JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Kaitlyn Behnke as one of the three finalists for its April deadline application. Vote for her essay by clicking the thumbs up button at the bottom of the page, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.
Kaitlyn Behnke’s Essay:
How did you choose your major? What obstacles have you had to overcome and what will it mean to you to graduate with this degree?
I’ve always known I wanted to work in the medical field. My mother is a RN, and I still today look up to here as my role model. When I was a sophomore in high school, my mother became mentally ill and was hospitalized for months at a time. I was determined to keep my family together, and started my journey into the medical field by becoming a CNA and working in a local nursing home. While working to help with family bills, participating in sports and band, and holding positions in student government, I found it to be incredibly important to maintain my position as number one in my class for the sake of my future. My dream of following my mother’s footsteps never faded, even when she was so sick and unable to hold her role as a nurse that inspired me in the first place.
I soon learned on my own why I wanted to become a nurse. After caring for the elderly in the nursing home, I found a benefit besides the little money I earned to help out my family. I found the warmth and indescribable feeling of helping another who has basically nothing. The people I worked with had little family to visit with, and many times didn’t understand why they were in the nursing home in the first place. I had the opportunity to give them comfort, love, and hope. These things, I find are much more valuable than the simple acts I perform that are listed under my job description such as personal cares. The opportunity to give someone hope, is why I decided to advance my career into nursing. With this decision, also came the obstacle of money.
With my mother still unemployed, and my father on full-time disability for his degenerative spine, I struggled to get enough financial assistance for my first year of college. To help cover some of the cost, I accepted a job in a hospital and for a semester worked full time. This past year, my mother finally recovered and is now holding a job. This fortunate event comes with the struggle to get financial aid from the government due to the increase in income. I am now working in the hospital and find this job even more inspiring. Many days when I think about giving up, I have had my patient thank me for everything I have done, and tell me I will make a great nurse someday. These words keep me going, they give me hope, just as I give hope to my patients. Becoming a nurse is what drives me through my everyday life. To graduate from my program, means I can do more for my patients. It means I can be a role model for someone someday as a hero, as a person of hope, as a nurse.