When I was in seventh grade, my teacher had a poster on her wall right next to where I sat. It read, "Knowledge is the only thing no one can ever take away from you". I did not have an easy childhood growing up with divorced parents which placed me with my now single mother, moving from one low income house to another, living off of school lunches and food stamps. I know now that my mother was trying her best for me and my siblings but at the time, it just did not seem like much. It felt like one day I had a house with two happy parents and a stable life to have it all be taken away from me in the blink of an eye for reasons I did not understand. Throughout my whole life, my mother would ask me when I got home from school, "What'd you learn today?" Sometimes, I would say nothing or sometimes I would go off on tangents about something fun we learned in history class. It was about a 50/50 chance it could be either of those types of moods. But as I got older and I started to study science, I felt a calling. I could not get enough science in my day! I started staying after school to read with my teachers, looking up "Bill Nye the Science Guy" videos in my spare time and even googling home science projects. I was pretty spot on when I thought that I was going to be doing science forever. Now, I am 25 years old and I am pursuing my Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree at Samuel Merritt University. I want to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing because I have an honest and genuine passion to help people lead healthier lives, make better lifestyle choices, better themselves not only physically, but also holistically, and to educate them on how to achieve these goals. I do understand that I will face some obstacles in my journey to become a competent nurse. I know that being a women is not that strange in the world of nursing, however, women are often paid 17% less than men in the same field. I will be an advocate for women and equality, not just for pay but for all of our rights as well. Another obstacle I for-see facing is being talked down to because I am a women and they assume that I am not as smart as some fo the male doctors. However, I was raised to stand up for myself and I will comfortable doing so if needed. I am a strong, smart, driven women and although I might face challenges in my journey, I know that I can handle them and come out great on the other side. My goal is to be a compassionate, committed, and competent nurse to assist families in their time of need. I am choosing to pursue my studies at Samuel Merritt University because the university and its staff have always been dedicated to the practice of social justice and diversity, which has always been a cause that hits close to home for me. Coming from a Hispanic household in a rural community with limited healthcare services, there are numerous health disparities in our local population. It is a goal of mine to be an advocate and give back to these communities like health professionals have done for me and my family.

When I was in seventh grade, my teacher had a poster on her wall right next to where I sat. It read, "Knowledge is the only thing no one can ever take away from you". I did not have an easy childhood growing up with divorced parents which placed me with my now single mother, moving from one low income house to another, living off of school lunches and food stamps. I know now that my mother was trying her best for me and my siblings but at the time, it just did not seem like much. It felt like one day I had a house with two happy parents and a stable life to have it all be taken away from me in the blink of an eye for reasons I did not understand. Throughout my whole life, my mother would ask me when I got home from school, "What'd you learn today?" Sometimes, I would say nothing or sometimes I would go off on tangents about something fun we learned in history class. It was about a 50/50 chance it could be either of those types of moods. But as I got older and I started to study science, I felt a calling. I could not get enough science in my day! I started staying after school to read with my teachers, looking up "Bill Nye the Science Guy" videos in my spare time and even googling home science projects. I was pretty spot on when I thought that I was going to be doing science forever. Now, I am 25 years old and I am pursuing my Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree at Samuel Merritt University. I want to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing because I have an honest and genuine passion to help people lead healthier lives, make better lifestyle choices, better themselves not only physically, but also holistically, and to educate them on how to achieve these goals. I understand that the role of a nurse carries a lot of responsibilities; I believe I possess the qualities that will help me become a highly proficient and competent member of the nursing team upon successful completion of my studies. My goal is to be a compassionate, committed, and competent nurse to assist families in their time of need. I am choosing to pursue my studies at Samuel Merritt University because the university and its staff have always been dedicated to the practice of social justice and diversity, which has always been a cause that hits close to home for me. Coming from a Hispanic household in a rural community with limited healthcare services, there are numerous health disparities in our local population. It is a goal of mine to be an advocate and give back to these communities like health professionals have done for me and my family.

When I was in seventh grade, my teacher had a poster on her wall right next to where I sat. It read, "Knowledge is the only thing no one can ever take away from you". I did not have an easy childhood growing up with divorced parents which placed me with my now single mother, moving from one low income house to another, living off of school lunches and food stamps. I know now that my mother was trying her best for me and my siblings but at the time, it just did not seem like much. It felt like one day I had a house with two happy parents and a stable life to having it all be taken away from me in the blink of an eye for reasons I did not understand. Throughout my whole life, my mother would ask me when I got home from school, "What'd you learn today?" Sometimes, I would say nothing or sometimes I would go off on tangents about something fun we learned in history class. It was about a 50/50 chance it could be either of those types of moods. But as I got older and I started to study science, I felt a calling. I could not get enough science in my day! I started staying after school to read with my teachers, looking up "Bill Nye the Science Guy" videos in my spare time and even googling at home science projects. I was pretty spot on when I thought that I was going to be doing science forever. Now, I am 25 years old and I am pursuing my Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree at Samuel Merritt University. I want to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing because I have an honest and genuine passion to help people lead healthier lives, make better lifestyle choices, better themselves not only physically, but also holistically, and to educate them on how to achieve these goals. I understand that the role of a nurse carries a lot of responsibilities; I believe I possess the qualities that will help me become a highly proficient and competent member of the nursing team upon successful completion of my studies. My goal is to be a compassionate, committed, and competent nurse to assist families in their time of need. I am choosing to pursue my studies at Samuel Merritt University because the university and its staff have always been dedicated to the practice of social justice and diversity, which has always been a cause that hits close to home for me. Coming from a Hispanic household in a rural community with limited healthcare services, there are numerous health disparities in our local population. It is a goal of mine to be an advocate and give back to these communities like health professionals have done for me and my family. I am now confident in my studies, more excited than ever for the future and optimistic. Education is so important to me because it truly is something that no one can ever take away from me and I can continue to learn forever. I learn something new every day no matter what it is. By the way, did you know that when crows die they have funerals for one another? Just saying, its fun to learn new things!

I want to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing because I have an honest and genuine passion to help people lead healthier lives, make better lifestyle choices, better themselves not only physically, but also holistically, and to educate them on how to achieve these goals. I understand that the role of a nurse carries a lot of responsibilities; I believe I possess the qualities that will help me become a highly proficient and competent member of the nursing team upon successful completion of my studies. My goal is to be a compassionate, committed, and competent nurse to assist families in their time of need. I was initially attracted to nursing during high school, when my best friend was injured in a diving accident. He broke his C6 and C7 vertebrae and unfortunately lost all his voluntary motor function. During his recovery, I spent all the time that I could by his side in the hospital for support. It was there that I got to see the exceptional work that the nursing staff undertook to improve not only his physical health, but his emotional well-being additionally. It was the compassion that they showed for him during this difficult time that largely sparked my interest in nursing and pushed me to explore the different paths to nursing available so that I could, someday, deliver that same quality of care to someone in need. I am choosing to pursue my studies at Samuel Merritt University because the university and its staff have always been dedicated to the practice of social justice and diversity, which has always been a cause that hits close to home for me. Coming from a Hispanic household in a rural community with limited healthcare services, there are numerous health disparities in our local population. It is a goal of mine to be an advocate and give back to these communities like health professionals have done for me and my family. Once I complete my studies, it is a goal of mine to go back to my rural home town and be an ally to other hispanic women like myself in my community who are often overlooked and not heard.

I grew up in a rural farm town with less than 3,000 citizens so to me, community means family. And when one family member is in crisis, we would never turn our back on them. That has always been my thought process when it comes to giving back to the community. When I was a junior in high school a fellow classmate was injured in a diving accident. He broke his C6 and C7 vertebrae and unfortunately lost all his voluntary motor function. His family did not have enough money to help with all the costs that come from serious accidents like this including wheelchairs, bathroom equipment, and so much more. Therefore, I started the "Fill the Boot Fundraiser" for my classmate. Our football team's homecoming game was in a couple of weeks so I organized a fundraiser where the same firefighters who pulled him out of the water the fateful day of his accident would walk up and down the stands at the homecoming game and people would donate to the "Boot". 100% of the funds that we raised went into an account for my classmate and his family. I was able to pull this fundraiser off with the incredible help of my community! I would have never been able to do any of this without them. All in all, we raised over $10,000 for my classmate and he was then able to enroll in an occupational therapy program and be financially stable. I have an honest and genuine passion to help people lead healthier lives, make better lifestyle choices, better themselves not only physically, but also holistically, and to educate them on how to achieve these goals. My goal is to obtain my Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at Samuel Merritt University. I understand that the role of a nurse carries a lot of responsibilities; I believe I possess the qualities that will help me become a highly proficient and competent member of the nursing team upon successful completion of my studies. My goal is to be a compassionate, committed, and competent nurse to assist families in their time of need. Coming from a Hispanic household in a rural community with limited healthcare services, there are numerous health disparities in our local population. It is a goal of mine to be an advocate and give back to these communities like health professionals have done for me and my family. Once I complete my studies and become a registered nurse, I would like to move back to my rural home town and be an ally for other hispanic women like myself and help them feel heard in the medical field.