I have recently been accepted into nursing school, and I am very ecstatic about the great news. Prior to applying I had studied for the teas test which is the entrance test to get into nursing school I put a lot of effort to do my very best on this test. My final score for the teas was a 65.4 and the requirement for the Licensed Vocational program was a 52 percent. I thought I would need higher score to gain entry into the program I didn't worry I left it in God's hands. Prior to this attempt I attended a nursing program and failed two classes you would think I would be discouraged that wasn't the case. I took that failure as a learning experience, and I said to myself delayed not denied meaning not right now that made me even more motivated. My faith has inspired me to never give up and if something is for you God will always make a way for you. My faith has inspired my journey because I genuinely love helping those that are in need which my faith has led me to work as a hospice worker. Working in hospice has shown me my capability to be compassionate and empathetic towards the patients that I work with. I am grateful for the people I help till their final days I build strong relationship with families and strong bonds to my patients. I feel that the spirit of the lord is with me on my journey the road isn't easy, but God is with me every step of the way. My faith will help me in my career, but I am going to need strength, compassion, and empathy I know I need God every step of the way. God has helped me and my journey because he walks with me every day, he gives me strength daily and protects me all the days of my life. I pray to God every day and I am grateful for everything my eyes to see, breathe in my body, legs to walk, a roof over my head, and a clear and prudent mind. My faith will assist me because I know that I will be tested by my patient's coworkers my journey isn't for the weak, but the lord is my strength and I will need him. My faith strengthens my desires to be a servant of the lord and his peoples.

My current career objective is to become a license vocational nurse and to further my education and become a registered nurse and someday work for the adult protective services. My current financial standing and my need for this scholarship is that I have exhausted my financial aid and have to pay out of pocket for school. With my current financial standing I chose to go to nursing school at a community college where it is affordable. Starting off a license vocational would give me a great start as a nurse and to learn and advance as a nurse. So, when I decide to go back and get my RN my income would be able to sustain me vs me currently working as a certified nursing assistant and salary lower. Working as a vocational nurse would put me on the right path to take care of my family well my son and I. My son looks up to me and admires that I am pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse. I want to show my son that with determination and hard work that you can do anything you put your mind to. This scholarship would lower my financial burden while I am in school to become a licensed vocational nurse, and while I am in school, I plan to work double weekends. Double weekends are when I work from 6a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday while I am in school to support myself during school. I would currently be in school Monday through Thursday three out of four days will be 8:30-2:30p.m. and 8:30p.m.- 4:30 p.m. for clinicals. I see myself pursuing my associate's degree in nursing soon after I complete my license vocational nursing training to venture into new avenues in nursing. I see myself starting my nursing career in the hospital possibly on the medical surgical unit I want to be a well-rounded nurse with great clinical expertise. Once I get a good foundation in my nursing career I plan to venture out into different specialties such as hospice. I currently work as a home health aide with hospice, and I have the empathy and compassion to care for someone in their last days. My desire is to be a prudent and competent nurse that why I decided to start in medical surgical, and I get to sharpen my assessment skills and get the hands-on experience. Having great assessment skills is very important in becoming a hospice nurse. This scholarship can open doors that will lead to even greater opportunities for me and my future.

I am currently addressing my current and future student loan debt by first analyzing my debt and what I can afford going forward. Another factor that I am addressing is the program, how long is the program, and the cost and what it will take to complete the program. I am primarily targeting my search for schooling to community colleges because the quality of education and their affordability of the program. Also, I am considering applying for scholarships to help with the cost of my future schooling as well as anything I will have to contribute out of pocket if that occurs. In my case I will have to pay out of pocket, so I have considered my employment options I look to see if the company offers tuition reimbursements a flexible work schedule so I can work and go to school to maintain financial obligations. I am currently preparing for nursing school in the fall I have looked at employers that offer weekend double shifts, and they pay the employee for forty hours. Which would be beneficial to a full-time nursing student with bills to pay. Another thought I had about my current student loan/ future student loan debt is will the job pay me enough to pay back the student loan debt that I will accumulate. Currently as of now I am currently making payments of thirty dollars per month to avoid my current loans from going into default. I am very conscious about the decisions that I make financially especially while in school because every dollar is pretty much accounted for. With my current and future student loan debt I am also looking into programs that forgive student loan debt even partially forgive me of my debt. Choosing my education wisely when I mean that is choosing a quality education from a community college instead of a for profit institution. I have attended a trades school for dental assisting when I could have went to a community college for a fraction of the price $14,000 vs $4,000 for one year of community college. Also, with age and experience has taught me to be patient and always weigh my options as far as when money is involved. Another experience I had was that I went to a for profit college for a nursing program that was $39,995 vs 10,000 at a community college I may had to take perquisites, but in the long run I could have saved so much money on tuition. Moral of my essay always make wise fiscally responsible decisions they pay off in the end and save your pocket book.

I would use my talents for helping people to build a community of understanding, love, and compassion. Caring for others is a gift I discovered working with the mentally ill in the psych ward back in my early twenties, and it has set the groundwork for me pursuing other roles in healthcare as well as me beginning my nursing journey. I currently work as a home health aide with hospice, and I have learned so much about end-of-life care and the resources that are available to help a dying family member. I would utilize my knowledge to spread accurate information about resources that could help a family member or someone in need. Sometimes inaccurate information can discourage someone from seeking help a service. For example, someone who has a dying family member may hear inaccurate information about hospice stating they kill your family members or speed up their death. When accurate information from an educated or reputable source provides services to help your family member that could ease their pain and increase your quality of life. Education and resources are plentiful, but if the information isn't being spread it is of no use to anyone. My talents will be best suited to help the elderly and the caregivers to the elderly since that is the demographic that I work with in the community. Also, I would love to be an advocate for caregivers such as resources for caregivers give them access to resources such as respite care for family member, home health agencies, or institutions that offer assistance to the elderly and their caregivers. A caregiver is a hard and thankless job and often unappreciated and want to be an advocate and a supporter to those that do this often unappreciated. Being a caregiver is often unappreciated I work with hospice patients and it's not easy and the families are grateful for our services. I spread my compassion to others in their time of need it isn't an easy pill to swallow knowing a family member is sick and they are not going to get any better. The message I would love to spread is to be kind you never know what a person is dealing with, and just because a person carries something well doesn't mean the task isn't heavy. The best advice is to build a support system and to know that everyone has a role to play in caring for your loved one the nurse, the nursing assistant, the chaplain.

My name is William Forrest I currently attend Concorde Career College in Grand Prairie, TX as a practical nurse major. I currently have experience working in healthcare as a mental health technician and as a certified nursing assistant both positions I enjoyed thoroughly. I have worked in a state hospital with different populations of patients ranging from adults to children, elderly to the chemical dependency unit I seen pretty much everything over the span of three years. My mission to become a nurse is to help the sick and in need in the community. I plan to make a positive impact on the world one patient at a time. My job as a nursing assistant is very rewarding and fulfilling some days are challenging and other days remind me of why i am pursuing a career in healthcare. My job as a nursing assistant makes me want to pursue licensed vocational nursing because I want a job with more responsibility as far as my patients. My impact on the world would be kindness and compassion. I want to be that listening ear that caring person who is genuinely interested in the well being of my patients. Even if I only reach one person I feel my mission is completed. I want to become a nurse to minister to different populations not only the elderly, the jailhouse, and the state hospitals. I feel like nursing is my calling I feel the need to serve those in need. My compassion will be a positive impact not only the patients lives, but their families as well in my presence. I feel the field of nursing itself should be a positive impact on the world they bring hope, a smile , and compassion to the lives they encounter. Nurses work tirelessly day in and night in to ensure the well being of patients, Nursing represents dedication and resilience because nursing isn't a pretty job and sometimes it is a job that is very unappreciated. I want to be that beacon of hope, a listening ear or a caring heart to someone who feels alone. My positive impact on the world is to treat each patient with dignity and respect. I feel everyone should have access to healthcare and treated with respect and treated humanely not like someone that doesn't matter and not treated like a number. Positive impact doesn't only come from one person, but it takes a team effort to make a major impact especially in healthcare.

The one problem I have overcame was homelessness and being carless far away from home. I remember the year was 2017 I had landed a new job on a military base named Ft. Benning at the time. I was already in a strange living situation with my child's mother and her boyfriend. I was expecting a child in October 2017, and it was very awkward I have never been in that type of situation in my life. This was a moment in time when I wish I had made a wiser more conscious decision, but my twenty-five-year-old mind didn't think rationally. I started my new job in March 2017 a fair decent pay. The only downside is that I stayed one hour away, and my car was very unreliable. One day I lent my car to my expecting child's mother, and on the way to pick me up from work the car had an unexpected break down on the interstate. Now my situation has went from crappy to worse all in a daytime. Now I am stuck with no home and no car I ended up residing in a motel. One of my coworkers graciously allowed me to stay with her for a month until I got my own apartment. A few weeks later I got my car back and things seemed to be getting back on track for me. This scholarship will help me because it can help me give back to the community because it will help me fund my nursing degree. I will utilize my nursing degree to help the sick and disabled in the community is my passion and my purpose. I preferably prefer to work with the elderly and children. I love working with patients and I also have experience in mental health with two years of work experience. I feel I would be able to get the attention of young people with the hobby philately by promoting it on social media platforms such as tik tok, face book, twitter, and Instagram would be the most effective method. I also see myself introducing this hobby to small friend group and to the community word of mouth has a great effect of spreading the word like social media. I also see setting up displays at post offices and libraries to spread the news about philately sometimes for people to know about philately you have to educate people and be truly invested in it.

As I think about my favorite tarot card I have so many to pick from. Each card in the tarot has great significance and great meaning. As I think long and hard about my favorite card there is one card that stands out to me. I chose The Chariot because it represents overcoming obstacles and forward movement. This is my favorite card because it represents the things I have overcame and persevered through. When I see the chariot card it makes me reminisces about the hard difficult moments. The chariot helps me remember the uncomfortable times and adversity. The adversity helped shape and mold me into the person I am today. I have been delayed, had roadblocks set in my way. Even though I was delayed temporarily I still overcame and accomplished my ultimate goal. The chariot card represents to me pushing through trials and tribulation and still winning. The chariot card is a symbol of hope that there is good on the other side through the storm called life. I have accomplished so much in my darkest hour than when everything was going good for me. The chariot in my case is the building of character when going through and overcoming. For example, I am going through the process of getting into nursing school, and right now things aren't going as expected things seems to be out of whack. For example, I found out my taxes weren't filed for the year 2021. This situation has delayed me from school and the process of financial aid. I have to start from scratch by retrieving old tax documents from years ago imagine how frustrating that is. My intention was to start in January now January has turned into April and now it appears to be August. When I do my tarot readings with my cards the chariot card constantly pops which gives me hope not to give up. This situation frustrated me because I have been inquiring about my 2021 taxes since July of 2023. I had high hopes I even started applying for scholarships various scholarships to fund my education. This was a great delay, but I feel like I am being delayed and not denied. I will have to continue and stay the course even if it gets difficult. The chariot tells me I can get through this and be successful if I don't let obstacles hinder me. I feel this journey to start nursing school is going to require a lot of patience and diligence. I haven't started nursing school, but getting there is a challenge the beginning steps. If you really want something you would work for it and put your all in it.

My name is William Forrest and I am a single father I feel being a single parent had a new set of obstacles. Being a single parent is no easy task, but being a single dad has a unique sets of challenges men aren't as supported vs female counterparts I experience this on a daily basis not having a very big support system. As a single father to one son your work schedule, activities centers around the child primarily. My journey is a challenge but I am a single father to one child that is school aged and my day to functions are kind of routines since he is in kindergarden. Being a single parent comes with some sort of strategy plan on how to conquer the day to day task of raising a child everything has to be well thought out and planned. Some days aren't glamorous, but they are definitely worth it there are challenges,but I feel happy and confident in managing my responsibilities. Childcare is one things that I have planned on my journey to pursuing higher education I have a significant other who assists me and also a baby sitter that I have hired to step in as needed.On my pursuit to higher education I plan on becoming a nurse I am currently a certified nursing assistant and my first stop on my nursing journey is becoming a licensed vocational nurse but I ultimately plan on becoming a registered nurse. I plan on making a positive impact on the community by bringing awareness to our health not only physical health also mental health as well. I feel I would bring a holistic approach to my nursing career as far as holistic nursing he treats the whole body physical, emotional, mental well being vs specifically treating and focusing on specific area of the human. Also i have noticed in my nursing career how me being a single parents coincides with my job it shows accountability, responsibility, and compassion also the things that make a great nurse as well as a great parent. I feel I would make a great impact on the community because I feel I can tear down the barrier and double standards as far as men being care takers. Nursing is primarily dominated by women who are naturally nurturing and caregivers and there are some great men that are nurses in nursing men are a minority, but also a pivotal important part of the nursing profession. By me pursuing nursing and being a single father I feel empowered, resilent, and able to take on any task that is set in my path. I feel my journey as a single parent and nurse will inspire others to go after their dreams anything is possible and you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

My favorite anime show that I enjoyed watching was Inuyasha I enjoyed the aspect of traveling from the feudal area to modern Japan. I also enjoyed the adventures of Kagome and Inuyasha, the journeys they had and the epic battles. One thing that captivated me was the close similarity of Kagome and Kikyo Kagome was the reincarnation of Kikyo Inuyasha was betrayed by Kikyo which was Naraku. There are so many epic battles Inuyasha and Kikyo also fight beside Sango and Miroku and Kirara one of my favorite characters, and I love how Kirara transformed from a small innocent cute kitten to a fighting demon cat. The one episode that stands out in my mind is when Kikyo was resurrected from the dead by the witch Urusae by using Kikyo's bones and graveyard soil and also steals Kagome's reincarnated soul which she later gets back. Kikyo still wanders around and she is encountered numerous times throughout the series, she is filled with anger and bitterness from the betrayal of Naraku posing as Inuyasha. The whole series is filled with numerous twists and turns such as Inuyasha having a demon brother named Shesshomaru is a very powerful demon lord who is encountered throughout the series

Physical and mental wellness is important to me because you are what you put into yourself. It is very important to take care of your mind as well as your body because if you don't take care of yourself you won't be any good to anybody else. You take care of your mind by handling stress and taking appropriate measures to manage stress. Taking care of your mind is by feeding your spirit, speaking life, and positivity into yourself. A few examples of taking care of yourself are meditating, taking deep breaths, and just being self-aware of your triggers. Feeding your body proper foods and exercising is a way of taking care of your body because what you put into your body can affect you later on, especially unhealthy foods. Because when you eat healthy and exercise you feel good about yourself have you ever heard of the saying you are what you eat this is a true statement. Mental health is just as important as physical health because when your mind leaves the body follows shortly after. Positive thinking and positive affirmations can help shape and mold a person and their perception of one's self. Positive reinforcement can lead to a happier healthier life and creates peace of mind and happiness. Now the challenges that students face while maintaining good mental and physical health are abundant. Sometimes students live a busy fast-paced life sometimes they don't eat the healthiest choice of foods Mcdonalds can be more convenient than a healthy meal or a healthy snack. Students' lives are sometimes compounded with work, school, and family obligations which makes it difficult to maintain good physical health. Mental wellness can be affected by the stress and pressures of life as well not having personal time to relax and reflect on life objectives. It is important to find a balance there is no one-size-fits-all all solution this has to be found and everything doesn't work for everybody. Everybody makes choices and these choices ultimately affect our mental and physical health it all comes down to the choices and actions that we take. Nothing in life is easy and anything worth having is worth working hard for and fighting for. All things are possible you have to the right mindset and attitude sometimes we can change the outcome of a situation by changing the way we think about things. Student faces many challenges we all the strength to overcome any obstacles that are set in front of us.

My name is William Forrest I am thirty -two years old LGBTQ+ impacts me personally it gives me a sense of pride in being who I am and it embodies me being my true authentic self. My major is nursing because I love helping people and I am currently a certified nursing assistant I enjoy the work that I do and the residents that I serve. My job is very rewarding and fulfilling, but nursing is a thankless job healthcare in general is a thankless job. I enjoy working with patients I love the interaction I have with them sometimes the patients help me more than they think. Sometimes I can be having a crappy day and it is always that one patient that brightens my day I promise it's always that one patient. Nursing isn't a walk in the park and every day isn't easy, but the fulfillment I get from nursing on an emotional level is phenomenal. Another reason I chose nursing is because you learn something new every day healthcare is a learning experience, and I have dedicated myself to being a lifelong learner. I take pride in my job and those that I serve in healthcare facilitate compassion, nurturing, understanding and seeing things from a different perspective. In nursing, you run into people with different races, backgrounds, views and religious beliefs, but in nursing, there is a common goal to treat, care, and show dignity and respect to all patients and residents. I like to meet new people and see new things from other perspectives I love to learn new things and we all can learn from each other. I love nursing because I genuinely care for the people I work with I have encountered some pleasant residents, aggressive residents, and some downright evil residents, but I let that not detour me from my job to care and treat with respect. I love the compassion that comes with nursing also the dedication that comes with it with great responsibility comes accountability. Nursing isn't a career that you choose if you are like me nursing has chosen me. No matter how many jobs I have had I always come back to where my heart is at and that's healthcare. i believe it is my purpose and my life's mission to be a nurse and to serve the people that are need or don't have a voice to speak up for themselves.

My name is William Forrest my overall goal is to become a Registered Nurse I am currently pursuing my LVN in the state of Texas. I have overcome adversity by keeping a positive attitude even in the face of adversity when things didn't look so great. I can honestly say my sheer determination and persistence have helped me greatly overcome adversity. I have met a few people along the way who have aided me in my journey. The support of kind-hearted strangers willing to lend a hand has shown me sometimes a stranger will support you before someone you know. What pushes me is my vision I see myself accomplishing this I genuinely feel that nursing is my calling and this field is my purpose. The kindness from others helps me push myself through adversity knowing at the end of the tunnel that I have helped someone or made someone's day is reward enough. What also helps me overcome adversity is knowing that someone may be in a worse predicament than me, and they still push forward and persevere through the obstacles of daily life. ln life all days aren't going to be beautiful days and not every day is going to rain sometimes we can change the situation by just changing how we think about it, and how we think about it can change the outcome. I remember in 2017 I was twenty-five years old expecting my first child not truly knowing the road that was ahead. I was borderline homeless I went from my own apartment, to a friend's house, and to my child's mother's house. I was in the struggle a tumultuous relationship filled with drama and third parties my twenty-five year old told me I didn't belong here and I could've gone home and terminated the pregnancy, but I stayed in a bad situation and wasn't thinking was just oblivious to the world I had become in engulfed in. I caught a lucky break and got a job in a military post, but my troubles were far from over. The job was one hour and a few minutes away from where I resided and my car was on its last leg. I was making good money, but I was in a hole that I thought I would never be able to escape. My car has motor has blown out on the interstate now I am homeless and have no car in a place that's far away from home. I was able to with the help of some coworkers stay in the area at a hotel, but that became expensive and impossible. A coworker of mine felt compelled to let me stay with her for a month to save money for an apartment, and I thank her to this day. I also remember the late Travis Soublet may God rest his soul assisted me to get to the apartment to put my deposit down, and I moved shortly after. Things are progressing for me I still had no car, but another coworker has assisted me with a way to work until I got my car out of the shop God works in mysterious ways. So now I am back on track I have to wait for my first and only child to arrive in this world. The story was full of turbulence, but in the end, a rainbow appeared I knew if I could survive I can conquer any obstacle that stood in my way.