While I am at ODU, I will be majoring in nursing in order to graduate with my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and become a registered nurse. It is my dream to pursue a career in nursing because of the healthcare experiences I faced growing up. When I was younger, I had to have a few surgeries, which at the time was hard for me because I didn’t like hospitals. They always seemed to revolve around death and sadness, and that feeling did not comfort me. While I was a patient at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD), my nurses made me feel safe and gave me the comfort I needed to feel safe while I was in the hospital. My dream is to become a pediatric nurse because I love working with children and I want to provide a welcoming environment to children who may feel like hospitals are a scary place.

I have been volunteering in hospitals since I was 15, most of my volunteer work being with Riverside Regional Medical Center, where I volunteered for 3 consecutive years. Working on the general medicine and surgery floor, as well as oncology and anesthesia. I am currently a volunteer at CHKD, where I get to interact with newborns, children, and teens.