​I am Tiandra Lloyd, a nursing student. As with all scholarship statements, this statement acts as an introduction to who I am outside of my name and what makes me the ideal winner for this scholarship. This essay will help you see my passion, drive, and perseverance. It has always been my dream to become a nurse. I have always maintained jobs that were customer-driven. It has always been my pleasure to provide people with a great experience. I take pride in being able to help solve problems or provide different solutions. I knew that nurses were compassionate, patient, empathetic, and able to think critically to solve problems. These are qualities that I have always possessed. I want to be the nurse that a patient feels comfortable with and fully trusts to act as their representative. When I think of myself as a nurse, I see a lot of nurses who have inspired me to pursue my dream. My dream has always been to help people, make people feel comfortable in their time of illness, and provide them with the type of service that could uplift them in their troubling times. Being a patient’s advocate and making sure that they get the service they need is why I want to become a nurse. It takes care, compassion, and empathy for one to build a rapport with patients. These are qualities that I know that I possess. Days as a nurse will not always be easy and this is something that I understand. When I graduate nursing school and pass my NCLEX, I hope to one day work within the Labor and Delivery area. Helping new moms and their babies has always been something that stayed close to my heart. As a mother myself, I know how it feels to welcome a new baby. I know the support that is needed inside the hospital while you are recovering. I know what it is like to feel nervous, excited, and many other emotions. I want to be the nurse who helps the parents through this time while making sure the baby is properly cared for. Also, I want to one day become a Certified Nurse Midwife. I want to pursue nursing because I know this is my calling. Whenever I think about completing my degree, I become overwhelmed with emotions because I know that this is what I want. This is for me. One hardship that I have overcome was previously failing out of a nursing program. When I was first dismissed, I was ashamed, embarrassed, and did not know where to go. It all started when I first failed pharmacology and I was allowed to retake the course. I worked extremely hard, changed my study habits, went to office hours to get more help, and learned to understand rather than memorize. At the end of my second attempt, I got an 82 in the course. I needed an 83 to continue. I was completely devastated and did not understand how this could happen. I considered giving up, but I decided that I could not give up on my dream. I think this hardship impacted me because this taught me a lesson. It takes hard work, drive, and persistence to complete your dream. It also takes a support system and that is something that I have in my family and my new school, Plaza College. The only thing standing in my way now is funding. This scholarship will greatly help me in becoming a nurse.