I am going to tell a story all too familiar for healthcare workers. The hospital was quiet, the kind of quiet that feels heavy at 2 a.m. I was only 18 years old, wide-eyed and ambitious, working as a nursing assistant at PIH Good Samaritan Hospital, located right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The patient population was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Many of my patients had no family at the bedside. Some struggled with drug and alcohol use, others with chronic illness, and most faced their battles completely alone. It was in those long nights that I realized how much more nursing was than just tasks.

Yes, I turned patients every two hours, cleaned them, and fed them. But when all the physical care was done, I prayed because I knew there was healing only God could provide beyond medical interventions. I sat at bedsides in the middle of the night, listening to stories of fear, regret, or hope. I laughed with them, even when I was exhausted, because sometimes laughter was the only medicine strong enough.

Those nights took everything out of me. One morning, after a shift filled with constant work, I left running purely on adrenaline. Too tired to drive safely, I ended up in a car crash on my way home. That moment forced me to leave the night shift and eventually my job. At first, I was bitter. I thought I resented the work that had drained me. But stepping away made me realize something deeper: I did not resent the job. I missed it. I missed the conversations, the teamwork, and even the late-night moments of silence where simply being there mattered. What I thought was resentment turned out to be love, a love for nursing that ran deeper than I had realized.

After my car crash I had a lot of reflection on the importance of drivers education. I believe fatigue is probably the most underrepresented impairment for drivers. We often talk about drugs or alcohol that can lead to impairment but we always forget fatigue. As humans we are wired to perform and keep going or keep pushing. We often forget to remind ourselves of our limits or check ourselves to see if we are tired. It's sad but the world that we live in priotize efficiency and performance sometimes pushing ourselves past the point leading to fatigue that is unsafe to drive in. I want to continue to emphasize the importance of rest to my peers and family. Now whenever I am out with friends I am always checking to see if they're tired before driving. Although i was initially ashamed, I now share my story openly with friends and family to remind them the importance of rest and self care. Although I will always put the patient first and tirelessly care for them, I make sure I am rested before driving home now. It could have been so simple as taking a nap before driving. This is such a simple thing that I remember learning when I was a teenager in a driving class but because of the hustle and efficiency mindset I disregarded it and drove anyways. 

This is what inspires me to pursue nursing. My father’s battle with cardiovascular disease first sparked my dream of working CVICU, but my own time in the hospital that gave me a purpose. Nursing, to me, is not just a career. It is a calling to serve, to comfort, and to stand in the gap when no one else can. I am now in nursing school, counting down the days until clinicals begin, because I know what it feels like to miss being at the bedside. I know the kind of nurse I want to become, the one who is remembered not just for skills, but for presence.

That presence is what I define as caring. It is more than the literal act of touching a patient. It is showing up fully for them. Presence is staying awake when they cannot sleep. It is praying with them when they feel hopeless. It is laughing with them when humor is the only way to lighten the darkness. It is seeing them as people first, not just diagnoses.

Presence transforms patient care because it reminds people they are not alone. Presence can ease fear, build trust, and restore dignity. For the patients who had no one sitting in their corner, I was that person. That is not a responsibility I take lightly. It is what I want to devote my life to.

My journey so far has taught me that nursing is about balance, caring for myself so I can continue to care for others, and about passion. Passion for the patients, passion for the moments that matter most, and passion for the belief that compassion is as essential as any medicine. That is the nurse I want to be, and that is the nurse I will become.

The summer I crashed my car I felt so set back in life. I knew insurance would rise and I would need to pay to fix my car and the other person's car. So I worked 2 jobs all summer until the school year started so I could afford tuition and expenses. However when school began I moved back into college. I stopped working in the hospital because I could not continue nights and I stopped my second job due the commute. This scholarship will help me financially pursue my nursing degree. I plan to take my NCLEX exam and become a registered nurse in 2027. After gaining experience I want to pursue a career as a nurse practitioner or nurse anesthesiologist. From working tireless nights in the hospital and then 2 jobs to make ends meet. I know it will all pay off in the end when I succeeed and reach my goals.