My mom was just beginning her career at 19 when she found out she was pregnant with triplets. My mother is now 37 with a bachelor's degree in nursing. My mom would always talk about how important getting her bachelor's degree would be for our family. She was an LPN making 20 dollars an hour, but she never gave up on school. School was never an option in my household, it was a necessity. My brothers and I were always taught that after high school you continue your education, whether it's trade school or university. I knew from a young age that I wanted to experience a career in health care. In my junior year of high school, I decided I was going to take my first step into health care. I joined the Health Career Education class at Moon Valley High School. This class opened up numerous opportunities for me. I got certified in CPR, stop the bleed, and in mental health awareness. I reached around 50 hours in clinical hours. I went to a nursing home twice a week for 12-hour shifts, while still attending a normal school week. Learning to balance CNA skills and school helped me develop incredible life skills. The residents I spend my time with proved to me that this is what I wanted in my future. I met countless people and heard outstanding stories while assisting. I made memories that will last me a lifetime as a CNA student. The relationships I made through this class will never be forgotten. On June 10th, 2023, the summer before my senior year I passed both the written and practical exams and achieved my CNA license. Acquiring these licenses will help me in my pursuit to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing. Attending a university where I could stay on campus has always been a dream of mine. While my mom did attend GCU for her bachelor's degree, she never got to live in dorms. I would be the first in my family to achieve a four-year university degree in nursing. Nursing has always been my passion. I plan on working as a CNA while I work towards higher education at Northern Arizona University. I am capable of achieving my goals. I’ve been taught my whole life that dreams are just dreams unless you make them come true. At the Northern University, I would hope to study healthcare by majoring in nursing so that I could explore my interest in healthcare and one day pursue a career as a nurse.

My life so far as a song from 1989 (Taylors Version) would be Wildest Dream. At the beginning of this year, I committed to my dream university. I will be attending Northern Arizona University this fall for the 2024-2025 school year as a freshman. Since my freshman year of high school, I have been telling my parents “I want to go to NAU”, but the only way they said it would be possible is if I worked hard for scholarships. Freshman year was a hard time. It was 2020 and my school had no classes in person due to the COVID-19 outbreak hurting hundreds of people in Phoenix. I did not let that hurt my academic goals. I finished freshman year with a 3.7 GPA. Sophomore year flew by, but I knew I had to start thinking about my career goals. Second semester I heard about HCE, Health Careers Education. This is a program for Juniors and Seniors to take and ideally end the school year off with a CNA license. I took the test to get accepted into the program and got in. Junior year of High School was full of excitement, I was taking a class to earn my CNA license to help pave the way to becoming a Registered Nurse. I earned over fifty clinical hours and met many friendly faces. At the end of my school year, I was told that the state final would be in June and that only 3 students besides myself had qualified for it. When June came along I took my practical exams and a couple of days later I received my congratulations email. I was now a Certified Nurses Assistant. Now in my Senior year of high school, I have just turned eighteen and am looking for careers my license supports. On the Friday of my first week of Seniorhood, I applied to NAU. It was early for applications but I knew NAU was accepting them. The day I got the acceptance letter was a day I will never forget. Life was suddenly real; I was going to be attending a University away from home. This has never been done before. My parents were ecstatic to hear the news. I am going to be the first member of the family to attend a University away from home. I am living out my Wildest Dream and I am excited for what my life has in store for me.

Education to me is incredibly important. My mom would always talk about how important getting her bachelor's degree would be for our family. She was an LPN making 20 dollars an hour supporting my brothers and me, but she never gave up on school. My mother is now 37 with a bachelor's degree in nursing. School was never an option in my household, it was a necessity. My brothers and I were always taught that after high school you continue your education, whether it's trade school or university. As soon as I got to high school I knew I was going to attend a university. I put in hard work every day to acquire a 3.7 GPA. I knew from a young age that I wanted to experience a career in health care, and education after high school was going to be a necessity. In my junior year of high school, I decided I was going to take my first step into health care. I joined the Health Career Education class at Moon Valley High School. This class opened up numerous opportunities for me. I got certified in CPR, Stop the Bleed, and mental health awareness. I reached around 50 hours in clinical hours. I went to a nursing home twice a week for 12-hour shifts, while still attending a normal school week. Learning to balance CNA skills and school helped me develop incredible life skills. The residents I spent my time with proved to me that this is what I wanted in my future. I met countless people and heard outstanding stories while assisting. I made memories that will last me a lifetime as a CNA student. On June 10th, 2023, the summer before my senior year I passed both the written and practical exams and achieved my CNA license. Acquiring these licenses will help me in my pursuit to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing. Attending a university where I could stay on campus has always been a dream of mine. While my mom did attend GCU for her bachelor's degree, she never got to live in dorms. I would be the first in my family to achieve a four-year university degree in nursing. Nursing has always been my passion. I plan on working as a CNA while I work towards higher education. Becoming a registered nurse with a bachelor's degree is my main life goal. I am capable of achieving my goals. I’ve been taught my whole life that dreams are just dreams unless you make them come true.