As I look back over my life it is easy for me to see the decisions and experiences that brought me to the knowledge that I wanted to be a nurse. When I was 12 years old, I attended a missionary service where, Rex Evans, a P.A., was speaking about his experiences in running a small clinic in Haiti. As he spoke of the challenges of practicing medicine in a third-world country, I realized that the medical field would be something I would be interested in pursuing. I continued with my interests by volunteering at Health Central, a local hospital, where I accrued 411 volunteer hours over the course of two years. I also went to Haiti and volunteered for three weeks in Rex Evans’ clinic when I was 17. Before I left for my three weeks in Haiti, I was able to obtain $5000.00 of medical supplies in donations from local hospitals and doctors’ offices.
When I graduated high school in 1998, I was socially not ready to venture out on my own. I had been raised very sheltered and was not ready to be totally independent. I was married in 1999, and had my first child in 2000. In 2001, I found myself a single mom, and was not mature enough to handle the responsibility of a child on my own. Consequently, my parents adopted my first child. In 2003, my second son was born and then in 2005, his sister came along. When their father and I separated in July of 2007 I was again faced with the difficult job of being a single parent. I had already begun classes at the Culinary Training Academy, which I completed in October 2007.
In October of 2007, I was assaulted, which resulted in a pregnancy. Since I don’t believe in abortion, I began to research my options, and ultimately decided to keep my baby. My son is due July 12th.
In February of this year I moved back to Missouri to be near my parents, as I felt I needed family support during a difficult time during my life. I got a job within two weeks but soon realized that with only a high school education, the minimum wage jobs I was qualified for would be insufficient for me to support my family on a minimum wage job. I was paying 56% of my income for child care for just two children, and since I am expecting my third, knew that unless I get some type of further education, I would never be self-sufficient.
Along with my career assistance caseworker, I began to research the available educational options in my local area, and decided on the LPN program at Nichols Career Center. Currently, I am attending GED classes, volunteering for four hours a day at the Missouri Career Center so that my daycare can be paid for by the childcare subsidy, and studying for my NET exam at Nichols Career Center, which I am scheduled to take on May 28th. Pending acceptance, my classes at Nichols Career Center start on August 4th.
