As the first person in my family to get an AAS, I thought I had made so much progress. I quickly moved into IT, and within 4 years, I managed to land a role that most would consider their dream job to work for NASA. It was great to work for them in the cybersecurity field, but after over 2 years, the shine had worn off, and I wasn't feeling fulfilled in my career. I didn't feel like I was actually making a difference. Unfortunately, we got notice this September that our jobs were being cut due to the government budget cuts, and I was left trying to scramble for a new career, but most cybersecurity work is in government, and all the government agencies are on a hiring freeze as well, cutting their budgets. I took this as a moment to reflect on my life and decide if this was what I wanted to continue to do for the rest of my life. I felt like, at my age(43), I may be too old to transfer careers and try something new. So I did a lot of research, only to find out that a lot of people go into nursing later in life and love it. I looked online to find the quickest program that would allow me to be a Nurse and found a tech school near me that offered an LPN (licensed practical nurse) program, and I had 1 week to study and take the HESI exam to try and get into the pool for the January start. I managed to score in the 90s on my exam. 3 days later, I went to orientation, where I found out they only had 15 slots and 35 applications. They told us we would hear back either way within 2 weeks, and so I spent the next 1.5 weeks with a heavy feeling in my gut because I wanted this so bad until I saw a big envelope arrive in the mail, and it was my acceptance letter and next steps. I found out that people who start as CNAs become better nurses because they know what the CNA has to deal with. I quickly jumped into a CNA training course that was a 2-week course, which I passed with a 98, the highest score in our class. I took my Certification license exam a week later and passed both exams. Since then, I have taken my BLS(Basic Life Support) class and got certified, and I also just got hired at a hospital as a telemetry tech while I am in school. This program is only $7500, but my wife and I both lost our jobs in the same month, and we have sold almost everything to keep the bills current. Getting this grant would take one less expense off the table for me to worry about and give me some peace as I work and complete this program.

Covered in blood, sweat, and tears, exhausted from hours of intense concentration and focus, all so that someone I don't know will have a chance to see their loved ones again. That is what I want to do, I want to be the one who gives someone else a second chance at life that they may not have gotten otherwise. I want to help people who desperately need it and be able to take away their pain, support them when they are scared, and give them motivation in times when they feel that it is hopeless. I want to be a nurse, an oftentimes thankless job, where I may get verbally abused or even physically attacked, but if at the end of the day I can save someone's life, it is all worth it. I have already gotten my CNA license and been accepted into my LPN nursing program at TCAT Pulaski, TN. I will be working full-time while in school, 4 days a week, to complete my program, then I can take the state licensing exam and become a licensed practical nurse. The total cost of the 16-month program is right around $8800, books and uniforms included. While that isn't a whole lot for a program to get licensed, it is still a lot to take out in loans when I already have a mortgage and family to support. I have applied for financial aid, but I am also looking for and writing essays in an attempt to gain more financial support, and I am making this huge career change. I don't come from a family with money; we grew up just above the poverty line, so we never got assistance from the government, and I had to work for everything I have. I am the first in my family(2 older brothers, mom, and dad) to go to and complete college. I'm not the kind of person to ask for help; rather, I am usually the one to always lend a hand to those in need. I would love to get a scholarship of any amount to help lessen the financial burden of going back to school.

I am passionate about nursing. I have always felt a deep calling to help and protect others. From a young age, I imagined myself as a guardian, someone who would step forward when others were in danger, much like the archangel Michael. That instinct led me first to become a firefighter, running into burning buildings to save lives even when fear was present. Later, I joined the Army, where that same drive pushed me into dangerous situations to protect people I had never met. Each of these experiences taught me courage, resilience, and the importance of showing up for people when they need it most. After getting out of the Army, I found my way into helping people again as an emergency response highway operator(like a tow truck + EMT combined). I helped people in moments of crisis, sometimes when they felt completely alone. I remember one night, a family was stranded on the side of the highway after an accident. Their car was destroyed, and they had no way to get home. I stayed with them, calmed their fears, and helped get them to safety while they had family en route to pick them up. Moments like that made me realize I wanted to do more than just respond to emergencies. Now I want to be able to help people through more than just the initial incident; I want to be there to help them through the toughest times in their lives and be able to comfort them in a time of need. That is why I am drawn to nursing. Nursing allows me to combine my desire to protect and serve with the ability to support people in meaningful and lasting ways. It is more than a career. It is a chance to bring care, compassion, and calm to people when they are most vulnerable. Nursing gives me the opportunity to be present for people in ways that truly matter, to help them heal not just physically but emotionally. My niece has been a great inspiration in this journey. She has been an operating room nurse for two years. We have talked many times about what her work is really like. She has told me about holding a patient’s hand before surgery, comforting their families, and witnessing moments of relief and hope. Hearing her talk about it with such care and fulfillment opened my eyes to the profound impact a nurse can have on someone’s life. Her stories made me see that this work is not just about medical skill but about heart and presence. I am passionate about nursing because it allows me to continue a lifelong commitment to helping others in a way that is both immediate and lasting. It is the natural next step in a life spent serving others. I want to be the calm in someone’s storm, the support in their fear, and the presence that gives them hope. Nursing is not just what I want to do. It is who I am, and I am ready to dedicate myself fully to this calling.

After getting blown up in my Humvee in Iraq, returning home to the States, and trying to reintegrate myself back into society as I got out of the service with severe PTSD, 2 torn discs, TBI, and hearing loss, I struggled a lot with finding a job that would work for me. I dealt with a lot of panic attacks, bouts of depression, and even thoughts of suicide. I had always been a manual labor type of person, and with my newly acquired injuries, I was not able to fall back on my previous career, such as being a firefighter. I have been blessed to have such a kind and caring wife who has helped me and dealt with my issues ever since I left the service. She is the only person I have been able to talk to about what is going on in my head, and she never judged me about it. I struggled for many years just trying to find something meaningful in a career, but all I wanted to do was help people. My wife started encouraging me to take a chance and go for the things I was interested in trying, which is what led me to go back to college at 38 to get my AAS in information technology and get into IT. I advanced quickly, and just 3 years after graduating, I landed a dream job working for NASA as a Cybersecurity Engineer III. I thought I had found my final career, but after 2 years of working there, I still felt unfulfilled in my heart. It wasn't until I went to my niece's wedding back in September this year that I started looking into nursing. My niece is an OR nurse, and we had a few discussions about it and how I always wanted to help people, but I had my doubts about changing careers so late in life and doubts about going back to school. She gave me the motivation I needed, and I decided to go with what my heart wanted, and that was to help people who needed it. I am giving it my all. I took a CNA training class that was accelerated and graduated in 2 weeks, applied to college, and took my HESI exam the following week. Then I took my state license exam for CNA the next week and got accepted into my LPN program the very next week. I am working on getting my license as a Licensed Practical Nurse because I excel under extreme pressure and stress, and my body seems to thrive in that type of environment. I want to save lives and make an impact on other people's lives in a positive and meaningful way, and I know that this is my calling. I have dealt with my own demons and survived some horrible situations, and I want to show the world that you can recover from horrible tragedies and have a normal, fulfilling life.

I am pursuing my Licensed Practical Nursing license at TCAT Pulaski, and I am doing so because I have always loved helping people in my life. I have always felt like a guardian to those in need, and that is why I have chosen careers like Firefighter, Infantry Sniper, and Emergency Highway Response Operator in the past. It is something that I keep coming back to, no matter what field I am in. When I see someone broken down on the side of the road, I pull over to help. If someone is injured or being attacked, I run to them to help. It is just a natural reaction for me, and I believe that is a sign that I am on the right path. I left a high-paying job in the IT industry to transfer into the healthcare field and start from scratch. I'm older now, and money isn't the most important thing to me; helping people is. Future plans after completing the program are to pass my NCLEX-PN exam and start nursing in hospitals. I want to continue learning more and get my EKG certification as well as bridge over to RN. I didn't go straight into RN because I have bills to pay and family to take care of, and it is very difficult to do that and study full-time while also working full-time on a low-paying CNA job. When I attended community college for my AAS degree at the age of 38, I had been out of school for 20 years already, but I said if I was going back to school, then I had to give it my all and that I wouldn't let anything stop me. I had to maintain a full-time job while attending classes full-time so that I could graduate quickly. About 4 months into my program, I got hit by a car while at work. I didn't take any time off from classes and continued forward, then 6 months into my program, the school was infected with a virus that spread across the entire campus. I was in an IT program, so that made completing my assignments difficult because we couldn't use the computers for our courses. Later on in my 2nd year of the program, COVID-19 hit, and we were forced to attend remotely, except that the classes I had left were all hands-on classes where we were troubleshooting network issues and physical connections. It took about 2 weeks for my instructor to find a way to modify the course for an online option, and when we resumed online, we had to make up for the weeks prior as well as maintain the current curriculum. Even through all of that, I managed to get the highest grades I have ever had. I got into 2 honors societies, the Dean's and President's list, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.75 GPA, all while working 40+ hours a week as an emergency highway response operator.

My vision for myself as a nurse comes from the experiences I've had while working as a firefighter and first responder. I’ve seen people at their most vulnerable and desperate in times of need. In those moments, I learned that my role was not just to provide emergency care but to be the calm in their storm. Sometimes, the most meaningful thing I could offer was reassurance: some words of hope, or simply just being there. Those experiences made me realize that I want to care for people in a more direct and meaningful way, not only in the first critical moments, but also to be there for them through the entire healing process. That is what draws me to nursing. I picture myself working in a hospital where I can keep learning and growing. Nursing is hands-on and fast-paced, and it requires equal parts knowledge, patience, and compassion. My background has taught me to stay level-headed under high stress, communicate effectively in difficult situations, and work as part of a team. These skills translate well into nursing. I want the people I care for to feel like they are more than a medical chart or just a number. I want them to feel heard, understood, and cared for. As a nurse, I hope to be an advocate for patients, to be the person who listens to their concerns, who explains what’s happening in a way that makes sense, and who speaks up when something needs to be addressed. I’ve experienced how much it matters when someone feels like they have someone on their side, and I want to be that person for others. I want to bring comfort when things are uncertain and encouragement when situations feel overwhelming. A calm voice and a steady presence can make a real difference, and I want to provide that for every patient I meet. I also see myself continuing my education as I move forward. Nursing is always changing, and I want to grow with it. Through continuing my education with additional certifications(EKG, IV therapy), specializing in a particular area(OR, L&D, NICU), or eventually mentoring new nurses, I want to keep pushing myself to learn and evolve. I want to work in an environment where teamwork and compassion are priorities, where everyone is focused on providing the best care possible. Above all else, my vision as a nurse is based on helping people. Helping others has always given me purpose. It is something that fulfills me on a personal level, not just a professional one. I want to carry the sympathy, patience, and commitment I developed over the years as a first responder into the next chapter of my career and life. Nursing will allow me to build real connections with people, allowing me to support them through their hardest moments, and continue doing meaningful work that I can see the results of every day.