From Pre-K to 12th grade, I went to a college preparatory school, so when I started college, I thought I was ready. Throughout school, I had been an A and B student, and I thought college would be the same. However, I was not prepared for the stress associated with college. My first semester was a huge adjustment with many obstacles, including moving dorms the week before finals, but I was able to push through. At the end of the semester, my grades were not where I wanted them, and I did not think I would be able to raise my GPA to where I wanted it especially since I was taking a full course load with mostly upper-level classes. At the beginning of the winter semester, I told myself that I needed to work harder than I did last semester because I needed and wanted to do better. After many late nights of studying and many hours working on assignments, at the end of the semester, I was able to raise my GPA higher than what I thought I could and even made Dean’s List for the first time.

As I continue through my journey at Longwood as a nursing student and an honors student, I know that academics is one of the most important aspects of my life for the next three years. For my nursing class that I took this semester, we had to write a speech about what inspired us to become a nurse. Below, I have attached the speech I wrote because it reminds me that dedication and strong scholarship got me to this point in my life and I need to keep it up to go where I want to in life.