The important qualities I look for in a career are the opportunity to bring hope during hard times and the chance to help those that need it. I believe hope is a very strong and influential feeling. As Martin Luther King, Jr said, "everything that is done in the world is done by hope." My name, "Nadia" translates to "hope," and I carry that with me and use it as a motivation to promote a positive environment. The ability to touch people's lives and make a difference is a large part of what made me change career paths to continue my education and get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I got my first bachelor's degree in Political Science from Michigan State University, but as I was finishing my degree and going through the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to self-reflect and determine that my original plan (attending law school) was not the path that was going to lead me to a fulfilling life. My parents work in the healthcare field and I was so inspired by their willpower, grace, and strength while navigating the pandemic and caring for patients with COVID-19. I volunteered at my local hospital and realized that by pursuing a career in healthcare, I would be able to make a difference in patients' lives as well. I finished my first undergraduate program while taking prerequisites for nursing school and I was absolutely thrilled when I was accepted to the Accelerated BSN program at Michigan State University. I have recently started the nursing program and I love it! While I am not sure what specialty I will end up pursuing, I am sure that I have found the career in which I belong. I am eager to take advantage of opportunities in different areas of nursing to gain that versatile experience and learn what specialty will be the best for me. In the long run, I believe I will end up going back to school again to further my nursing education in a certain specialty. Regardless of which specialty I end up in, I have the goal to best address my patient's needs while providing superior care and being a source of hope for my patients. I have already found ways in which my first degree fits in with nursing. There are so many areas in which we have to advocate for patients and communities to create a more just and equitable world in healthcare. Exploring social determinates of health and changing how we organize, prioritize, and educate is an important topic that I want to explore as I continue with education and practice in healthcare. I love the nursing program I am in, but it is very competitive and fast-paced, so they recommend that students do not work during the program. With the help of financial aid and scholarships, I hope to reach my goals of providing exceptional nursing care through compassion and respect. I want to be able to be that source of hope and inspiration for my patients, just like Dashanna.

My mom has always been a very important part of my life, especially during the last few years as I have learned how to grow into an adult. She is always a phone call away and has always supported my dreams. When I was a child, she was an amazing role model. My mom is a doctor and she worked very hard to get to where she is today. She is kind and hardworking and a wonderful teacher. I saw my mother as a passionate and thoughtful strong woman, and I always wanted to be like her when I grew up. She gave a lot of time and energy to her career that she is so passionate about, but she always supported me in school and dance. She would go to competitions and recitals and make it known she was always very proud of my sister and me. One time she even bedazzled her own "Nadia and Autumn's Mom" dance mom shirt! My mom always wanted to be there for us. I have moved off to college, but I still speak to and see my mom frequently. I live about an hour away, but I drive back home every other Sunday so I can go to church with her and my grandma. They sing in the choir, and I love to sing with them! That small part of my week that I get to spend worshiping with them brings me so much peace and joy. My mom has also greatly supported my shift in career paths. I have been going to school for a degree in political science thinking that I would want to be a lawyer, but last year I took the time to consider if that was the job that I would thrive in. I am finishing my first degree but will continue my education in May 2022 through the accelerated nursing program at Michigan State University. That was a daunting and expensive decision to continue my education after spending four years at a University, but my mom only wanted to support me and urge me to do what would make me happy. My mom was a part of my inspiration to go into the medical field. My dad also works in medicine and after watching both of them during the Covid-19 pandemic, I grew to have so much respect for all healthcare workers. They are heroes. After I made the decision to apply for accelerated nursing programs, my mom helped me when I had anatomy questions in one of my prerequisite classes and she would read my essays. I would talk to her about my experience volunteering at the hospital and share what I was learning in my classes. She would do everything to help and support me through this change in my life. When I was accepted to the school that was my top choice, Michigan State University, she was so proud of me! A lot of who I am today is because of my mom. It is hard to put everything she has done for me into a small essay. Her unconditional love for my sister and me is just the foundation. In addition to that, she has inspired me to grow into a strong and caring woman. She has always supported and believed in me. My mom taught me so many things and she is a listening ear when I need to talk about something. She has been very inspiring and I am very thankful for our relationship.

In my dream life, I would spend more of my time doing things that I want to do instead of things that I have to do. Time is so precious, and because of the atmosphere we live in, we can lose sight of the things that are important to us because we are so busy with everything we have to do. In my dream life, I would still work, because I like helping people and I think working in a job I love brings some joy and purpose to my day. However, I wouldn't work as much. I would work part-time. With the extra time, I would try new things and travel to places I haven't been before. I would ride horses and swim in the ocean and maybe even try bungee jumping! I wouldn't have to worry about money in my dream life and I would travel to Brazil, Spain, Japan, and so many more places. There would be so much more time for adventure! I would also be able to spend more time with my family while traveling and trying all of these new things because my family is very important to me and I would want to share those moments with them! I wouldn't have to worry about time or money and I could spend my days focusing on the things that bring me joy!

I believe that finding your own way to give back and help the community is very important. Volunteering, donating, and other types of public service provide learning experiences that everyone can benefit from. Participating locally with these different acts of service will also help those around you. I try to participate in several ways to positively affect my community. I have had multiple different volunteering roles at my local hospital which has been a very rewarding experience. In addition, I have also volunteered at the local food bank with my family. Volunteering can be even more enjoyable when you can get together with friends or family to do it together. Another thing I do in my community to bring positive change is donating blood. Whenever I donate, I try to go with a friend or family member, but it is also an easy way to help others by yourself. Creating a positive impact in the community around me is something that I strive for, and is something I will do with my future career as well. I am continuing my education to pursue a bachelor's degree in Nursing after receiving my first bachelor's degree in Political Science. By becoming a nurse I aim to continue helping others and creating a positive impact in my community.

I am Nadia and I have been built by my experiences. I grew up in a family that emphasized the importance of relationships, openness to new ideas, and helping others. I have grown a lot through meeting people and traveling to new places to experience different cultures. I want to continue my education through school, traveling, and trying new things so I can add to my growing personality and learn to better appreciate and care for others. I think there is always more to learn and that is why I am continuing my education and going back to school to become a nurse.

The biggest problem facing the world right now is the damage we are doing to the planet and the lack of effort we are contributing to fixing it. Climate change is getting out of control. More microplastics are making their way into oceans and killing animals that live there. The food waste issue is not being addressed which is damaging the planet and the people that live here. Forests are being uprooted and more species are losing their homes and as a result, are becoming extinct. All of this comes down to the issue that the well-being of our planet is very low on the list of priorities. This harsh impact we have created on climate change and natural habitats is the biggest problem facing the world right now because if nothing is done to change it, humans and several other species will not be able to live on the earth much longer. I want to create a loving, safe, and happy world for my future generations to live in, so I hope we all work to fix this together. This seems like a large and daunting problem, and it is, but we cannot use this as an excuse to not do anything. Saying individuals make too small of an impact for their effort to be worth it is a sad and pessimistic way of thinking. We can all work on this problem by doing our best to recycle, use less water, create less trash, and reduce our food waste. If we all focus on these little things in our everyday lives, we can all make a big impact. Humans have been blind to the harm we have done to our planet for a very long time, and we will all have to work together to fix it.

Less than two years ago I was planning on going to Law School. This was something I had prepared for and thought about for several years. It had been discussed so many times that it seemed like that was the path that I was expected to pursue. Then the pandemic happened, and the knowledge I gained pointed me in a new direction. I have always wanted to help people and I thought I could do that by being a lawyer, but the more I studied during my undergraduate degree I doubted the impact I would create practicing business law or contract law. Both of my parents are in the medical field and I watched their dedication and the lives they touched during the pandemic. They were courageous, loving, and impactful and I realized that that was the type of career that I belong in. Our healthcare workers are so helpful and caring and they can make a big difference. With this new information, I branched out and shadowed at a surgery center and volunteered at Sparrow Hospital. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. My mind was changed very quickly and my career is on a completely different trajectory. I will be attending an accelerated nursing program right after I graduate with my first degree from Michigan State University in May. With accelerated programs being very intense, they suggest that you do not work during the program, and that is why this scholarship would be very helpful for being successful in nursing school. I believe that being a nurse is the career I am supposed to pursue and I am looking forward to being able to use my passion for helping people to further and strengthen my career.

Being able to actively listen to those around you can mean so much more than you believe at the moment. It is not a trait that is pointed out or recognized very often, but it is one of the most important characteristics that someone can have. I try my best to listen to those around me and be patient through communication because if you are too focused on your side of the conversation, you are able to achieve nothing. Listening can show someone that you care. It shows them that themself and what they have to say matter to you. Listening is also so important because we are often quick to give advice or input in some way, but all people need sometimes is a kind, listening ear. I try to fulfill this role in my friends' lives and be an active listener that can appreciate what they have to say. The importance of being a good listener is often overlooked, but it leads to many positive traits like kindness, caring, loving, and patience. These are all valuable and important characteristics that I strive for in my relationships, and when I need a listening ear I understand how comforting and helpful it is.

There are several different ways that I practice self-care. I find it to be very important to take a little time each day to do something that makes me happy in the moment. I am very busy and these moments are vital for me to be able to succeed with the things I need to get done each week. One thing that I like to do that brings me joy and gives me time to reflect on my day is some kind of basic cooking or baking at the end of the day. This time I can spend in my kitchen with the music on in the background gives me time to enjoy the basic things and relax from everything else I had been focusing on that day. Another thing that I do to practice self-care is doing little things for myself like doing my hair or painting my nails. These don't take long, but if I am able to set aside an extra 20 minutes for myself in the morning when I am getting ready for my day, it can really affect my mood and my attitude. These moments can help be start my day out right. When I am able to take time to relax and reflect, I am able to be more efficient and positive throughout my daily life. Self-care is important for everyone and can look different for everyone as well. Finding the right opportunities for self-care every day improves overall attitude and productivity.

In my everyday life, I try to do several things to create a positive impact on the environment because creating a world that is beneficial and joyful for many generations that will come after me is a passion of mine. I believe there are small things that we can all do to help out and if we all do them, we can create a big difference, so I start with myself and encourage those around me to do the same. The things that I do to help the environment include recycling, at-home composting, carpooling, growing food in my garden, buying produce through a company that aims to reduce food waste, and purchasing household items that are more environmentally friendly and responsible through the company, Grove. In addition, instead of recycling things like glass jars or throwing away ribbons and bags from Christmas, I keep them with my craft supplies and try to find a good use for them all later, because reusing things can be even better than recycling! I also have changed my diet to be more environmentally friendly. Meat production is very damaging in the scope of climate change, so I have greatly reduced the amount of meat, especially beef, that I consume every week. In the future, there are more things that I would like to be able to do to continue my focus on being environmentally friendly including buying an electric car and investing in solar panels for energy. I am very passionate about doing things that can help our planet because where I grew up, several people did not believe in climate change. This has molded me to be more passionate and a greater advocate for the earth. I want to be able to do my part to help reverse climate change.

A finance lesson that I believe is important is being able to be organized with personal finances and create a monthly budget. Creating a budget and always leaving aside some money for a savings account is crucial. An important thing to consider when creating and sticking to a budget is remembering that things will come up: a car will need to be fixed, an urgent care visit needs to be paid for, etc. Therefore, it can be very beneficial and make life much less stressful if you have a spot in your monthly budget to save for emergencies. This financial lesson has been very helpful to me during college. One example of this is when my laptop broke last year. Classes were online, so it was immensely important for me to get a new laptop quickly. Through my successful budgeting with the use of saving for emergencies, I was able to get a new laptop rather quickly and did not cause much disruption to my class schedule or an overwhelming amount of stress to my daily life. Along with the helpfulness of that savings category worked into my monthly budget, having a budget also encourages me to be wise with my money. Using coupons, getting college discounts, and taking advantage of sales have been extremely beneficial for myself and my smart financial budgeting during college. In my transition of becoming an adult experiencing full financial freedom, being able to organize and keep track of my finances are important. Creating a monthly budget can be very helpful and make life much less stressful, even while making one's way through a challenging financial journey like college.

One simple pleasure in my life is being able to interact with the birds that are in my backyard. I set up several bird feeders last year that are right outside of the kitchen and dining area. Waking up in the morning, getting a cup of tea, and sitting down to watch the chickadees, sparrows, and woodpeckers eating their breakfast gives me a calm and energizing way to start the day. Identifying the different birds that land on the feeder outside of the kitchen while I am watching dishes and taking a break to enjoy the outside while filling up the bird feeders are other small ways that I am able to enjoy the simple pleasures of the birds in my backyard. I also have two cats that share this joy with me. Their cat tree is positioned right in front of a window and on the other side of that window is a bird feeder. The birds and squirrels will entertain my cats for hours. These very simple things in life are very important to find and hold on to. Robotically moving throughout the day to get done the things you need to get done will not yield a satisfying life. Finding little things that bring us joy every day are so important, no matter how small they are.