I have faced many medical obstacles throughout my life. Due to an eye injury when I was six, I have gone through years of visual complications resulting in six eye surgeries. Along the way, there have always been nurses that have supported my family and I through these difficult times.  Thinking back over these moments has helped me to realize that life's obstacles do not have to negatively define who you are. In fact, they can make you an even stronger, more resilient person. I understand that everything I have been through doesn’t have to be a story of pain and loss, but instead can be a story of inspiration and determination; a story that pushed me towards finding my purpose. Considering the kindness and support all of the health care professionals have shown my family and I throughout my life helped me look at my situation and the world in a very different way. I believe it has shaped me into a stronger and more compassionate person with a desire to support and care for others. My dream is to pursue nursing in college and hope that I am able to give my future patients not only excellent medical care, but also the same essential emotional support that has been shown to me over the years. Over the last year, I have been very fortunate to be able to pursue my passion for medical care through a student volunteer nursing program at Virtua Voorhees Hospital. I understand first hand that being in the hospital can be very difficult and I wanted to help ease patient’s fear and pain. During the summer program, I helped care for an older veteran. He would always share with me his life experiences; my nurse supervisor, he, and I would bond throughout these exchanges. We were just three strangers talking and laughing in a hospital room. I loved how these simple moments helped ease his pain. He expressed that the kindness I showed to him is in short supply, and he was heartened to see that I truly cared. He helped me to confirm that healthcare was my calling. Supporting patients emotionally is very important to me because so many nurses and doctors have done the same for me. I feel especially passionate about Neonatal medicine and hope to pursue that specifically during my nursing graduate work after college. I was born 9 weeks.  My mom has always told me stories of the nurses who supported her when she was trying to recover from an emergency c-section while watching her baby fight to stay alive. Now that I am eighteen, I am very excited to begin volunteering in the Virtua Voorhees Hospital NICU. I look forward to caring for the babies, even if its just holding them to calm them down when the nurses are busy with other babies. I understand that this simple act can have an immense impact on a premature infant's ability to thrive. I am overjoyed to have been accepted to one of the top nursing programs in the United States at the Connell Nursing School at Boston College. I also plan to continue my education after college pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice specializing in Neonatal Medicine.  After graduate school, I hope to become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in a level 1 NICU.  I know my journey has prepared me to take on these next challenges.  This scholarship would be a huge help to allow me to achieve all of my dreams.  I am incredibly grateful for your consideration.

I have faced many medical obstacles throughout my life. Due to an eye injury when I was six, I have gone through years of visual complications resulting in six eye surgeries. Along the way, there have always been nurses that have supported my family and I through these difficult times.  Thinking back over these moments has helped me to realize that life's obstacles do not have to negatively define who you are. In fact, they can make you an even stronger, more resilient person. I understand that everything I have been through doesn’t have to be a story of pain and loss, but instead can be a story of inspiration and determination; a story that pushed me towards finding my purpose. Considering the kindness and support all of the health care professionals have shown my family and I throughout my life helped me look at my situation and the world in a very different way. I believe it has shaped me into a stronger and more compassionate person with a desire to support and care for others. My dream is to pursue nursing in college and hope that I am able to give my future patients not only excellent medical care, but also the same essential emotional support that has been shown to me over the years. Over the last year, I have been very fortunate to be able to pursue my passion for medical care through a student volunteer nursing program at Virtua Voorhees Hospital. I understand first hand that being in the hospital can be very difficult and I wanted to help ease patient’s fear and pain. During the summer program, I helped care for an older veteran. He would always share with me his life experiences; my nurse supervisor, he, and I would bond throughout these exchanges. We were just three strangers talking and laughing in a hospital room. I loved how these simple moments helped ease his pain. He expressed that the kindness I showed to him is in short supply, and he was heartened to see that I truly cared. He helped me to confirm that healthcare was my calling. Supporting patients emotionally is very important to me because so many nurses and doctors have done the same for me. I feel especially passionate about Neonatal medicine and hope to pursue that specifically during my nursing graduate work after college. I was born 9 weeks.  My mom has always told me stories of the nurses who supported her when she was trying to recover from an emergency c-section while watching her baby fight to stay alive. Now that I am eighteen, I am very excited to begin volunteering in the Virtua Voorhees Hospital NICU. I look forward to caring for the babies, even if its just holding them to calm them down when the nurses are busy with other babies. I understand that this simple act can have an immense impact on a premature infant's ability to thrive. I am overjoyed to have been accepted to one of the top nursing programs in the United States at the Connell Nursing School at Boston College. I also plan to continue my education after college pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice specializing in Neonatal Medicine.  After graduate school, I hope to become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in a level 1 NICU.  I know my journey has prepared me to take on these next challenges.  This scholarship would be a huge help to allow me to achieve all of my dreams.  I am incredibly grateful for your consideration.