When people ask why I chose pediatric nursing, I usually tell them that I love working with children. While that is true, the deeper answer is that I wanted to become the kind of adult I needed when I was growing up. My childhood was shaped by trauma and emotional instability. Like many children living in difficult circumstances, I learned to survive by becoming independent and hiding my emotions. It wasn't until adulthood, through my own healing journey, that I realized how profoundly childhood experiences influence every aspect of a person's life—from physical and mental health to relationships and self-worth. I often wonder how different my life might have been if someone had recognized what I was carrying and intervened sooner. That realization inspired me to dedicate my career to caring for children during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. For the past twelve years, every step of my nursing career has centered on pediatrics. I began working in pediatrics and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where I cared for children facing critical illnesses and life-threatening emergencies. I later had the privilege of working at a St. Jude affiliate clinic in Springfield, Missouri, caring for children receiving treatment for cancer and other serious hematologic conditions. Watching these children endure treatments with remarkable courage while their families navigated unimaginable uncertainty forever changed my perspective on what it means to provide compassionate care. From there, I transitioned to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where I cared for premature and critically ill newborns while supporting parents through some of the most emotional days of their lives. Today, I work in residential adolescent psychiatry, helping teenagers recover from the effects of trauma, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and other mental health challenges. Although each specialty has been different, they have all taught me the same lesson: healing is about far more than medicine. Children may not remember every medication they received or every procedure they endured, but they remember how the people caring for them made them feel. Families remember the nurse who took time to explain what was happening, celebrated a small victory, or simply sat beside them when there were no easy answers. Reading Noah's story reminded me of the extraordinary impact compassionate healthcare professionals can have on a child's life. The fact that his caregivers not only cared for him but also embraced and supported his family speaks to the heart of pediatric medicine. It is a reminder that every interaction matters and that healing often comes through human connection as much as clinical expertise. I am currently pursuing my Master of Science in Nursing to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specializing in children and adolescents. My goal is to provide trauma-informed, evidence-based mental healthcare that recognizes the whole child, not just a diagnosis. I want to help children receive support before they reach a crisis and remind families that they do not have to face those challenges alone. Looking back, I realize that every chapter of my career has prepared me for this next one. Whether caring for critically ill children, supporting families through cancer treatment, helping premature infants fight for a healthy start, or walking alongside adolescents as they heal emotionally, I have been privileged to witness the incredible resilience of children. They are the reason I chose pediatric nursing, and they continue to inspire the provider I hope to become every day.

Mental health has never felt like a distant topic to me. It is something I’ve seen up close, in real, raw ways, both in my work and in the people I care about. I first received a B.S. in Psychology in 2011 with the intention of attending a graduate program to become a psychiatrist, however a medical emergency that resulted in the early death of my father redirected me into the field of nursing. While I have always been drawn to the study of the mind, the change in direction my life took towards nursing granted me the ability to see the mind, body, soul connection with so much more understanding and empathy through the eyes of a nurse. Working as a nurse with children and adolescents in psychiatric settings has changed me in ways I didn’t expect. I’ve taken care of kids who have experienced more trauma in their short lives than most adults ever will. Many of them struggle to regulate emotions, trust others, or even feel safe in their own bodies. At first, it’s easy to focus on the behaviors such as the anger, the shutdown, the impulsivity, but over time I learned to look deeper. Those behaviors are often just the surface of something much bigger. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with them?” I’ve learned to ask “What happened to them?” That one change completely reshaped how I approach care and honestly, how I view people in general. These experiences are a big part of why I’m pursuing my goal of becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I see how often warning signs can be missed without consistent, intentional screening and want to be part of changing that. I want to help create systems where early identification and trauma-informed care are the standard, not the exception. On a personal level, working in mental health has made me more aware of how important relationships really are. A lot of the kids I care for have experienced broken trust or inconsistent support, so building rapport with them takes time, patience, and honesty. I’ve learned that showing up consistently matters more than saying the perfect thing. That’s something I carry into my own life too. I try to be more present, more patient, and more intentional in how I support the people around me. It’s also made me more aware of how much people are carrying that you can’t see. I don’t take behavior at face value anymore. I think about what someone might be dealing with behind the scenes, the stress, the trauma, the lack of support. It has made me less judgmental and more compassionate, not just in my job, but in everyday life. At the same time, working in this field has taught me the importance of taking care of myself. Being around intense emotional situations day after day can take a toll, and I’ve had to learn how to set boundaries, recognize when I need a break, and make space to reset. That’s been a learning process, but it’s made me stronger and more aware of my own limits. Mental health has shaped my life in a way that goes far beyond a career choice. It’s given me a sense of purpose. It’s changed how I connect with people. And it’s pushed me to be more thoughtful, more empathetic, and more intentional in everything I do. I don’t just want to treat mental illness, I want to help people feel understood, supported, and safe. And that goal is rooted in everything I’ve seen, learned, and experienced along the way.

Mental health has never felt like a distant topic to me. It is something I’ve seen up close, in real, raw ways, both in my work and in the people I care about. Because of that, it hasn’t just influenced what I want to do professionally, it has also shaped how I see people, how I build relationships, and how I move through the world. Working as a nurse with children and adolescents in psychiatric settings has changed me in ways I didn’t expect. I’ve taken care of kids who have experienced more trauma in their short lives than most adults ever will. Many of them struggle to regulate emotions, trust others, or even feel safe in their own bodies. At first, it’s easy to focus on the behaviors such as the anger, the shutdown, the impulsivity, but over time I learned to look deeper. Those behaviors are often just the surface of something much bigger. That shift in perspective has been one of the most important things I’ve gained from my experience with mental health. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with them?” I’ve learned to ask “What happened to them?” That one change completely reshaped how I approach care and honestly, how I view people in general. These experiences are a big part of why I’m pursuing my goal of becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I know this is the population I want to serve. I see how often warning signs (especially related to suicide risk and self-harm) can be missed without consistent, intentional screening. I want to be part of changing that. I want to help create systems where early identification and trauma-informed care are the standard, not the exception. On a personal level, working in mental health has made me more aware of how important relationships really are. A lot of the kids I care for have experienced broken trust or inconsistent support, so building rapport with them takes time, patience, and honesty. I’ve learned that showing up consistently matters more than saying the perfect thing. That’s something I carry into my own life too. I try to be more present, more patient, and more intentional in how I support the people around me. It’s also made me more aware of how much people are carrying that you can’t see. I don’t take behavior at face value anymore. I think about what someone might be dealing with behind the scenes, the stress, the trauma, the lack of support. It has made me less judgmental and more compassionate, not just in my job, but in everyday life. At the same time, working in this field has taught me the importance of taking care of myself. Being around intense emotional situations day after day can take a toll, and I’ve had to learn how to set boundaries, recognize when I need a break, and make space to reset. That’s been a learning process, but it’s made me stronger and more aware of my own limits. Mental health has shaped my life in a way that goes far beyond a career choice. It’s given me a sense of purpose. It’s changed how I connect with people. And it’s pushed me to be more thoughtful, more empathetic, and more intentional in everything I do. I don’t just want to treat mental illness, I want to help people feel understood, supported, and safe. And that goal is rooted in everything I’ve seen, learned, and experienced along the way.