Growing up in a military family, I learned early on that life doesn’t always go according to plan. We moved around often, I had to adjust to new schools and start over repeatedly, and for months of time I had to live without my dad while he was deployed overseas. Even though those years were difficult, they taught me how to adapt, stay focused, and push through uncertainty. What shaped me even more was watching my father’s strength and perseverance. After serving 20 years in the Marine Corps, he returned home as a disabled veteran and Purple Heart recipient. Despite everything he had sacrificed and endured, I watched him continue to lead our family with discipline, resilience, and an incredible sense of service to others. His ability to stay strong through everything deeply inspired me. While his path was through the military, I knew I wanted to find my own way to serve others. That’s where nursing became my calling. Nursing allows me to take those same values I grew up witnessing and apply them to helping people during some of the hardest moments of their lives. Once I started community college, those lessons became even more poignant. Like most students, I had a timeline in my head for when I wanted to transfer and get into nursing school. But balancing everything at once wasn’t easy. I was taking demanding science courses while also working to help support myself financially. I worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant, picked up a second job at a yoga studio, and still had to keep up with school, clinical experience, and everything else that comes with preparing for nursing. There were a lot of nights I felt completely overwhelmed and questioned whether I could keep up. I would watch my classmates transfer while I stayed behind, finishing up one more class or retaking a course to make sure I fully understood the material. At times, it felt discouraging, like I was falling behind or failing in some way. But looking back now, I realize that extra year at college wasn’t a failure at all. It gave me time to grow, to build a stronger academic foundation, and to gain valuable hands-on experience. I earned my associate degree in natural sciences, volunteered over 300 hours as a COPE Health Scholar in a hospital, and gained real clinical experience working directly with patients as a CNA. Balancing multiple jobs while attending school full-time was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it taught me resilience, discipline, and the ability to keep going even when things felt impossible. All of that hard work finally paid off. I was recently accepted into Pepperdine University’s School of Nursing, where I will begin this fall. What once felt like a delay has actually set me up to enter nursing school more prepared, more grounded, and more determined than ever. Every challenge I’ve faced along the way has shaped the kind of nurse I hope to become, one who not only has the knowledge and skills to care for patients but also the empathy to understand what it’s like when life doesn’t go as planned. Being a military dependent has shaped so much of who I am, and I carry that perspective with me as I continue this journey. Like Donald Mehall, my father built a legacy of service, sacrifice, and strength. My hope is to honor that same legacy through my work as a nurse, giving my future patients the same dedication, care, and compassion that has been such a constant in my own life.

Statement 1: Since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to work in healthcare. I’ve always been drawn to how nursing combines science, compassion, and the ability to make a real impact in people’s lives. Now that I am about to become a nursing student, that dream is so close becoming a reality, but like many students, I’ve had to balance my passion with financial responsibilities. In addition to attending school full time, I work as a Certified Nursing Assistant, gaining hands on experience that has shaped my commitment to becoming the kind of nurse who can advocate for patients, provide excellent care, and one day step into leadership to help improve healthcare systems. I also work at a yoga studio, which not only helps me financially, but gives me a discount on my membership so I can prioritize my physical and mental health while managing a demanding schedule. It’s my way of making sure I stay balanced while juggling work, school, and finances. This scholarship would relieve a major financial burden and allow me to continue focusing on both my education and my wellbeing as I prepare for a career in nursing. My long term goal is to work in critical care or women’s health, and eventually step into leadership where I can advocate for positive change, support my team, and help improve patient care on a larger scale. Statement 2: ACHE of Southern California’s mission to cultivate leadership, mentorship, and advancement opportunities in healthcare deeply aligns with my own vision for my future. I don’t only want to be a nurse who takes care of individual patients, I want to be a nurse who contributes to improving healthcare systems, advocating for vulnerable populations, and ensuring quality care is delivered safely and equitably. Throughout my own journey, I’ve seen firsthand how overwhelming navigating healthcare can be for patients and their families. This is especially true here in Southern California, where many of the patients I care for are Spanish speaking or come from diverse cultural backgrounds. I want to be part of the generation of healthcare leaders who are not only clinically skilled, but who lead with empathy, advocate for change, and are willing to have the difficult conversations that drive real improvement. ACHE of SoCal’s commitment to developing leaders who can transform healthcare perfectly mirrors my own drive to take my clinical experience and grow into a leadership role where I can influence positive change. With the support of this scholarship, I’ll be one step closer to my goal of not only becoming an excellent nurse but one day helping lead initiatives that improve patient outcomes, staff support, and system efficiency, benefiting both the patients and the people who care for them.