In 2001, I embarked on my college journey by completing the numerous prerequisites for Ohlone College's nursing program. Upon the persuasion of my close friend, I applied to another school's Vocational Nursing program and was accepted on my first attempt. After graduating from the program in Fall 2005, I worked as an LVN for several years before deciding to follow my passion and become a Registered Nurse. After facing rejection from multiple nursing programs, I began to lose hope. I focused on my personal life, met my husband, and started a family. However, my desire to become a registered nurse remained strong. So, I applied to several other community colleges and finally got accepted into a highly regarded nursing program. Returning to school at age 40 was a tough decision for me, and it required a great deal of sacrifice. It took time and effort to complete all the prerequisites for a registered nursing program in the Bay Area, where admission is determined through a lottery or point system. In 2002, I began working on my prerequisites and was encouraged by my friend to apply to a Vocational Nursing program. I was accepted on my first attempt and graduated with honors. I then worked with the same company as a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN or LPT) for 15 years. During this time, I diligently retook prerequisite classes to ensure that I met the recency requirements for core science classes such as anatomy, physiology, and microbiology, which are essential for RN programs. Despite facing multiple rejections from various nursing programs, I didn't give up hope. After meeting my husband and starting a family, my passion for becoming a registered nurse remained strong. I continued to apply to several community colleges and was eventually accepted into a highly respected nursing program. Returning to school after a hiatus presented a significant challenge, as I had to juggle my studies with caring for my active toddlers, aged 3 and 22 months. Balancing academic pursuits alongside childcare meant making the difficult decision to stop working, which had a notable impact on our family's finances. Despite these obstacles, I achieved academic excellence and graduated magna cum laude in 2023. Eager to continue my educational journey, I enrolled in San Jose State's RN-BSN program in August 2023 to pursue my Bachelor's degree in nursing. During nursing school, I actively participated in various support activities for fellow students. I held leadership roles as the Secretary and Gear representative at De Anza College and contributed to the pinning committee. I volunteered to speak to prospective nursing students, offering them valuable insights into the program and addressing their questions. Additionally, I volunteered at school events such as blood donation drives for Oakland Children's Hospital and Silicon Valley's Turkey Trot. Moreover, I volunteered for Rock Medicine to assist at events and concerts around the Bay Area to give back to the community. I will graduate in December 2024 with a Bachelor's degree in nursing. The financial support from this scholarship would significantly ease the burden on my husband. I aspire to pursue a career as a labor and delivery nurse, inspired by the positive experiences I had during the births of my two children. After attaining my Public Health Nurse Certificate, I intend to dedicate my time to volunteering at my local Informed Choices Clinic to support women in my community.

I was born and raised in Tondo, Manila, and migrated to the United States at the age of 9. My father worked abroad to afford a comfortable life for his family back home. My mother cared for and raised three daughters on her own. Being a single mother in one of the toughest parts of Manila is not an easy task. She strived to provide us with the best of what she could give at the time, and with the grace of God, her prayers for reuniting her family were answered in 1991. Living in the U.S. was particularly hard on my father as he struggled to keep a job. My mother saw the hardship and decided to apply as a CNA. Back then, all I remember is my mother working back-to-back 16-hour shifts to make ends meet. My mother soon became the breadwinner of our family as my father continued to struggle with employment. This frustration turned into blame, which quickly escalated to depression. My father was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus in the late 90's which he completely disregarded. As his health deteriorated, my mother noticed mental changes that also took place. My father would forget what he was talking about mid-sentence and misplace his phone often. I sometimes found my father sleeping in my room as I came home from work, thinking it was their bedroom. I was not one to look to my parents for approval when I was younger. I obtained my GED 6 months after I was supposed to graduate because I chose to miss classes to hang out with my friends. I then took a year to work on accumulating enough money to pay for my college tuition as I knew my parents could not help me. I worked at a Neurobehavioral facility in activities as I took my pre-requisite to apply for the RN program at Ohlone College. As I was checking my laundry list of prereqs, I decided to apply for Mission College's LVN program as my best friend suggested. I was accepted on the first try and did not shy away from the opportunity. I finished my VN in 2006 and passed the NCLEX one month later. In 2011, my father was diagnosed with Dementia and soon after, was placed in hospice care. It was then that I saw my mother physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. She worked double shifts and then came home to take care of my father. She did this for as long as she could until she agreed to have my father placed in a skilled nursing facility for 24-hour care. I knew I wanted to be a nurse from the moment I saw the compassion and patience my mother has shown, not only her family but her patients. She enjoyed the friendships that she built with her co-workers and the culture that existed between them, almost like they were family. This connection and trusted relationship are what inspired me to be a nurse. I want to be able to connect with my patients so that years down the line, they will still remember that one nurse who helped their healing journey in an unimaginable measure. I worked as an LVN for years until I was ready to try and get into an RN program again. I had to re-take my core science classes as recency requirements differ for each school. Some have a 5-year recency, some 7 years and a few have no recency requirements at all. I've applied only at Mission College for years and kept getting rejected. I then started looking into more programs around the Bay Area and took the necessary classes to be eligible for each nursing program. I have taken both the TEAS and HESI exam so that I would be eligible for as many nursing programs as possible. I have to say, I was deterred by a lot of nursing counselors applying to their specific programs. As competitive as the programs are, most went by a lottery system in which, like the lottery, I would probably have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning than getting in their program. As I started to lose hope in getting into an RN program, I decided to apply to just one more, De Anza College. I was lucky enough to get on their waitlist at the end of 2019, only to have COVID hold me back another 2 years. I finally started the nursing program in 2021, being the only one with children in my whole cohort. At the time, my boys were 3 and almost 2 years of age. Everyone was so amazed at how I could manage to be a mother, work part-time, and still do nursing school. My reply to them was always "I'm in it to win it!"