A Call to Service by Christiana

A Call to Service by Christiana - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

I will forever remember my session in high school with a career counselor who advised me, after crediting Philosopher Confucius, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Unrealistic as this sounds, his words resonated perfectly with me. I already discovered my love for serving and making an impact on others. Serving another person never felt like it was a job for me, but instead a unique opportunity to do an act of kindness. I expressed to the counselor my long-term goal of being a registered nurse matched my passion and calling to help and care for others in need.

My childhood story inspired me to seek a job where service was a not only a priority, but also gave purpose to my life. When I was a young girl, my dream job would have been to be a superhero, where I could serve, help, and protect people who could not protect themselves. I knew becoming a superhero was next to impossible since my early childhood was a repetition of failures, frustrations, and states of depression that stemmed from learning disabilities and an abusive father. No matter how hard I studied, my grades suffered. My father said I was “stupid” and unable to learn like the other kids, emphasizing, “An education is a waste of time.” I was also the root of "dumb jokes” among my peers, some who bullied me to what I thought was the point of no return. Humiliated, isolated, and defeated, I was in a dark place. On bended knee, I prayed for God’s intervention. Thankfully, my mother found a team of healthcare professionals who identified my auditory and visual processing disorders coupled with ADHD. My mother and child advocate collaborated with the school to design an IEP to meet my learning needs. With reasonable accommodations, I persevered and achieved instant and future academic success in the classroom. Overcoming years of adversity, I learned to embrace my inner superhero to achieve success, developing a strong desire and passion to help others do the same.

I actively sought opportunities where I could lead and serve people in school and in the community to make a positive difference in their lives. My first worthy volunteer opportunity, where service leadership came alive, occurred when I was a mentor in the Boerne Buddies Program. This community leadership and service organization was dedicated to mentoring high school students with special needs. These students had varying levels of mental and physical disabilities, many who were truly isolated and neglected physically and emotionally by their families, other students, and society as a whole.

Boerne Buddies showcased one of the many reasons I have a continued passion for volunteering and mentoring, highlighting I had the privilege to be a role model and serve as well as had the opportunity to see their goals and interests become a reality. Everyone involved in this leadership service program benefited as they saw the hope inside themselves. This was my way to give back to those in need of the love, support, and mentorship, so they too had a fair chance in life. As I engaged in other community activities, I grew as a leader. Whenever I questioned if my service was a success or not, I always reminded myself of the message authored by Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, who said, “When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” I felt so accomplished any time my service inspired others.

Walt Disney said, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Now having that courage I lacked for so long, my dream of making a difference is no longer a fantasy. My long-term professional desire to serve in the capacity as a nurse will certainly fulfill this objective. I have taken the necessary actions to conquer my learning disabilities, resulting in me graduating high school with a 4.0 GPA and an acceptance into the Pre-Nursing Program at Texas Tech University (TTU). The educational platform I chose at TTU will effectively prepare me for the rigorous nursing school curriculum, maximizing my learning of the complex health and sciences. Through this higher learning experience, my goal of advancing into the nursing profession has become a reality for me where I can care, serve, and mentor others in need. Truly, my dream is for others, who are blinded with adversity, to overcome their own trials in order to receive their vision to success. Once blinded myself, I want everyone to experience the same feeling of hope and see the word “Courage” in “Discouraged” as I do now.

As the world faces the invisible threat of COVID-19, nurses are in high demand for their services. If I could fast forward my life as a nurse, my sense of duty would lead me to serve on the front line, committed to making a difference. I will never be the Superwoman I dreamed of as a child, but I will be the nurse who does super deeds for others in need. I will conclude with how I hope to define my impact as a nurse, which was best captured by Poet Maya Angelou when she said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”