Mental illness has influenced my career choices greatly. As a nurse, I see how metal health affects my patients and my staff so I understand how critical it is to maintain your mental health. When I was working as an emergency room nurse, I would treat people in crisis daily and attempt to guide people through various potential coping mechanisms until we could get them place in an appropriate facility. When I participated on my hospitals' sexual assault forensics team, our job included working with police and victims in order to collect evidence to catch the person who violated them. Many victims that I helped treat also had previous metal health diagnosis or developmental delays and as expected with such trauma, a decline in mental health is expected. Post traumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis. Mental health treatment has had a huge impact on my nursing career and finding a way to help these patients to the best of my abilities had become a personal mission. As a member of the military and a military family, I've experience first hand had how mental illness affects the people I care about most. Many people know what twenty-two a day means regarding veteran suicide, but it means so much more when you or your family are directly impacted by the statement. Many of my family members and friends are retired veterans that have made careers out of serving their country and for many of them, that included fighting in multiple wars such as Vietnam, Korean, and both Iraq and Afghanistan. Post traumatic stress disorder is an unfortunate side affect of war that plagues many people who have been in similar situations and the disease can manifest in substance abuse and even suicide. As a family member that has witnessed this struggle personally, I've spent a lot of time researching and developing a plan that can help. The biggest entrepreneurial goal that I have is creating a post traumatic stress disorder treatment center. I would like to create this as a non-profit and aim to get funding for services such as brain spotting, cognitive behavioral therapy, ketamine clinic, substance abuse counseling, and comprehensive services/support available and accessible in one location. My hope is that the various therapies offered combined with necessary social services will allow people to build healthier coping mechanisms, connections, and help foster success. As a nurse anesthetist, I will be able to help with the ketamine clinic side and take on partners in the various fields of expertise as needed. Once funded and running smoothly, I would plan to recreate the treatment center in other areas of need in order to reach as many people as possible. My entrepreneurial goals in regards to post traumatic stress disorder are a driving force in me pursuing my doctorate degree so I have the educational background in making my dreams of creating this post traumatic stress disorder treatment center come true. I believe that I would be able to help so many people who would not have access to treatment otherwise.

Mental illness has influenced my career choices greatly. As a nurse, I see how metal health affects my patients and my staff so I understand how critical it is to maintain your mental health. When I was working as an emergency room nurse, I would treat people in crisis daily and attempt to guide people through various potential coping mechanisms until we could get them place in an appropriate facility. When I participated on my hospitals' sexual assault forensics team, our job included working with police and victims in order to collect evidence to catch the person who violated them. Many victims that I helped treat also had previous metal health diagnosis or developmental delays and as expected with such trauma, a decline in mental health is expected. Post traumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis. Mental health treatment has had a huge impact on my nursing career and finding a way to help these patients to the best of my abilities had become a personal mission. As a member of the military and a military family, I've experience first hand had how mental illness affects the people I care about most. Many people know what twenty-two a day means regarding veteran suicide, but it means so much more when you or your family are directly impacted by the statement. Many of my family members and friends are retired veterans that have made careers out of serving their country and for many of them, that included fighting in multiple wars such as Vietnam, Korean, and both Iraq and Afghanistan. Post traumatic stress disorder is an unfortunate side affect of war that plagues many people who have been in similar situations and the disease can manifest in substance abuse and even suicide. As a family member that has witnessed this struggle personally, I've spent a lot of time researching and developing a plan that can help. The biggest entrepreneurial goal that I have is creating a post traumatic stress disorder treatment center. I would like to create this as a non-profit and aim to get funding for services such as brain spotting, cognitive behavioral therapy, ketamine clinic, substance abuse counseling, and comprehensive services/support available and accessible in one location. My hope is that the various therapies offered combined with necessary social services will allow people to build healthier coping mechanisms, connections, and help foster success. As a nurse anesthetist, I will be able to help with the ketamine clinic side and take on partners in the various fields of expertise as needed. Once funded and running smoothly, I would plan to recreate the treatment center in other areas of need in order to reach as many people as possible. My entrepreneurial goals in regards to post traumatic stress disorder are a driving force in me pursuing my doctorate degree so I have the educational background in making my dreams of creating this post traumatic stress disorder treatment center come true. I believe that I would be able to help so many people who would not have access to treatment otherwise.

Covid-19 has had an extreme impact on my life As a nurse, I have first hand experience with hospitals limiting personal protective equipment, watching my co workers and myself being told we had to care for Covid positive patients without equipment, being constantly short staffed, and seeing my coworkers become sick as a result. From a patients prospective, I’ve seen an increase in suicidal patients especially in young people, abuse, and neglect. Patients in the ICU suffer without family contact unless the worst outcomes are expected. Covid has taken away everything from a lot of people, from jobs and businesses, basic human connection, and even life, which has diminished people’s coping skills. As for me personally, Covid has had the same amount of impact on me as the rest of the world. My family is worried about potentially losing their business with another government shut down pending. Because I work as a nurse, I have stayed away from my family because I would never forgive myself if I brought the virus to them. Of course we still have FaceTime but it isn’t the same. As a result, I have had to modify my coping mechanisms as well. I rely on human contact and lately, I only get that from my coworkers. I’ve learned that daily phone calls and staying connected help tremendously. Some positive things I’ve learned about myself since Covid began is that I’ve developed more hobbies and my cooking skills have greatly improved. I’ve been able to take more online classes which have helped both my nursing and military careers. It has also given me greater opportunities of mentorship for my Airmen. Even though Covid has has so many negative impacts on my life, I can’t ignore the positive impacts either.

Earning a doctorate degree in nursing anesthesia practice has been my goal for the last 12 years, and I I’m happy to announce that I begin my studies in January of this year. This degree will allow me to take my nursing skills to new heights by combining my emergency, critical care, and new found anesthesia skills into one. I will be able to care for and touch more patients with my new skills than I ever could before. Earning this grant would help allow me to focus on my education and my new skills instead of worrying about the financial aspects that come with higher education. I am the first in my family to earn a college degree and the first person in my family and extended family to pursue an advanced degree. Applying for loans is the only option I have to fully fund my dream. Applying for grants and scholarships are the only way to ease the financial burden of student loans. This grant will help me with that burden so I can focus on what is truly important.

My role model is my grandfather. He has been one of the biggest influences in my life. He taught me about hard work, discipline, and the fact that you can do both and still have fun. He showed me that learning should never be viewed as a chore, but instead as an adventure, because you will achieve so much more with a positive mindset. He never held me to the traditional roles of what my family thought should be male/female. Instead, when I wanted to do something that was considered a male activity, he would teach me to do everything and become stronger and more capable than I ever dreamed possible. He would say, “for you nothing is out of reach.” When he passed away, I was thirteen at the time, and I thought my whole world had shattered. I thought I lost the one person who not only said I could do anything, but actually believed it when he said it. However, after lots of time and when the grief started to subside, I realized that I never lost all those moments we spent together and I still had everything he taught me. Even though my grandfather was no longer around, I could still remember his words of encouragement and that was something I could hold onto and use as motivation. Even though my grandfather is no longer here, I still have a huge part of him that I carry with me every day. I remember his love, mentorship, and guidance, and I use that as a driving force in everything I do. The motivation to break through any barrier I come in contact with or fear of the unknown when trying to accomplish something new dissipates when I remember everything that I’ve learned for him. His encouragement helped me be the first person in my family to not only go to college but get a degree. Now I’ll be the first one in my family and extended family to have earned a doctorate degree. When I joined the military, every time I had a negative thought, his words would pop into my head, telling me that I was going to succeed and I did. My grandfather wasn’t just my role model, but he was my mentor, my support system, and my biggest cheerleader. Even though I lost him young, I have kept him with my through every step of my life. He encouraged me the most and I continue to stay motivated and determined to make him proud.

Growing up my father was always tough but fair. Though I didn’t agree with some of the parenting decisions he made when I was young, he would always say, “you may not like it now, but you’ll understand when you are older.” Now that I’m an adult, it’s true, I finally understand. Every decision he made was to help protect, support, and grow me into the person I’ve become. He pushed me to new heights that I never dreamed I’d get to see. His love and encouragement gave me so much strength. Because of my dad, I am pursuing my doctorate degree, which is a dream we both shared because he never was able to go to college. My father has been a driving force through all my success and the support I needed through all my mistakes and failures. He gave me a passion for nature and helped nurture my compassion for others. I would not be the person I am without him. I am most thankful for my father, Todd Stephens. I am so lucky to be your daughter.

Instagram: rachelnicolern My dogs name is Sarge. This photo was taken the day I took him home after he decided he was going to run through a red med puddle which literally turned him another color. This was him after his first bath snuggled up in his blanket.

One of the biggest failures in my life was when I applied for my doctorate program. I have had a dream of becoming a nurse anesthetist since my junior year of high school and I had finally gotten the critical care experience under my belt and had finished retaking all my science classes to ensure they were in the five year time frame and I had completed the classes with all A's. As soon as the application time frame opened I was ready. I had all my transcripts, recommendation letters, and the goal statement I wrote five times just to make sure it was perfect. Then I got the letter in the mail, the small letter. The letter that says thanks for applying, but your not going to be selected at this time. This was a ten year goal that I had sacrificed so much for, missing family events, working and studying in all my spare time for, dashed by one little letter. Needless to say I was devastated. There were tears, self blame, and doubt, but then came the reevaluation of my goals and the question- Is this what I really want? The answer yes. Once I picked myself up off the floor I decided I wasn't going to take no for an answer and I was going to come back even stronger and better, but where to start? The first step for me was swallowing my pride and admitting that even though I thought my application was perfect, it wasn't. I called the school who put me in touch with the people I interviewed with so I could ask for feedback and I definitely got it. They were looking for more shadow experience and more critical care experience. So I made it my mission to provide everything they were asking for and more. I accrued 170 hours of doctor and nurse anesthesia shadow experience, which is 50 times more then required, I also taught classes and obtained more nursing certifications. By the following year when I applied again, I sat in front of the same people that rejected me previously. I remember just praying that they would notice the effort I put in and hoping they would give me another chance. My prayers and hard work aid off in the end. I was accepted into my doctorate program and I start January of 2020. Sometimes there are road blocks when we pursue our dreams, but its our choice if we want to be stopped by them or if we go around them.

Mental illness has influenced my career choices greatly. As a nurse, I see how metal health affects my patients and my staff so I understand how critical it is to maintain your mental health. When I was working as an emergency room nurse, I would treat people in crisis daily and attempt to guide people through various potential coping mechanisms until we could get them place in an appropriate facility. When I participated on my hospitals' sexual assault forensics team, our job included working with police and victims in order to collect evidence to catch the person who violated them. Many victims that I helped treat also had previous metal health diagnosis or developmental delays and as expected with such trauma, a decline in mental health is expected. Post traumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis. Mental health treatment has had a huge impact on my nursing career and finding a way to help these patients to the best of my abilities had become a personal mission. As a member of the military and a military family, I've experience first hand had how mental illness affects the people I care about most. Many people know what twenty-two a day means regarding veteran suicide, but it means so much more when you or your family are directly impacted by the statement. Many of my family members and friends are retired veterans that have made careers out of serving their country and for many of them, that included fighting in multiple wars such as Vietnam, Korean, and both Iraq and Afghanistan. Post traumatic stress disorder is an unfortunate side affect of war that plagues many people who have been in similar situations and the disease can manifest in substance abuse and even suicide. As a family member that has witnessed this struggle personally, I've spent a lot of time researching and developing a plan that can help. The biggest entrepreneurial goal that I have is creating a post traumatic stress disorder treatment center. I would like to create this as a non-profit and aim to get funding for services such as brain spotting, cognitive behavioral therapy, ketamine clinic, substance abuse counseling, and comprehensive services/support available and accessible in one location. My hope is that the various therapies offered combined with necessary social services will allow people to build healthier coping mechanisms, connections, and help foster success. As a nurse anesthetist, I will be able to help with the ketamine clinic side and take on partners in the various fields of expertise as needed. Once funded and running smoothly, I would plan to recreate the treatment center in other areas of need in order to reach as many people as possible. My entrepreneurial goals in regards to post traumatic stress disorder are a driving force in me pursuing my doctorate degree so I have the educational background in making my dreams of creating this post traumatic stress disorder treatment center come true. I believe that I would be able to help so many people who would not have access to treatment otherwise.