The meaning of life, or at least my life, is to help others more than myself. I live by the mentality that if I save at least one person's life, mine has been fulfilled. I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Addiction Studies and practiced as an addiction counselor for almost six years. I genuinely pursued this line of work to help those struggling with the disease of addiction to regain their lives. I would like to believe that in those six years, I've helped more than one person. While this line of work was very rewarding, I felt like I wasn't doing enough. I am now pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I chose this field because as a nurse, I will be able to literally save lives in a moment. I have had some amazing nurses take care of me, and I want to return the favor to others. They say nurses are superheroes, and I believe that, not because it is glorious and gets glowing recognition. No, I believe nurses are superheroes because they spring into action when they see distress. I can't think of a better way to help others more than myself.

1. I deserve this scholarship due to being a fur mama of a six-year-old golden retriever and a 2-year-old cat. I have two extra mouths to feed on top of going to school. Pet food doesn't buy itself. 2. I want to be an intergalactic nurse caring for sick humans and aliens alike. 3. When I was a senior in college, instead of going on a class trip, my friend and I took a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Trekking down the path was easy, almost too easy. After about ten minutes on the way back up, I literally sat down and stated I was not going to hike back up. This was obviously not an option since I was four and a half miles into the canyon on a very narrow path. I took a lot more breaks climbing back up than I did climbing down, but I persevered by reminding myself that I had no other option. It is still one of my proudest moments to tell people that I climbed to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but I leave the gasping for air parts out.

I received my Bachelor of Science in Addiction Studies and worked as an addiction counselor for almost six years. I chose this field initially because I wanted to save lives and help people. While I found this line of work rewarding, I felt like I wasn't doing enough or making enough of an impact since counseling work takes time. I underwent surgery to remove my gall bladder last summer and ended up hospitalized for four days due to complications. Through that entire process, I came in contact with various healthcare professionals. I found myself longing to be the nurses taking care of me and providing the care I was receiving myself. I applied to return to school to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Nursing the day after I returned to work at the addiction treatment center I was employed. This may seem sudden, but something clicked and felt completely right with the decision. I love learning and felt like I was working towards a rewarding future. As a nurse, I hope to work in a hospital. I am currently employed at a hospital working in the cardiopulmonary unit. I was hired at the hospital during COVID. Some questioned why I would apply to work on a cardiopulmonary unit during a pandemic of a respiratory illness. The answer is simple: there is a need for caring individuals, and I want to be just that. I can definitely see myself transitioning to a role as a nurse in this type of medicine. I would like to eventually further my education to become either a Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Anesthetist as I have had wonderful experiences as a patient of both roles. My ultimate goal is to follow my heart in the direction of need. Where there is a need, I want to help. Following in the footsteps of the wonderful nurses and nurse practitioners that have taken care and healed me is the target.