Growing up as a child of a single mother and living with my single mother has shown me to be strong. It has shown me to follow my dreams and goals, and not let anyone get or stand in my way. She has taught me that people may look down on me because I'm a minority female. Being a female of Puerto Rican descent has provided me with the strength to achieve my dreams and goals. I have seen all the women in my family provide when there wasn't a single way possible. All the women including my single mother have inspired me to do better than what they have accomplished. I am currently in my first semester of nursing school and it is difficult. But my mom has inspired me to not be discouraged when going to school. Also whatever my dream or goal is, I can achieve it with hard work and dedication. All the qualities that my mom holds, she is teaching and showing me those qualities. So that I can be a strong minority woman who achieves her dreams and goals. Since I am in nursing school, the ultimate goal is to have a BSN, RN behind my last name which would be Hernandez, BSN RN. I know that nursing school is not easy and I know that I have to work extremely hard to achieve the ultimate goal. As far as my goals during nursing school, would be to stay focused and use the inspiration from my mom to continue to push me. Also while in nursing school, I can use the inspiration to help my classmates by inspiring them if they are down and discouraged. In nursing school, this is the start of achieving my goals before actually becoming a nurse. Furthermore, finishing nursing school is bringing me one step closer to achieving the ultimate goal. After nursing school, my goals will be achieved and made possible, by graduating and passing boards. Which is something that seems very scary but I know the woman in my family have prepared me for any obstacles that could stand in my way. I know that the inspiration given from my childhood to the present will help me not to feel discouraged. Given the opportunity to apply for this scholarship will help my single mother know that her inspiration and dedication was worth her time as a parent. Lastly, her inspiration is what pushed me to achieve my goals and dreams of becoming a nurse and having my name be Hernandez, BSN RN.

My journey to nursing wasn't easy. But I knew I always wanted to have a career in the healthcare field. The journey started in the third or fourth grade. I was instructed to create essentially a scrapbook of my dreams and goals. Immediately I started looking for pictures of women who wore scrubs and white coats. At that point, I was dreaming of becoming an OBGYN. But that dream changed paths when I was a junior in highschool. My mom gave birth to my little brother, her pregnacy was considred higher risk since she was older and had high blood pressure. So every moment of her pregnacy was a blessing. She actually had to give birth about a month early, which meant my brother had to spend some time in the NICU. That point was possibly the hardest time of our lives. We didn't know what was going on with him, he was small and had all these tubes and wires around him. But one thing we knew was the nurses were there. The nurses provided us with so much comfort and compassion. They were going above and beyond to make sure comfort was there in a very uncomfortable place. They made sure we were welcomed and taken care of. They made sure to update with any new information and changes. The nurses were there every step of the way, from when my brother was admitted into the NICU. Until he was discharged to go home, it was bittersweet moments but we knew that the nurses were like our family. And this when I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to be able to care for my patients and their family. I wanted to exhibit the same level of care that those NICU nurses provided for my family. I wanted to exhibit the same level of compassion that they gave my family. I wanted to also exhibit the same level of advocacy that showed when advocating for my brother. I wanted to be like those NICU nurses in a sense of using my school knowledge to help people. This dream was something I have wanted to accomplish once I graduated highschool. My journey to nursing school wasn't easy. But I can finally say that I am one step closer to my dream. I have been accepted into nursing school and I am on my way to becoming a nurse.

Becoming a nurse is important to me because, one of my passions is to help people. I've always enjoyed helping and caring for people any way that I could. Whether it was grab them a drink or snack or take care of them when sick. I think there are qualities of nursing that I also exhibit. Qualities like compassion, honestly, attentiveness and caring. I've always wanted to have a career in the healthcare field. It started as wanting to be an OBGYN when I was in the fourth grade. But that changed once I realized that nurses do much more for the patient. Nurses are responsible for taking care of their patients not only before but after the doctors are finished. Nurses not only care for the patients but also the patients' family. Reassuaring and answering any questions or concerns they may have. Providing support for the patient's family during times of unknown. Another thing that I appreciate about nurses is the fact that are advocators for their patients. They are responsible for speaking up and doing what's best for their patients when they aren't able to do so for themselves. They truly have their patients best intrest at heart. Nurses are truly that girl. And that's when I decided I wanted to be a nurse. A personal experience also helped me with my decision to become a nurse. My younger sibling was born prematurely and was admitted into the NICU. The level of care that those nurses gave my brother just inspired me. It felt like I could be a nurse and exhibit that same level of care and compassion to my patients one day. The care and compassion was also given to my mother. Even though the time spent in the NICU, the nurses made the time more positive. They were there during every single step, from the time he was admitted until the time he was discharged. It felt like they were family by the end. They were always there making sure that my mom and brother didn't want for anything. They managed to support and make my mother comfortable in a very uncomfortable position. This decsion was made more possible when I was accepted into nursing school. I just felt like this was my chance at my dream of becoming a nurse. Being accepted into nursing school pushed me one step closer to be like those nurses from the NICU.