring 2024 semester and I hear back in November. I am anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results and I have high hopes this time around. I really dream of someday having those two letters by name and being able to make important decisions for my patients. I hope to someday work in pediatrics or perhaps the pediatric ER, PICU, or NICU. I currently work with adults and geriatric patients, but I love the idea of working with children at a children's hospital or the NICU unit and having the joy of nursing babies back to health so their families can take them home. It would be my dream to help people in general as a nurse. I want to make an impact in other people's lives and try my absolute hardest to see sick people go home safely and in better health. I know there are bad angles in healthcare and you don't see rainbows and sunshine every shift, I would know that already from working at my hospital. That's life, and life is sad and unfair, of course, I won't be able to heal every single patient I care for, but that doesn't mean I can't make even those who are suffering more comfortable, less in pain, and provide them with the utmost peace and compassion. That is what being a nurse is about.