Hello, my name is Joshua Sanding, and I will be an incoming third-year nursing major with a minor in public health. The longest time ago, when I was around six years old, I began to enjoy going to the clinic for checkups or vaccines. While other children walked into the rooms kicking and screaming, I always remained very calm—excited even—to meet the nurse that was going to work with me for the day. The nurses that I had from that young age had a great impact on me, and I realized very early that I wanted to become a nurse so that I can make other children comfortable the way I was. Then comes my junior year of high school when I read the book Five Feet Apart. Although fictional, the nurse in the book, Barb, was absolutely amazing. The way she cared for the two main protagonists (who were terminally ill with cystic fibrosis) had so much love and passion, and it moved me. From that point forward, I realized that I wanted to become a palliative pediatric nurse, and my ultimate goal is to be so good at my profession that I’m able to care the way Barb did. I decided to commit to the four-year program at San Diego State University to pursue this goal, and my passion became all the more reinforced while attending this university. SDSU hosts a club called Dance Marathon, which organizes a fundraising event dedicated to supporting Rady's Children's hospital in San Diego. At this event, the "Rady's Rockstars"—who are the children that we get to support—come to the event and share their stories of how Rady's helped change their lives. It was at this event that I truly became touched; seeing the bright, shining faces of these kids whose lives have been greatly impacted by the nurses working in the hospital inspired me so much. I got to personally meet some of these kids, and their smiles and laughs were priceless. They were dancing around, happy as can be. In those moments, I became inspired. I want to be able to help a child dance again, help them go to school, help them eat their favorite ice cream flavor. I want to be able to help a child live the life that they deserve—one that's far away from IV's, machines, and chemicals. This is why I want to be a nurse, and I would greatly appreciate some support to help my journey.

Hello, my name is Joshua Sanding, and I will be an incoming third-year nursing major with a minor in public health. The longest time ago, when I was around six years old, I began to enjoy going to the clinic for checkups or vaccines. While other children walked into the rooms kicking and screaming, I always remained very calm—excited even—to meet the nurse that was going to work with me for the day. The nurses that I had from that young age had a great impact on me, and I realized very early that I wanted to become a nurse so that I can make other children comfortable the way I was. Then comes my junior year of high school when I read the book Five Feet Apart. Although fictional, the nurse in the book, Barb, was absolutely amazing. The way she cared for the two main protagonists (who were terminally ill with cystic fibrosis) had so much love and passion, and it moved me. From that point forward, I realized that I wanted to become a palliative pediatric nurse, and my ultimate goal is to be so good at my profession that I’m able to care the way Barb did. I decided to commit to the four-year program at San Diego State University to pursue this goal, and my passion became all the more reinforced while attending this university. SDSU hosts a club called Dance Marathon, which organizes a fundraising event dedicated to supporting Rady's Children's hospital in San Diego. At this event, the "Rady's Rockstars"—who are the children that we get to support—come to the event and share their stories of how Rady's helped change their lives. It was at this event that I truly became touched; seeing the bright, shining faces of these kids whose lives have been greatly impacted by the nurses working in the hospital inspired me so much. I got to personally meet some of these kids, and their smiles and laughs were priceless. They were dancing around, happy as can be. In those moments, I became inspired. I want to be able to help a child dance again, help them go to school, help them eat their favorite ice cream flavor. I want to be able to help a child live the life that they deserve—one that's far away from IV's, machines, and chemicals. This is why I want to be a nurse, and I would greatly appreciate some support to help my journey.

Hello, my name is Joshua Sanding, and I will be an incoming third-year nursing major with a minor in public health. The longest time ago, when I was around six years old, I began to enjoy going to the clinic for checkups or vaccines. While other children walked into the rooms kicking and screaming, I always remained very calm—excited even—to meet the nurse that was going to work with me for the day. The nurses that I had from that young age had a great impact on me, and I realized very early that I wanted to become a nurse so that I can make other children comfortable the way I was. Then comes my junior year of high school when I read the book Five Feet Apart. Although fictional, the nurse in the book, Barb, was absolutely amazing. The way she cared for the two main protagonists (who were terminally ill with cystic fibrosis) had so much love and passion, and it moved me. From that point forward, I realized that I wanted to become a palliative pediatric nurse, and my ultimate goal is to be so good at my profession that I’m able to care the way Barb did. I decided to commit to the four-year program at San Diego State University to pursue this goal, and my passion became all the more reinforced while attending this university. SDSU hosts a club called Dance Marathon, which organizes a fundraising event dedicated to supporting Rady's Children's hospital in San Diego. At this event, the "Rady's Rockstars"—who are the children that we get to support—come to the event and share their stories of how Rady's helped change their lives. It was at this event that I truly became touched; seeing the bright, shining faces of these kids whose lives have been greatly impacted by the nurses working in the hospital inspired me so much. I got to personally meet some of these kids, and their smiles and laughs were priceless. They were dancing around, happy as can be. In those moments, I became inspired. I want to be able to help a child dance again, help them go to school, help them eat their favorite ice cream flavor. I want to be able to help a child live the life that they deserve—one that's far away from IV's, machines, and chemicals. This is why I want to be a nurse, and I would greatly appreciate some support to help my journey.

Hello, my name is Joshua Sanding, and I will be an incoming third-year nursing major with a minor in public health. The longest time ago, when I was around six years old, I began to enjoy going to the clinic for checkups or vaccines. While other children walked into the rooms kicking and screaming, I always remained very calm—excited even—to meet the nurse that was going to work with me for the day. The nurses that I had from that young age had a great impact on me, and I realized very early that I wanted to become a nurse so that I can make other children comfortable the way I was. Then comes my junior year of high school when I read the book Five Feet Apart. Although fictional, the nurse in the book, Barb, was absolutely amazing. The way she cared for the two main protagonists (who were terminally ill with cystic fibrosis) had so much love and passion, and it moved me. From that point forward, I realized that I wanted to become a palliative pediatric nurse, and my ultimate goal is to be so good at my profession that I’m able to care the way Barb did. I decided to commit to the four-year program at San Diego State University to pursue this goal, and my passion became all the more reinforced while attending this university. SDSU hosts a club called Dance Marathon, which organizes a fundraising event dedicated to supporting Rady's Children's hospital in San Diego. At this event, the "Rady's Rockstars"—who are the children that we get to support—come to the event and share their stories of how Rady's helped change their lives. It was at this event that I truly became touched; seeing the bright, shining faces of these kids whose lives have been greatly impacted by the nurses working in the hospital inspired me so much. I got to personally meet some of these kids, and their smiles and laughs were priceless. They were dancing around, happy as can be. In those moments, I became inspired. I want to be able to help a child dance again, help them go to school, help them eat their favorite ice cream flavor. I want to be able to help a child live the life that they deserve—one that's far away from IV's, machines, and chemicals. This is why I want to be a nurse, and I would greatly appreciate some support to help my journey.

Hello, my name is Joshua Sanding, and I will be an incoming third-year nursing major with a minor in public health. The longest time ago, when I was around six years old, I began to enjoy going to the clinic for checkups or vaccines. While other children walked into the rooms kicking and screaming, I always remained very calm—excited even—to meet the nurse that was going to work with me for the day. The nurses that I had from that young age had a great impact on me, and I realized very early that I wanted to become a nurse so that I can make other children comfortable the way I was. Then comes my junior year of high school when I read the book Five Feet Apart. Although fictional, the nurse in the book, Barb, was absolutely amazing. The way she cared for the two main protagonists (who were terminally ill with cystic fibrosis) had so much love and passion, and it moved me. From that point forward, I realized that I wanted to become a palliative pediatric nurse, and my ultimate goal is to be so good at my profession that I’m able to care the way Barb did. I decided to commit to the four-year program at San Diego State University to pursue this goal, and my passion became all the more reinforced while attending this university. SDSU hosts a club called Dance Marathon, which organizes a fundraising event dedicated to supporting Rady's Children's hospital in San Diego. At this event, the "Rady's Rockstars"—who are the children that we get to support—come to the event and share their stories of how Rady's helped change their lives. It was at this event that I truly became touched; seeing the bright, shining faces of these kids whose lives have been greatly impacted by the nurses working in the hospital inspired me so much. I got to personally meet some of these kids, and their smiles and laughs were priceless. They were dancing around, happy as can be. In those moments, I became inspired. I want to be able to help a child dance again, help them go to school, help them eat their favorite ice cream flavor. I want to be able to help a child live the life that they deserve—one that's far away from IV's, machines, and chemicals. This is why I want to be a nurse, and I would greatly appreciate some support to help my journey.