In the beginning, my purpose began being born and raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. One of the foundational truths I learned at an early age was to always “love my neighbor as myself and treat others with respect, especially my elders.” Once I became an adult, I wanted to explore more about God, so I decided to become a Baptist and then a Catholic over twelve years. In my quest to find the church that God wanted to use me at, I recognized a foundational quote stated by John Wooden, a legendary basketball coach who always inspired me as a little child. He stated, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Personally, this made me appreciate that no matter how my life started, God’s purpose in my life was activated the moment I began breathing. With my religious affiliations, I knew God had a greater calling for my life. Growing up in the city of Chicago, opportunities always presented themselves for me to display what the purpose of my life truly meant to me. I knew from my biblical training that “respecting my elders” would “make me equipped for every good work” as I continued to grow into my purpose. Despite my religious affiliations, the atmosphere never changed. I always found myself in the company of the elderly who either needed my assistance physically, spiritually, or emotionally. My initial goal was to always leave a lasting impression, starting with putting a smile on their face. This approach over time created my current passion and sincere love to interact with the elderly. The benefits of my humble service to the elderly allowed me to become their sponge, soaking up all their wisdom, and experiences while consistently being inspired towards becoming great. I knew becoming a greater person involved putting God first in my life. I know He is responsible for all the success I have experienced and will experience in my pursuit of becoming a geriatric nurse. Working at Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center, Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, and attending Harper College has bestowed me with the privilege of continuing to make a difference in the geriatric population as a Certified Nursing Assistant, Security Officer, and student. In the process of living in harmony with God’s word to “love my neighbor as myself”, I found refuge in becoming an active member of a nondenominational church named Life Changers. Life Changers appealed to me because I felt God wants me to become a life changer in everything that He allows to come my way. In embracing my faith and identity as a Life Changer, I have adopted the acronym Living in Full Effect (L.I.F.E.). This mentality embraces my purpose and passion in being a blessing to others. Annually, I volunteer at various senior living facilities and nursing homes to provide basic medical services including ensuring all resident's vital signs are accurate and within normal range. I am a dedicated member of the Alzheimer’s Association being an active walker and supporter to all who are fighting or enduring the strenuous battles of dementia and Alzheimer's. I will begin nursing school on January 16, 2024, and I have set plans to become a Dementia/Alzheimer’s Care Practitioner on June 15, 2024. These are just a few experiences I am looking forward to in the new year, as I continue to let God lead me to completeness through His purpose for me and my passion to humbly serve others, especially the geriatric population.

Nursing is important to me because it involves caring and leaving a lasting impression that will make a difference in a person's life when needed the most. At a young age, I discovered that I had a passion for humbly serving others. This passion developed because I was always trained to “treat others with respect” especially my elders. I always found myself surrounded by the elderly who typically needed assistance physically, spiritually, or emotionally. I always cherished putting a smile on their face while soaking up all their wisdom and experiences like a sponge. These friendly gestures created the foundation that anchors my faith while in pursuit of a nursing career. As I continue to exercise my passion for caring for others as an adult, I have sincerely enjoyed the infinite blessings that are affiliated with these occasions. Embracing these opportunities has fueled my inspiration to make a difference wherever I am. With the many challenges that exist today, being able to assist someone while leaving a lasting impression on their heart, mind or spirit creates the endurance needed to withstand any obstacle. Focusing on the needs of others allows me to reflect personally and appreciate how my needs are naturally met in my daily interactions with others. The privilege of being able to introduce myself with a friendly smile creates an indescribable feeling that is difficult to express with mere words. Working at Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center and Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital has positioned me to display what nursing means to me through the care I provide. The nursing platform was activated when I accepted the position to become a valet attendant. As a valet attendant, I cherished the bonds formed with many patients and visitors, especially the elderly who presented themselves at the entrances of Saint Alexius Medical Center for various reasons. As the covid pandemic began exposing all the things we take for granted in life, I received the greatest confirmation ever, when the Chief Nursing Officer spoke with me about pursuing a nursing career. This approval led me to make the difficult decision of accepting a promotion to become a Security Officer working nights at Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital. This position allowed me to observe many skills, techniques, protocols, and scenarios that I will potentially encounter as a nurse. This career change also allowed me to start school at Harper College in February of 2021, where I began taking nursing prerequisites starting with the Certified Nursing Assistant Program. The successful completion of this program certified me to become a float pool Patient Care Technician at Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center. This position granted me the opportunity to apply my knowledge and understanding in various nursing environments while daily being enlightened toward providing efficient care. This atmosphere made me reflect on my upbringing and aided me in deciding to specialize in geriatric nursing. I am currently an active member of the Alzheimer’s Association, and I am preparing to receive training to become an Alzheimer/Dementia Nursing Practitioner in June of 2024 while beginning nursing school in January of 2024. These experiences have currently bestowed me with a valuable nursing foundation from numerous perspectives while striving to increase my positive impact wherever I am, by creating an extended support system for anyone I encounter experiencing the challenges of life.

Living In full effect is a phrase that I think of every time I see the word life. The meaning has always described a general purpose that I wanted to accomplish as I became an adult. It’s amazing how once I realized my purpose in life, I could reflect on life experiences to support my pursuit of making a difference. Making a difference to me specifically means adding positivity to the environment and atmosphere. It’s ironic how I always wanted to help people but never realized it was a purpose for my life. Being an assistant to someone else from my perspective was just a sincere gesture that I could exclusively perform, and I have always cherished those opportunities. I began to see this vision when I began working for Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center. My first step towards making a difference was when I embraced the position of becoming a valet attendant. Working in this position allowed me to create and cherish the bonds I formed with many patients and visitors, especially the elderly who presented themselves at the hospital entrance for various reasons. My disposition inspired Shawn O’Connor, Chief Nursing Officer of Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center to approach me about considering a nursing career because she knew from the moment she observed me interacting with the public, that I had a “nurse’s heart.” After reflecting on this career change, I decided to be the first in my family to pursue a college education to become a registered nurse. This career change involved me adjusting to working the night shift as a Security Officer at Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital. In my new role, I focused on enhancing qualities that aided me in evolving into the man that I am, which were love, patience, flexibility, motivation and finally humility. These five qualities allowed me to listen and learn in the mental health environment while building respect, developing trust, and creating a rapport that proved essential in defusing hostile moments and bad situations which presented me with the opportunity to become a Nonviolent Crisis Prevention Instructor. This position enabled me to participate in finding resolutions to the unique situations involved with embracing the infinite challenges of mental health. Also, I was able to continue pursuing my dreams by observing and learning many skills, techniques, protocols, and scenarios that I will potentially encounter as a nurse. After completing the Certified Nursing Assistant program at Harper College, I was able to add the additional role of being a Patient Care Technician at Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center overnight on my days off as a Security Officer. As a patient care tech, I began applying the knowledge and understanding I had observed in various nursing environments while continuing to take prerequisites to make me eligible for nursing school. I have found delight in the healthcare setting mainly because as a nurse, I want to specialize in geriatric nursing. My work experience granted me the opportunity to build a valuable nursing foundation and progress toward becoming more efficient in providing patient care at both hospitals. These experiences at both hospitals have resulted in me being the recipient of overwhelming support from patients, visitors and colleagues while creating an extended support system for anyone I encounter experiencing the challenges of life.

My utopian view of aiding the black community with optimum mental health begins with understanding and respecting the individual I am embracing. As a Security Officer and a Patient Care Technician, I see the mental health challenges that daily plague our society, especially within the black community. I am a believer that application starts internally before assisting others. As I pursue a nursing career, I embrace the opportunities to gain valuable experience and knowledge in being a positive spotlight within the black community, where various mental health challenges are either neglected or overlooked. I have adopted three valuable qualities working at Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital that I believe will yield fruitful results in the effort to improve mental health in black communities. The first valuable quality I practice is love. Love is an essential key because the black community has struggled with life in general and coping with reality after the COVID pandemic has made life more complicated. With negative environments like crime, poverty, drugs, and gangs devastating many black families in the community, many of my brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers don’t have sincere people in their lives to keep them grounded on sound advice regarding life matters. This unfortunate atmosphere is a breeding ground for depression, suicide, homicide, and other mental health challenges that normally lead to unfortunate outcomes. Love is a quality that is nurturing and therapeutic because it heals the deepest part of a person’s soul emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Displaying love always allows me to lead by example with a nonjudgmental approach and empathy towards my people trying to make the best out of what they have. The second valuable quality I practice is patience. Patience is a virtue because we all are unique with our own set of personal limitations. Considering the many things the black community has had to endure consistently, patience allows me to create ways to give the black community a voice, a cause, and a purpose to find resolutions to the unique situations of everyone plagued by mental health illnesses in the community. Patience allows me to listen and learn through what is displayed or said by those whom I encounter. I have learned that giving a person a chance to express themselves goes a long way to gaining respect, developing trust, and creating a rapport that has peacefully diffused many hostile moments and bad situations that could’ve been worse without patience. The final valuable quality I practice is flexibility. Flexibility is essential when dealing with mental health because change is always constant, and no two people are completely alike. When reflecting on all the negative things occurring in the black community, it is easy to see why black people have a negative perspective on life. Each circumstance requires some creativity in focusing on the best approach for the individual while working in harmony with the goals of seeing progress and maintaining safety. I love this quality because it encourages collaboration, uniting the person with a strong anchor and allowing them to participate in their plan for a positive outcome. It also allows me to live in harmony with my grandmother’s favorite bible quote “There is always more happiness in giving than receiving.” The benefits of these three wonderful qualities are two folded blessings. The first blessing assists in putting the black community into a better situation or condition to prosper and the second blessing is it will make me feel good in making a difference in one black community at a time.

After receiving an Associate’s degree in nursing, I want to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in nursing as well. I might also pursue a Master’s degree in nursing but I do not want to overwhelm myself with lofty expectations. So, I am setting mini goals to accomplish en route to accomplishing the major goals. As a registered nurse, I want to specialize in geriatric nursing. As a child growing up, I was always taught to love, respect and be an assistant to my elders. I always considered it to be a privilege to assist the elderly in whatever they were trying to accomplish. I enjoyed these opportunities so much that it developed into a lifetime passion. I annually volunteer to do blood pressure readings at various senior facilities in Illinois that are orchestrated by one of my college professors who trained me to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. I am also an active member of the Alzheimer’s Association, and I will become an Alzheimer’s/Dementia Care Practitioner in 2024. I was introduced to a nursing career by the former Chief Nursing Officer of Ascension Saint Alexius. She observed the way I treated and greeted patients and visitors as a valet attendant as they entered our hospital. She recommended me with her approval to pursue nursing because according to her, I genuinely have a “nurse’s heart.” When I reflected on her words, I remembered taking care of the elderly in my youth and caring for my parents before they both died from pancreatic cancer. I had never thought about becoming a nurse, but I always had the passion to help others. My CNO’s vision was a confirmation for me that all my prior training was destined to prepare me for this rewarding journey. My parent's battle with cancer has inspired me to encourage and support others going through similar cancer battles with the outcome of many beating the disease. I love to hear and be a part of a patient’s victory against cancer. Even though cancer took both of my parents away, they put up a legendary fight, two battles that are precious to me and memories that I cherish sincerely with my heart. I use their examples to inspire others and with every cancer survivor, I credit it as another victory won on my parent's behalf. I authored a poem entitled “A Legendary Victory” inspired by my parents and others fighting against cancer. I strive to be there for anyone dealing with cancer, Alzheimer’s, and dementia because these are humiliating diseases that require a lot of love, care, support, and prayer to endure.

The dream version of my future is dedicating my time, energy, effort, specialty and expertise as a registered nurse to the geriatric population because without their love, care and support, I wouldn't be the man I am today.