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“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” – Pele

This definition of success resonates with me because without working hard, persevering, and making sacrifices I would not be where I am today.

Prioritizing Education 

Taking my education seriously is something I have been doing since elementary school where I strived to get the best grades I could and achieved A’s in every class. I carried this work ethic with me through high school where I was at the top of my class.

Scheduling as many honors and science classes as I could made my workload heavier than many of my peers and resulted in me spending much of my time studying and completing assignments.

My hard work paid off when I discovered the early college enrollment program offered by Penn State which I fulfilled all the criteria to apply for during my junior year of high school.

Continuing Education 

Applying for and being accepted into college a year early had many challenges of its own. I had to prove I fulfilled the requirements, get recommendations from my guidance counselor and principal, get permission from the head of the school district, and have an extensive interview with the director of admissions at Penn State.

But I soon learned that getting accepted into the College of Nursing was not the hard part.

I experienced all the challenges that freshman face such as moving away, living with strangers in a dorm room, and learning that they must be responsible for themselves while also getting a taste of what nursing was really like.

I have 5 hour classes, 9 hour clinicals, and more exams than almost any other major while still being required to take the same gen eds and credits as all other students.

Students are expected to spend hours of studying everyday and are responsible for taking care of others in clinical settings who they have never met before.

The biggest challenge that most nursing students face is the dedication it takes to pass. During my sophomore year, over half of the students failed out of the program due to stress which is further described here.

While there are seemingly endless challenges I face in order to obtain my nursing degree, I recognize that sacrifice, commitment, and hard work are the only ways that I am going to achieve my goal and be successful.