I started in the medical field as a receptionist right out of high school. Within that practice I was trained to be a registered orthotic fitter and I worked for three years helping ladies who'd had mastectomies feel better about themselves and their appearance by fitting breast prostheses. I have since become a medical/surgical assistant through on the job training and experience, having never gone to medical assistant school. After the birth of my second child I enrolled in college and graduated after three years summa cum laude with a bachelor's in psychology with the intention of going into teaching so I could have the same schedule as my children. It was then that I realized how much I love working in healthcare. I transitioned from working in orthopedics, to retina and ophthalmology, to dermatology where I have worked for the past twenty years. I have always wanted to further my education and thus my career, but when my husband left out of the blue when our girls were sixteen and eleven my sole focus became providing them with the best life I could. When my youngest daughter was preparing to leave for college, with the support of my children I decided to apply to nursing school. I was accepted in January of 2024, and have since been on the Dean's list three times. I look forward to becoming a nurse so that I can continue giving all I can to caring for and helping to treat or even cure others. I love that even in my current role I have the ability to help patients understand their diagnoses and proposed treatment, and that I can help put patients who are facing surgery at ease about their procedures. I am certain that caring for others is my calling in this life. Whether it is my children, my family and friends, or perfect strangers who just need someone who cares, this is the job I am meant to do. I hope to one day work in the NICU helping to care for the tiny humans who need us the most. I have done a clinical rotation in the NICU and as intimidating as I thought that experience would be, I loved everything about it. Babies in the NICU require so much care so that one day they can go home and live full lives. I would love nothing more than helping these babies have that opportunity. I found this scholarship opportunity through Bold.com, and I am so grateful for this opportunity.

I have worked in healthcare for nearly 30 years, and I love using all I have learned to help others understand whatever illness they be dealing with. I have worked in various fields, and learned a lot along the way. I have always wanted to further my career and become a nurse, but raising my children came first. Now that my youngest is in college, it's my turn to further my education. I look forward to continuing to learn as I work toward my degree, and to use new knowledge along with my work experience to become the best caregiver I can be. Children are a special class of patients. They do not have the life experience that can help older patients understand their ailments. Caring for children, especially when they're sick, takes a kind hearted, empathetic, understanding soul. Having raised two daughters on my own to become amazing young women I think I have a lot to contribute to pediatric nursing. I'm not certain yet if that's where this journey will take me, but I know if I am called to care for tiny humans I will care for each child as if they were my own. When I was a child I lived in Memphis, TN. In school one year we took a field trip to St. Jude's Hospital. It was an experience that has stayed with me all these years because none of those children had the defeated worn out look of someone who is facing their own mortality. Instead, each child we interacted with was smiling, friendly, and oddly reassuring to us that we didn't need to be afraid. It was unbelievable to witness the spirit alive in children who were fighting such terrible odds. As with many things in life, if we could just view them through the eyes of a child how very different would they look. I hope to carry this same mentality with me into my career, be it working in pediatrics or otherwise. Life has a way of knocking us to our knees at times, but I hope to help anyone facing such great obstacles to remember to focus on the good either in front of them or behind in past years and know that it will be okay. I am grateful for all I have experienced through my career, and for the kids I met that day so many years ago. Each encounter has helped shape me into the caring, compassionate medical assistant I am and nurse I will soon be.

When I graduated high school many moons ago, I had aspirations of becoming a marine biologist. Growing up in Florida I have always loved the sea and all that inhabits it. However, after graduation I found myself too scared to even apply to any of the top school for marine biology as they are so far away from everyone I know on earth. My sister got me a job working as a receptionist for an orthotist/prosthetist and I found myself absolutely loving knowing the patients and hearing their stories. I moved from being a receptionist to becoming a Registered Orthotic Fitter, and I took on the role of fitting post mastectomy patients with breast prosthesis. After the birth of my first daughter, I went to work for a retina specialist group where I was trained to perform and assist in an array of tests, and ultimately to assist in surgery. I loved working in the field of ophthalmology especially in retina, however I could no longer maintain the long work hours after having my second daughter. When my second daughter was two months old, I went back to work in the field of dermatology where I have worked as a medical and surgical assistant for the past eighteen years. At this point in my life, I have varied experience in healthcare and a career that I have loved thus far. My main focus has always been caring for my children, so I never took the next logical step to further my career. My oldest now has a child of her own, and my youngest is graduating high school this year and leaving for college herself so I am finally ready to further my education and career in healthcare. I love working in healthcare. I have learned so much from every field of medicine I have worked in, and I continue to learn and expand my understanding with each patient. I love knowing that I had a part in helping patients understand their diagnoses and prognosis. I am very passionate about caring for others, and I am told all the time by patients how much it meant to them to have someone so kind caring for them even if it was just changing a bandage. I know I would be an incredible nurse, and I look forward to a rewarding career continuing to care for patients. I took a leap of faith and applied to nursing school and by the grace of God I was admitted, and I started in January of this year.

When I graduated high school many moons ago, I had aspirations of becoming a marine biologist. Growing up in Florida I have always loved the sea and all that inhabits it. However, after graduation I found myself too scared to even apply to any of the top school for marine biology as they are so far away from everyone I know on earth. My sister got me a job working as a receptionist for an orthotist/prosthetist and I found myself absolutely loving knowing the patients and hearing their stories. I moved from being a receptionist to becoming a Registered Orthotic Fitter, and I took on the role of fitting post mastectomy patients with breast prosthesis. After the birth of my first daughter, I went to work for a retina specialist group where I was trained to perform and assist in an array of tests, and ultimately to assist in surgery. I loved working in the field of ophthalmology especially in retina, however I could no longer maintain the long work hours after having my second daughter. When my second daughter was two months old, I went back to work in the field of dermatology where I have worked as a medical and surgical assistant for the past eighteen years. At this point in my life, I have varied experience in healthcare and a career that I have loved thus far. My main focus has always been caring for my children, so I never took the next logical step to further my career. My oldest now has a child of her own, and my youngest is graduating high school this year and leaving for college herself so I am finally ready to further my education and career in healthcare. I love working in healthcare. I have learned so much from every field of medicine I have worked in, and I continue to learn and expand my understanding with each patient. I love knowing that I had a part in helping patients understand their diagnoses and prognosis. I am very passionate about caring for others, and I am told all the time by patients how much it meant to them to have someone so kind caring for them even if it was just changing a bandage. I know I would be an incredible nurse, and I look forward to a rewarding career continuing to care for patients. I took a leap of faith and applied to nursing school and by the grace of God I was admitted, and I started in January of this year.