Throughout my childhood, I remember how my parents strived to eat healthy foods and live healthy lives, but when I came back home to visit from college, I found out my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Originally, I planned to enter a medical program but my Mom was now ill and she became my top priority. It seemed that chemotherapy might help stop her cancer from spreading at first, but ultimately the disease progressed and my Mom passed away. At this point, I had been enrolled in online classes and started taking my healthcare prerequisites before this heartbreaking loss; what spurred me on was the fact that both my Mom and Dad encouraged me to continue my education no matter what. When she died, my Dad and I leaned on each other for support; we began to spend more time outdoors and learned to grow our vegetable garden as we spent quality moments together. Those were some of the best years I experienced with my Dad until he too was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout the pandemic, I became my Dad’s full-time caretaker while completing my courses online. I got a part-time work-from-home job to help with the bills. Since our family came from the U.S. Virgin Islands, we made a point to visit often before my Dad became too sick to travel and had to remain on home hospice care. However, when my Dad also passed away, I once again faced immense grief. During the summer, I began to attend the local church where my Dad’s memorial was held, and through prayer, I decided that I wanted to continue my dream of working in healthcare. Armed with renewed faith and the encouragement my parents gave me, I resolved to enter healthcare not as a doctor like I had originally planned, but as a nurse. The awareness of my parent's care needs and the impact the nursing care team made on my family was profound. I learned how to attend to my parents as their caretaker and grow in responsibility as a young woman, while I also learned how to better care for myself. Because of this, I want to be a positive resource and advocate for other families who may face difficult decisions and circumstances in the face of illness. For the past year, I remained driven and completed the rest of my prerequisites to finalize my nursing school application. With perseverance, my prayers were answered and I was accepted into my nursing program to begin training in the clinical setting. My goal is to learn the necessary skills to further the impact of nursing on patient health outcomes and add to the improvement of the healthcare profession. Through my obstacles, I became aware of the need for more nursing personnel in the healthcare field to bridge the gap in health education and patient care counseling. I learned how much of a difference this makes when I cared for my parents through their illness, and I want to positively impact others through dedication, strength, and care as a nurse. This scholarship will help me achieve these endeavors by sustaining my education in pursuit of obtaining my bachelor’s degree in nursing.

The same year I finished college was the same year I found out my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had just returned home to visit when I found out the news, and without a second thought, I dropped everything and became my mom’s full-time caretaker since my Dad still had to work. Originally, I planned to enter a graduate medical program, but this was my Mom and she became my top priority. At first, it seemed that chemotherapy might help stop her cancer from spreading, but ultimately the disease progressed. Less than six months later, my Mom passed away and I was literally at a loss for direction. When she died, my Dad and I leaned on each other for support; we spent more time outdoors and learned to grow our vegetable garden as a tribute to Mom. It was therapeutic for both of us, to remember my Mom in this way and keep her love for nature alive with the garden. Those were some of the best moments I experienced with my Dad until he was too was diagnosed with cancer. During a phone call with my friends, I remember telling them that it was like lightning striking in the same place twice. Growing up, my parents strived to live healthy lives, but now my Dad faced this serious illness, just like my Mom did. At this point, I had been enrolled in online classes and started taking my healthcare prerequisites before my Mom passed away. Both she and my Dad encouraged me to continue my education no matter what. So throughout the pandemic, I became my Dad’s full-time caretaker while completing my courses online. I got a part-time work-from-home job to help with the bills since my Dad could no longer work and couldn’t be left alone. Since our family came from the U.S. Virgin Islands, we made a point to visit relatives in the Caribbean as often as we could before my Dad became too sick to travel; from there, he had to remain with home hospice care. Around Thanksgiving, my Dad passed away and his spirit reunited with my Mom. Once again, I faced immense grief and loneliness as I tried to figure out the next steps for my life. I began to attend the local church where my Dad’s memorial was held, and through prayer, I decided that I wanted to continue my dream of working in healthcare. Armed with renewed faith and the encouragement my parents gave me, I resolved to enter healthcare not as a doctor like I had originally planned, but as a nurse. The increased awareness about my parents' healthcare needs and the impact that the nurses made on my family was profound. With their help, I learned how to be my parent's caretaker while I also learned to take care of myself. Because of this, I want to be a positive resource and advocate for other families who may face difficult illnesses. For the past year, I remained driven and completed the rest of my prerequisites to apply to nursing school; this past summer I was accepted into my undergraduate nursing program and have begun training in the clinical setting. It is my goal to learn necessary health skills that can further the impact of nursing on patient health outcomes and add to the improvement of the healthcare profession. I learned how much of a difference caregiving makes when I cared for my parents through their terminal illness, I now want to make a helpful impact on other families through dedication, strength, and care as a nurse.