Growing up I always enjoyed helping people. I have always been told that I have a kind soul, and always knew that I wanted a career that I was truly passionate about when I was older. As a child, I thought that these characteristics and my interest in helping others would make for a great teacher. My favorite thing to do with my friends was play school, and every time I would make sure that I was the teacher. I admired seeing my teachers every day because it made me excited to go back home and act out the things I saw in school that day. Teachers have the ability to not only educate their students academically but also make sure that they are maturing emotionally. Up to my freshman year in high school, I held on to my dream of becoming a teacher. This all changed after I took my first high school biology course. In that class, there was a unit on the most common genetic disorders. I learned that many of these disorders cause lifelong complications that oftentimes require long hospital stays. Historically, women have faced unfair treatment in the work field relating to their gender, much like people with disabilities have in the healthcare system. One place where I always felt safe was at school with my teachers. This inspires me because when I become a nurse I want to be the person that my patients can confide in no matter their background. I want to get a career where I am saving people's lives! I want to help these people with all the different illnesses there are and be the person they can confide in. We learned about all these different genetic disorders but never how the hospital stay was. This is when I started to look into healthcare jobs, specifically nursing. From that moment I knew that this was the career I best belonged in. As I grew up I knew that my passion was to help people, but specifically towards people's health. The professions of teaching and nursing are quite similar. Both involve communicating effectively, working in a fast-paced environment, and making insightful decisions in a short amount of time. In my junior year of high school, I finally got an opportunity to experience the healthcare environment, through a nursing assistant program for high school students, offered by my local technical college. I gave the opportunity a lot of thought because it took a lot of commitment and time management, but I eventually decided to enroll in the course. I can confidently say that this was one of the best decisions I have ever made. In 4 years, I hope to have my bachelor's in science of nursing. I know that when I become a nurse I will have a positive impact in the nursing community. My patients will feel like they can confide and trust me. I will always advocate for my patients. As a role of a nursing assistant, I have learned so much and will continue as I grow into my career.

My name is Maria Rodriguez Torres. I am currently a Freshman at Alverno College, majoring in nursing. I am studying to receive my bachelor's in science and nursing degree. Growing up in a Mexican immigrant household, has impacted the way I see life. I gained strong characteristics that I believe that I have gained because of my background. As in I am a very hard worker and aim to be successful in life for my family and especially my mother. Growing up, it has always been one parent in the household, which was my mother. My mother has always played both roles: mom and dad. At 20 years old, she left her family and immigrated here to the United States to provide a better life for my siblings. She left her home and immigrated to another country where she did not even know the primary language. All because she wanted to give her children the opportunity she never got. I thank my mother every day for blessing me with the life I have, for the endless opportunities I have had, for being bilingual, and for so much more. My mother raised my 3 siblings and I alone. She constantly worked so hard to provide for my siblings and I. Even though she always worked hard and was tired she always gave us unconditional affection and I am very grateful for that. She sacrificed herself for our family and I owe her so much for how great of a mother she's been. My mother has always said to me “echale ganas” “ser alguien en la vida.” These phrases have always stuck with me. She came to this country to see me succeed and for me to be someone in this world. As a little girl, I would always tell her that I would become someone in this world and take care of her. I want to be able to take care of my mother financially. I do not want to see her have to wake up at 3 in the morning to go to work, making minimum wage. I am my mother's future and I will succeed in life. I believe that having an education is very important. Ever since I was a little girl I loved helping people. During my junior year of high school, I began a CNA course and this was an important step for me as it was going to be the answer to if I wanted to find a career in the healthcare field. Of course, I loved it and wanted to become something more than a nursing assistant. I got a job at West Allis Memorial Hospital and I just loved helping these patients during tough times in their life. I was proud of myself for being 17 years old in high school and working at a hospital. Nursing is a highly rewarding career and I strongly believe that this is the career for me. With this career not only will I be able to help my mother and create a comfortable life for myself but have a rewarding sense of accomplishment. Nursing is difficult and hard but I know I can do it, I mean I have my mother on my side cheering me on. I owe this all to her and I know I can do this.