Why I Want To Be A Nurse

From a young age we are asked what we want to be when we grow up and I never had an answer, even as a senior in high school. What I did know is that I loved science and that I wanted to help people. Everyday as a nurse you get to learn something new which makes the field challenging and so interesting. It also gives you the opportunity to positively impact the community. The role of nurse is more than just a caretaker, it can be of a trusted friend or advisor.

I have gone through a rigorous curriculum for a registered veterinary technician program that covers medical nursing, surgical nursing, radiology, clinical pathology, pharmacology and more. Going through a program at one of the best community colleges in the state and passing my national board exam has allowed me to discover self motivation. I worked extremely hard and learned from failure and persistence. The outcome was that I found a purpose in life by discovering meaningful goals and dreams through providing patient care.

My goal is to work in clinical setting and return to school to become an advanced practice nurse. My main focus would be to train in women’s health. Growing up I witnessed my grandmother and mother have difficulty with access to stellar healthcare. At first I thought it was because there was a language barrier but as I got older I knew that it was bigger than that. I personally had a few mishaps at a doctors office that had me leaving the visit with a lot of unanswered questions. I was lucky to have found an amazing nurse practitioner that made everything feel easy. I want to empower women to take control over their health and quality of life through teaching.

One of the reasons why I starting visiting the César E. Chávez Center for Higher Education on my campus was for the club activities. One of their annual events held in January was the Cross Cultural retreat. It was three days, two nights on campus with 70 students, including myself. The weekend allowed me to engage in cross cultural awareness among my peers. We laughed, we bonded, and most of all we learned about issues related to diversity.

Being bilingual has given me the advantage to communicate and interact confidently with people in the community. Growing up my parents only knew one language, Spanish. Until I was old enough to go to preschool did i begin to learn the English language. At home I continued to speak Spanish even after my parents picked up the English language. In high school I continued my education in Spanish by enrolling in the advanced curriculum available. I wanted to be able to speak and write the language proficiently in order to become a more effective communicator. I also enrolled myself in a sign language course for the beginning of the next year. I was inspired by my local UPS package handler who has a hearing impairment. I want to be able to have a normal conversation with him whenever I drop in, instead of just smiling unable to communicate with him. Most importantly, I want to be able to help people with language disabilities to have equal access to health care.

Getting an education was always the number one priority for my parents. They wanted me to increase my chances of getting a job but also to exceed my potential. Being a first generation student came with many big challenges. My parents didn’t have any college experience to share with me and I had to learn to do things on my own. I felt very lost and confused my first semester at a community college. I did very poorly and after a lot of self- reflection I knew I needed to have the right mindset. After talking to a guidance counselor and doing my own research I was able to turn things around. Financial aid covered maybe 75% of cost, leaving the rest for my parents to pay. My father, who was the main provider, worked construction and later took up gardening on the weekends to help with the costs.

At times I felt guilt knowing that he worked long hours in the sun so I can get a better education. But I turned that burden of guilt into self motivation. I held myself accountable for finding the tools to pull me towards my goals and made no excuses. Being academically challenged and not having enough money was definitely challenging. But the greatest challenge was my mental health, feeling intense and uncontrollable anxiety. I thought it was normal for college students to experience anxiety so I never thought it was serious.

For three years I competed in Track and Field at Mt. San Antonio College. We were one of the topped ranked schools in southern California and I was proud to be part of the team. My second year I was named team captain and I was filled with so much honor. The position of team captain was given to me because my team mates respected me and trusted me to lead the team in the right direction. The biggest challenge was when we were a few weeks away from Southern California preliminaries and our assistant head coach was fired due to allegations that were later found unsubstantiated. This loss affected the entire team who felt a wide range of emotions.

For the remainder of season we would not have the coach who trained us year round. I knew I had to take initiative and surpass the expectations of my role as team captain. I made sure I communicated with the team about post competition statistics, workout routines, and building the team relationship. At this moment being a leader was not a choice, but a necessity. With the right direction and help of other coaches we won the state champion title.