Check out the incredible stories of these UNiDAYS students who are either working in or towards a career in healthcare. Thank you all!

Rachelle Herman
Florida SouthWestern State College
“I’m a CNA, and it’s knowing that sometimes I am all they have. The smile of gratitude is the best feeling of it all”

Samantha Baird
Northwest Vista College
“Helping people has always given me a sense of how and appreciation for what I do have in life. I joined the military right out of high school and worked for six years as a medic. During that time I learned a lot, especially empathy. This is the skill that drives me through school, even when it’s hard, because if I can make someone comfortable or help them get well, I’ve truly made a difference.”

Amber Pablo
Pima Community College
“I love taking care of people and I have so much empathy for people. I recently lost my mom and I had to take care of her in her last years so I gained a whole new perspective on taking care of someone who was sick. All she ever wanted for for me was to get my degree and become a nurse, and I’m doing it all for her!”

Paulina Rivera Rojas
Riverside Community College
“I currently do admitting for my local and I’m a nursing student. I love being able to help patients. I chose nursing because not only did I want to challenge my self, but I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives daily. I think nursing is one of the most selfless careers. You help save lives, you bring happiness to patients, you support their loved ones grief, and at the end of the day, despite how hard it was, you made some kind of difference.”

Kassandra Roman
Springfield Technical Community College
“I grew up in foster care so I never got a chance to thank all the emergency personnel who helped me through various tough times. I wanted to put a smile on others faces like they did with me!”

Mollie Wilton
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
“I am a future Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). I was inspired to become an SLP when babysitting a child with nonverbal autism and saw how the lack of communication affected her and myself as a caregiver, and wanted to help her be able to communicate with her family. After babysitting her I took a work ethics class in high school that allowed me to job shadow. I knew as soon as I step into the therapy room that I was destined to become an SLP. Becoming an SLP is not easy, as we work from ages birth- death. It's a lot of work, and lots of studying but it will all be totally worth it when seeing a client succeed in successful communication. Remember, everyone deserves a voice!”

Emily Micci
Pikes Peak Community College
“Currently I work at the hospital as a certified nursing assistant. However, my goal is to be a registered nurse. My inspiration comes from my grandmother. She worked as a LPN. She was so educated and passionate about being a nurse. I always thought that one day I would become a nurse and maybe she would be proud of me that I followed in her footsteps. To this day she is still so smart and very helpful when it come to my nursing classes. Se truly is what inspired me.”

Ka’Tell Corbin
Florida International University
“Im a CNA and I work in an assisted living/memory care facility. I've seen how to elderly can be mistreated and I know that if I'm working they will be treated with the upmost respect so that's why I work in healthcare so that the elderly have someone they can count on.”

Natalie Aman
Sampson Community College
“Growing up I had at least two family members who were always sick, but the one who truly made the biggest impact was my uncle. From a very young age my uncle was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and what most people don’t know is that Cystic fibrosis is that there is a very minimal mortality rate. My uncle is 52 and is still here living through all of this chaos going on right now. He has undergone 2 double lung transplants, numerous treatments, and traveled back and forth from the west to his primary hospital here in order to receive the proper treatment and checkups to make sure his lungs are functioning properly. Seeing that he is still here is truly what has pushed me to pursue the health career specifically nursing. Nurses work closely with the patient to provide them the best possible treatment that they can, as a nurse, specifically a future pediatric nurse, I strive to provide children with a untiring environment, even though they might be scared of hospitals and needles, I want them to feel comfortable in what is being done and let them know that they shouldn’t be scared of what’s to come. I also want the parents to have a care free environment and be able to really spend quality time with their child and truly cherish every moment they have. Whether they are given a few months or years to live past a certain circumstance, every child should feel like they have an eternity of happiness and be able to feel cared for.”

Leslie Alvarado
California Baptist University
“For as long as I could remember, my mind drifted towards working in the medical field. I am a second year pre-nursing student. I actually am currently in the process of applying to a nursing program!! I hear back by April 15th. In 2016, my best friend fell sick without any underlying cause. In the span of a week, I went from seeing my best friend laughing and smiling, to the point where she had to be unplugged from life support. Constantly spending time in the hospital, I got a glance at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. I felt such a gravitation towards the unit. I know what it takes to become a nurse, and what is expected of me. I know my calling in life is to help and care for others. I pushed myself to get my Phlebotomy Technician license to get myself into the medical field. I know this is what I was made to do. I am excited to hopefully start my nursing journey soon.”

Caroline Bourneuf
University of Pennsylvania
“I want to be a nurse because of times like these. Nursing is all about protecting and caring for those who cannot care for themselves and that is critical in why we are all social distancing right now, too. I want to advocate for people who are vulnerable and make people feel better about themselves and their lives. :)”

Jennifer Wells
Arizona College
“Caring for others is my passion. Becoming a Registered Nurse is my dream, and soon my dream will come true! Upon graduating I don't want to stop there, I would love to continue furthering my education to become the best Nurse I can be. I thrive when I am helping others, and love to be an inspiration to those around me. When I help others regardless of the response I receive back I am fulfilling my purpose in life. I can't wait to become an RN! Here's to graduating in 2021!!”

Sandra Gonzalez
Eastfield College
“The idea of beeing able to help someone has pushed me throughout my career choice. I truly believe eveyone has a calling and healthcare is mine. Im very blessed to be able to serve my community.”

Asha Nambi
Southern Adventist University
“In this world, it is important to fight for one another. I chose to pursue nursing because I wanted to get my hands dirty and show everyone who Christ is through my actions. I want to help heal. I want to help save. I want to help someone who is lost and needs just a little bit of encouragement to keep pushing through their trying time. In this world, we are nothing if we are not looking out for each other. Times will be rough but I believe it it’s my duty to help.”

Christopher Zanderholm
Pasadena City College
“I got into sports medicine to help anyone that needs some sort of rehab. I almost lost my life 10 years ago and spent two years in traction after being in a coma and in the hospital for six months. After three months to learn how to walk again, I went back to school. Now I just graduated and will be doing post grad soon.”

Kimberly Gould
Rowan University
“I am inspired to work in the healthcare field by a teacher I had in high school who was a nurse named Mrs. Birdsall! She was the coolest teacher ever and really cared deeply for her students. I also shadowed a few doctors and interned at a medical school before deciding nursing was the route for me! I just genuinely want to help people and spread positivity and compassion towards others. I also want to change the stigma of seeking healthcare in urban communities as I grew up in an urban community too. Thank you to all the healthcare heroes who are working so hard right now, your effort does not go unnoticed.”

Jasmine Viera
Berkeley College Woodland Park
“I love being a nurse because everyday I get to help someone overcome one of the hardest days of their life. Even if it’s a little push or a big push they needed that extra helping hand to accomplish a goal and I was able to help them achieve it. The smile of their faces on their way home home after a long six week recovery makes every obstacle worth it.”

Naomi Amador
College of the Seqouias
“For as long as I can remember I’ve always been the type of person who wanted to help people in need. As a child I was the one who always wanted to put the band aid on whomever had the cut or scrape. My mom was a cna, working with children with cerebral palsy and I truly looked up to that. Being the person who can lend a helping hand to someone in need is such an amazing feeling that no one can ever take away from you. I am currently a caregiver working with the elderly with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Being able to have an impact on another human being has led me to want to pursue a career in nursing. Currently, I am trying to get into Rn school. Being a nurse is the only career I could see myself doing in the long run because it is truly such a rewarding field to be in.”

Taryn Glatt
Saint Mary's College
“Growing up, my mother had a lot of health conditions. This caused my family to visit the hospital often enough where I considered it one of my homes. Whenever something would happen at home, my father or I would have to tend to her and patch up her wounds. I learned a lot hands on in that way and became more interested in what I could do for others like I did for her. So i decided to pursue an education in the health field purely to help others.”

Marwa Caraballo
Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY)
“When I was 16 Y/O, my father went into cardiac arrest in the middle of time square in NYC. I’ve never felt so scared in my life. But then, I watched the EMTs and Paramedics bring him back to life and rush him to the hospital for an emergency open heart surgery. He made it. \r\nThe feeling I felt after the EMTs and Paramedics brought my father back, is a feeling I wanted to be able to give to someone else.”