Undergraduate / At young age, my relationship with my father heavily influenced my choice in pursuing Nursing Major [5]

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At a young age, my relationship with my father heavily influenced my choice in pursuing nursing. I was very motivated to participate in volunteering during my undergraduate years. These activities helped develop effective skills to handle the arduous workload that nursing entails.

I had led a fairly normal life until the age of twelve when my parents divorced. Although my mother would visit me on a weekly basis, I lived with my father most of the time. Ever since the divorce, he became overweight and began to age. I wondered if the divorce affected him to an extent where he could no longer maintain a good health, and I could not help but empathize with him. As time progressed, he would later develop gout on his feet and would also experience swelling on his knees. Sometimes the pain would be so excruciating that he would have to skip work. Since he was alone, I had to nurse him by carrying him to a certain destination, cooking food, and providing company. My father reassured me that my company helped eased his pain and I felt elated that he felt better. From that instance, my father's influence impacted my decision to pursue nursing. I felt that nursing could help me make a difference in people's lives whether it would be large or small and allowed me the opportunity to alleviate suffering to the best of my abilities.

My experience with my father influenced me to take my studies seriously. One of the extracurricular activities I joined was Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity. This fraternity stressed the importance of two principles: leadership and service. These characteristics manifested within me. At one point, I was president and secretary of my pledge class and I guided members on their tasks and provided a positive and supportive environment. The fraternity also strengthened my interest to provide service to the community. I would often participate in services such as AIDS Walk or visit convalescent homes to help provide services to disadvantaged people. Leadership and service are personal qualities that should benefit any nurse.

My relationship with my father influenced my pursuit in nursing. Thus, I was very motivated to work hard and participate in volunteering. My first year was exhilarating and rewarding. I realized how truly versatile I was in handling the stress and arduous workload that college provides and I found characteristics and abilities that I have that should enable me to become a reliable and excellent nurse.

Undergraduate / UC Prompt #2 Dilligence [3]

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Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?

One of the things I was able to accomplish during my undergraduate years was to overcome my fears of public speaking. At a young age, I was an introverted and nervous person. It was very difficult to talk to peers or to deliver speeches to fellow classmates. Yet, due to my diligent and stoic nature, I was able to overcome this obstacle.

In high school, I used to remember when I took many AP courses and that I had to do many speeches and presentations. Speaking to a large group of students was a daunting task. The timing and oral presentation had to be nearly perfect and I would often perform poorly on this. Many of my friends told me that I would mumble, move around nervously, and stutter. Unluckily for me, I was not able to solve this problem until I attended college.

It was a requirement for graduation to take a speech class. I was horrified at the thought of being graded primarily on speeches. However, something motivated me to work hard in this class. Mentally, I thought that college was a new opportunity to learn from mistakes and to improve upon those. Thus, I practiced numerous times to improve my presentations. My professor thought I was one of his top students and even recommended me to the speech and debate team. I could not refuse this opportunity, so I joined. The speech and debate team strengthened my communication skills. I was proud that I could communicate to any audience without being nervous.

When I overcame my fears of speaking, I realized that my diligence and willingness to learn from mistakes could help me overcome any obstacle I encounter. Furthermore, my friends now think of me as an energetic and intelligent leader.