Nursing School

Presently I am in the third semester in the nursing program. I believe that my chosen profession will enable me to fulfill my desire to help others, to expand my knowledge base, and to travel. I have been working in the hospital setting for seventeen years as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse counselor in the State of Nevada. I found that I had gone as far as I could in the carrier of counselor. The last four years I have continued to work in hospitals as a Mental Health Worker on the psychiatric unit and am now the Program Coordinator. I have always striven for academic excellence, always enjoying all the experiences in my education.

Education has always been an important aspect of my life. While in high school, I took challenging courses, such as advanced placement English. I enjoyed the arts and was involved theatre and choir. Despite the time-consuming practices for concerts, musicals and plays, I was able to maintain an excellent gpa. I continued my education at the age of twenty in the alcohol and drugs program by the state of Nevada to become a Licensed Alcohol and Drug counselor.

Although education plays a significant role in my life, I have been involved with many other activities. During my years as a counselor I volunteered much of my time to youth drug prevention programs. I was a camp counselor as well as administrator for a youth leadership camp responsible for 80% of the school based drug prevention program in the Clark County school district in Nevada. I was a guest speaker at most of the middle schools in Las Vegas area teaching drug prevention and working closely with the D.A.R.E officers. I continued these activities for ten years before moving to California.

Work is also part of my life. Presently I work twenty four hours a week in the Center for Behavioral Medicine at Moreno Valley Community Hospital. I enjoy working because I am able to see the mentally ill progress to a state where they can finally be discharged to their homes or other placement in the community. I enjoy teaching patients about their illness. Through my work experiences I have learned more about what to expect upon completion of the nursing program.

I have worked around nurses and have also found the flexibility and advancement opportunity in nursing to be great. I also find it appealing that nursing is a lifelong learning opportunity. I enjoy going to school and my hopes are to eventually receive my BSN and MSN. I have also had