CNF Diversity Award

“When I grow up I want to be a Pilot.” That was initially my dream at the age of 5. However, I grew up loving science experiments, math calculations and historical stories. A satisfying love relationship made choosing a career very difficult, until a convincing talk with my aunt and uncle for me to take up nursing. For them, it is an opportunity to work abroad and earn a good salary – a brighter future. For me, it meant travelling and knowing more about the world – an endless possibility.

I finished my bachelor’s degree in Nursing in one of Philippine’s finest – West Visayas State University. Nursing school is a tough one – sleepless nights for school assignments and endless memorization of drugs, diseases and parts of the human body. But the real-life experience is awe-spiring (awesome and inspiring) which made me appreciate the birth of life and until it ceases.

Initially, nursing introduced herself to me as an expert care provider at the bedside. However, as time goes by I see different faces of a nurse – the teacher, the researcher, the community leader and recently the policy advocate. These became my inspiration to further my career in nursing, seeing its infinite possibilities and dreaming of becoming one of those faces I have met and look up to one day.

For internationally educated nurses “don’t give up yet” and to Canadian Nursing Foundation “thank you!”