My Passion by Hailey

My Passion by Hailey - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

Nurses play a key role in the healthcare system and in making the system function as effectively as it does. Nurses are required to monitor patients’ conditions, comfort the patient, and help with recovery. My career goal is to become a nurse because it would allow me to have a positive impact on others' lives, as I would provide the patients comfort, support, and stability, pushing for their happiness.
Growing up, I participated in gymnastics, a highly competitive and challenging sport that is prone to injuries. This sport greatly impacted me allowing me to express myself through it. I practiced 20 hours a week which caused a lot of stress on my body. At one of my practices, I was working on the uneven bars which I was extremely confident in until I flipped off of the uneven bars and landed directly on the side of my foot with my ankle rolled. My ankle quickly began to swell to the point where I couldn’t move or feel my foot. I was quickly taken to the urgent care where there were nurses there putting their all into getting me in quickly and calming me down, providing me with the best support as we waited for the doctor. These nurses provided comfort to me making this experience slightly better. I went to physical therapy for months and each time I went, the nurses tried their very best to make me feel confident again and be as helpful as possible.
Although this situation caused me to be out of practice for several months, it also led me to develop a deep appreciation for the nurses who supported me. I realized that without their compassionate care, this difficult experience would have been even more challenging. I quickly understood that I want to have the same impact on others that those nurses had on me. The way those nurses helped me, both through the physical recovery process and by providing emotional support, created a lasting impact on my life, prompting me to research more about nursing. The more that I learned about nursing, I fell more in love with it. Nurses are the main foundation of many major hospitals and the healthcare system itself, ensuring that everything runs smoothly while providing essential care for the patients. I deeply admired nurses ability to make a difference in people’s lives making it clear to me that nursing is more than just a career. I am eager to make a meaningful impact on others, just as those nurses did for me.
While I am no longer participating in gymnastics, I have been involved in cheerleading since my freshman year of high school. I competed in All Star Cheerleading during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. Due to personal issues, I had to step away from competitive cheerleading but continued to participate in high school cheer. Since I began cheerleading, I have been taking extra stunt and tumbling classes. I quickly excelled in the sport, which motivated me to pursue it at the college level. I attended several cheerleading and STUNT recruitment clinics to explore ways to continue my passion for cheer. I have now decided to further my education and athletics at St. Edward’s University, where I can receive an excellent education in nursing while continuing to pursue my love for cheerleading.
As I continue my journey in sports, such as cheer and STUNT, I will keep appreciating the work that nurses do and put my full effort into academics so that I can make a positive impact in hospitals, helping to make others’ experiences the best they can be. People should feel comforted and less stressed in hospitals during difficult times, and my main goal in this career is to provide comfort, stability, and support to those who are struggling. I have found a school that will help me reach this goal, and although it is expensive, I am very appreciative of the opportunity to attend St. Edward’s, as it will support me in achieving my goal.