My love for nursing all started with one plastic model of the human heart. I could take it apart and see all four chambers with all of the valves involved in pumping blood throughout the body. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. My mother is a nurse so I was always involved in some type of open house or volunteering at the hospital. Then it came time for me to go to high school. We had heard about Hodgson Vocational Technical High School through our neighbors and my career began.

I got accepted into Hodgson and immediately knew I wanted to go into the Nursing Technology program. I knew that I would be a Certified Nursing Assistant when I graduated and that I would have a basic foundation many people might not have. I was so happy when I found out I was accepted into the program. This program helped me through so much. When I was in class learning it was like nothing else mattered. I set my heart and mind to it. I gained study skills and communication skills. I also got to see a live birth in my clinical experience. It was one of the most significant moments in my life. Looking back, I wish I would have been in that moment more than I was. It was the miracle of life and I stood back because I felt like I was intruding. Nurse Tech taught me discipline, compassion and also that things might not always go your way.

One of the most important parts of my experience was passing my CNA test. My classmates and I studied for this test for three long years. When the day came I remember being so nervous and almost sick to my stomach. There was a point where I wanted to just quit because I was so fearful that I wouldn’t pass. I pushed through all of that and passed my test with flying colors. In fact, my class had a one hundred percent pass rate. I was so proud of everyone and that all of our hard work in the lab paid off. At our pinning ceremony, my mom gave me my pin and I could see the future where my mom would pin me again as I received my RN.

Soon after I passed I got a job in a nursing home which gave me an insight on how some things work in nursing. It also taught me how to time manage and what it is like getting up early to go to a job. Being a CNA is very hard work but it is so rewarding. You are the one that has the most direct contact with your patient and you can observe things that otherwise may not have been seen. I have a new job now where I get to work in an Adult Day Care Center.

This job is also very rewarding because when I go to work, the participants are happy to see me which in turn, makes me happy. I love making their days a little bit easier, despite what they have been through. It is also amazing when you see someone walk again for the first time. It brings tears to my eyes. I love being a CNA but I cannot wait to move up in my career.

Now that I am graduated from high school, I will miss being in nurse tech writing notes about how the blood flows through the heart. I will miss my amazing teachers, Mrs. Moyer and Mrs.Todd, who always believed in me and told me I could do it. My teachers never once doubted me when I thought all was lost and doubted myself. Now, here I am, a CNA with a great job and a bright future. I have Hodgson’s nurse tech program to thank for that. Hodgson gave me a leg up in my career and I will never take that for granted.