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"Don’t go rushing to pick classes when you don’t have a goal/specific career in mind. Truthfully, don’t be afraid of your counselors, speak to them.
Advice #3: Go out there and volunteer and do as many extra curricular activities on your free time. This will help you recognize your main goals, even open up to the possibility of what career you want."
Hear Allan talk about what his current plans are and advice for some of the more difficult pre-req classes you complete to become a nurse!
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MILESTONES
My career roadmap has been somewhat defined.
I was settled with being an Engineering major, from freshman year of high school (2015) to the first semester of my senior year (2018).
Halfway through that fall semester of my senior year, I had a change of heart and changed my major to Nursing. My decision was influenced by my mom (Hero Essay) and Project Linus.
Set on Mount Saint Mary University (MSMU), working for my Bachelors in Nursing, things don't always go as one intended even if they are 100% sure it was the right path. I rescinded my application for MSMU and continued my studies at COC.
I finished most of my nursing prerequisites, planning to transfer to a state university or UC. Side note: worked part-time at Coffee Kiosk, saving up money for my transition to another city/college.
I applied to many colleges, but surprisingly got accepted to Sacramento State, San Diego SU, Cal State LA, CSU Long Beach, UC Irvine, San Francisco SU.
There were two colleges that stood out to me: Sac State and SFSU. Ultimately, I chose to send my intent to enroll in SFSU. Now awaiting the next steps.
EXPERIENCE
Here are my extracurriculars relevant to this pathway
DURING MY HIGH SCHOOL CAREER
Project Linus
Youth Leader for Confirmation at
Volunteering at USC Keck Hospital
Key Club International
America Medical Student Association
DURING MY COLLEGE CAREER
Volunteering at senior centers here and there
Church Choir at Saint Clare of Assisi Parish masses
Job-shadow my mom at work
CAREER
What I'm currently doing/hope to do
Spring 2020 at College of the Canyons, I finished both Microbiology and Physiology prerequisite classes. Outside of college and my studies, up until the Covid-19 quarantine took effect, I continued my biweekly 8-hour volunteering and job-shadowing at USC Keck Hospital. My plans for the near future are to take the Basic Life Support (BLS) training, to finish any other prerequisite classes at San Francisco State University, and, hopefully, find a nearby hospital in San Francisco to intern and job-shadow for. My long-term plan is to work in an intensive care unit (ICU), or maybe continue my education to finish my Masters in Nursing after finishing and receiving my Bachelors in Nursing.
ADVICE
How to maximize my time in high school?
Advice #1: Though people brush it off, COC is a great university to take and finish your prerequisites even after you graduate from AOC. Much cheaper in tuition, and has the same educational support and environment as other universities would have.
Advice #2: Don’t go rushing to pick classes when you don’t have a goal/specific career in mind. Truthfully, don’t be afraid of your counselors, speak to them.
Advice #3: Go out there and volunteer and do as many extracurricular activities on your free time. This will help you recognize your main goals, even open up to the possibility of what career you want.
Advice #4: Whoever said nursing is easy, lied. Your family might say it is easy, but the curriculum back then was much more simpler in medical information and context. Much to this dismay, I don’t mean to scare you off to not want to do nursing anymore, but you GOTTA WANT to be a nurse to become a nurse, you get me?
Advice #5: The nursing prerequisite classes, specifically anatomy, physiology, and microbiology, are the most important classes that you will have to take. You CANNOT slack off when taking these classes as it is easy to fall behind. Compared to the 100 level biology classes, those said classes are fast-paced and information heavy. To put it in perspective, there are at least 3 BioSci 100/106/107 classes fit into one microbiology class. I advise you to change your habits and note-taking methods to be actively learning all the information. Also to practice them even after classes have ended as you will have to take some tests (such as the TEAS, KAPLAN, or NCLEX) to get into the nursing program. And honestly, it feels nice and it’s cool to know things in real life as they connect to what you’ve learned in those classes.
