Starting at a young age, my goals have stayed the same, I want to be just like my mom. I was lucky enough to grow up admiring my hero on her days off. I saw how cherished she was by the rest of our large Hispanic family. Despite the barriers of being a foster child, being Hispanic and being female, she single-handedly sent herself through nursing school earning two master's degrees and other associates degrees. Whenever an illness made its presence and even the COVID scare of the last few years, the first person contacted was my mom. Being reliable, there was never any hesitation in her to help. She supported our family when things got scary. I always admired how she did it, and beyond the cliche of desiring to help people, I wanted more. I wanted to be able to provide for the entirety of my family whenever needed. I wanted to be the one to translate the ‘gibberish healthcare talk’ the doctor shared and I wanted to be just like my mom, I still do. Being raised in a household where both parents were heavily involved in the healthcare field, as a nurse and firefighter, I quickly adapted to the fast-paced, unbalanced hours, and often chaotic household. Exposure in my teenage years allowed me to understand that living this lifestyle was my inescapable future, I wasn’t destined to live the quintessential American lifestyle generated by my nuclear family and frankly, I don’t know any different. Years passed and my passion grew, my senior year of high school I took my first step into this pathway and enrolled in two different high school institutions where I gained credits to both receive my diploma and my CNA. In addition to becoming a member of Health Occupations Students of America developing and applying acquired healthcare skills in educational competitions. My proudest achievement is the willingness and courage I took when I was sixteen. I made the mature decision to structure my senior year accordingly with the intent of attending two different high schools with their separate workloads. I decided this was going to be a well-worth-it achievement. Having my CNA, being exposed to hands-on healthcare has confirmed my desire to be a nurse and has allowed my passion for healthcare to only grow encouraging the pursuit of a healthcare career. I have already taken the first step to becoming a nurse and eventually earning a degree in nursing.

I will become an impactful, over-educated nurse desiring to change the world, I will represent females and minorities simultaneously to break stereotypes in an effort to implement a positive change in the world.

Isabella Salomon, a bright seventeen-year-old destined to counterbalance the statistics and become an empowering Latina Nurse. Being raised in a household where both parents were heavily involved in the healthcare field, as a nurse and firefighter, I quickly adapted to the fast-paced, unbalanced hours, and often chaotic household. Exposure in my teenage years allowed me to understand that living this lifestyle was my inescapable future, I wasn’t destined to live the quintessential American lifestyle generated by my nuclear family and frankly, I don’t know any different. I've always wanted to be just like my mom. I was lucky enough to grow up admiring my hero on her days off. I saw how cherished she was to the rest of our large Hispanic family. Whenever an illness made its presence and even the COVID scare of the last few years, the first person contacted was my mom. Being reliable there was never any hesitation for her to help. She supported our family when things got scary. I always admired how she did it, and beyond the cliche of desiring to help people, I wanted more. I wanted to be able to provide for the entirety of my family whenever needed. I wanted to be the one to translate the ‘gibberish healthcare talk’ the doctor shared and I wanted to be just like my mom, I still do. Senior year I took my first step toward the healthcare field. I got the opportunity to attend a second high school, Western Maricopa Education Center, where I began earning my nursing assistant license, in addition to already attending Millennium High School where I gain graduation credits. Dedicating my time to becoming a nursing assistant confirmed my passion and my desire for nursing only grew. I continue to flourish in this class as I also take the role of the Student Ambassador of my peers at Western Maricopa Education Center. Despite all that, I find an intrinsic motivation in being a female minority. Many illnesses impact the Hispanic population especially sexually transmitted infections but more notably, tuberculosis. As of 2020 according to the CDC, 7,174 cases were reported to the CDC, making up thirty percent of people with tuberculosis nationally, this is nine times higher than white counterparts. Reasons for this can be multigenerational households, prominent in Hispanic culture, but particularly the language and cultural barrier that exists in healthcare services. Furthermore, according to Minority Nurse, roughly seven percent of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are Hispanic whereas roughly seventy-five percent are white. Not to mention, in 2013 just four percent of Latinas earned their master's degree or higher by age twenty-nine and only a decade prior two percent of Latinas held a graduate degree, reported by The Hispanic Outlook. The statistics are astounding and important to consider when developing a team of healthcare workers. Diversity is key when working diligently and providing patient comfort. Frequently, I find myself studying these statistics using it as motivation to become a successful woman. I desire to fight the statistics and become more than just the four percent of Hispanic females earning an adequate education. I desire to raise the statistics of Latinos working as nurses. And all in all, I desire to become a great nurse in this field and promote the fundamentals of cultural equality.

Starting at a young age, my goals have stayed the same, I want to be just like my mom. I was lucky enough to grow up admiring my hero on her days off. I saw how cherished she was by the rest of our large Hispanic family. Being raised in a household where both parents were heavily involved in the healthcare field, as a nurse and firefighter, I quickly adapted to the fast-paced, unbalanced hours, and often chaotic household. Exposure in my teenage years allowed me to understand that living this lifestyle was my inescapable future, I wasn’t destined to live the quintessential American lifestyle generated by my nuclear family and frankly, I don’t know any different. Years have passed and my passion has only grown, my senior year I took my first step into this pathway and am currently enrolled at two different high school institutions where I can gain credits to receive my diploma and another where I am in the process of earning my nursing assistant license. Having this exposure has sparked my interest in the ICU, more specifically the Burn ICU. So far, I've found to enjoy the pressure environment while sharing compassion on these patients' worst days. Beyond that, I find intrinsic motivation in being a female minority. Many illnesses impact the Hispanic population especially sexually transmitted infections but more notably, tuberculosis. As of 2020 according to the CDC, 7,174 cases were reported to the CDC, making up thirty percent of people with tuberculosis nationally, this is nine times higher than white counterparts. Reasons for this can be multigenerational households, prominent in Hispanic culture, but particularly the language and cultural barrier that exists in healthcare services. Furthermore, according to Minority Nurse, roughly seven percent of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are Hispanic whereas roughly seventy-five percent are white. Not to mention, in 2013 just four percent of Latinas earned their master's degree or higher by age twenty-nine and only a decade prior two percent of Latinas held a graduate degree, reported by The Hispanic Outlook. The statistics are astounding and important to consider when developing a team of healthcare workers. Diversity is key when working diligently and providing patient comfort. Frequently, I find the underrepresentation of Hispanics motivational as I work to become a successful brown woman in the healthcare field. I desire to fight the statistics and become more than just the four percent of Hispanic females earning an adequate education. I desire to raise the statistics of Latinos working as nurses. And all in all, I desire to become a great nurse in this field and promote the fundamentals of cultural equality.

Isabella Salomon, a bright seventeen-year-old destined to counterbalance the statistics and become an empowering Latina Travel Nurse. Being raised in a household where both parents were heavily involved in the healthcare field, as a nurse and firefighter, I quickly adapted to the fast-paced, unbalanced hours, and often chaotic household. Exposure in my teenage years allowed me to understand that living this lifestyle was my inescapable future, I wasn’t destined to live the quintessential American lifestyle generated by my nuclear family and frankly, I don’t know any different. Beyond school involvement, I take pride in my involvement in the community. Although I participate in clubs like National Honors Society, Health Occupation Students of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and being President of the Student Council, I find my purpose in my childcare services and collaborating with Special Education Students. Over the years I have been lucky enough to develop special bonds with just about all the Students in the Exceptional Student Services program, every field trip or class activity I am personally requested to participate on behalf of the teachers and students. My most memorable friendships were with my friends Savana and Nathaniel. Savana has severe autism but that hasn’t stopped her from being immensely brilliant with numbers; not to mention she is certainly the happiest person I’ve ever encountered. Nathaniel has a severe hearing impairment and relies heavily on sign language in addition to his hearing aids. We instantly became friends in and out of the school environment. He taught me the value of patience as he's always teaching me how to communicate in sign language. More than that, I am a babysitter. I receive frequent requests and recommendations from families in Litchfield Park. I tackle the task of lovingly, cooking, cleaning, entertaining and transporting the children of five different families between the ages of two and ten, including a three-year-old who speaks Spanish. Notably, my compassion and responsibility are particularly distinguished when I’m recommended to other families. Despite all that, I find intrinsic motivation in being a female minority. Many illnesses impact the Hispanic population especially sexually transmitted infections but more notably, tuberculosis. As of 2020 according to the CDC, 7,174 cases were reported to the CDC, making up thirty percent of people with tuberculosis nationally, this is nine times higher than white counterparts. Reasons for this can be multigenerational households, prominent in Hispanic culture, but particularly the language and cultural barrier that exists in healthcare services. Furthermore, according to Minority Nurse, roughly seven percent of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are Hispanic whereas roughly seventy-five percent are white. Not to mention, in 2013 just four percent of Latinas earned their master's degree or higher by age twenty-nine and only a decade prior two percent of Latinas held a graduate degree, reported by The Hispanic Outlook. The statistics are astounding and important to consider when developing a team of healthcare workers. Diversity is key in healthcare as it improves patient comfort; allowing myself, as a Hispanic woman, to make a difference in healthcare by taking action to travel to susceptible communities as a nurse is what the world needs more of. Frequently, I find myself studying these statistics and using them as motivation to encourage a difference beginning with me. I desire to fight the statistics and become more than just the four percent of Hispanic females earning an adequate education. I desire to change the statistics against my ethnicity. And all in all, I desire to become a great nurse in this field and promote the fundamentals of cultural equality.

I aspire to conquer the world by earning my masters degree in nursing, counterbalancing the statistical 4% of Latinas who earn their masters degree. Furthermore I will become a successful traveling nurse excelling in patient care, taking kindness into action to change their lives. Not to mention, I want to continue my ambitions in self care; I want to spread kindness and positivity to all women, empowering their capabilities with the hopes to promote their own independence.