CNSA Mental Health Award

My name is Alexander Jesse Lamont-Caputo (try putting that on every page of your exams). I am in my last academic semester of UBC’s condensed BSN program, and I have the intention of pursuing a career in Community/Public Health nursing. I was born and raised in East Vancouver, where I witnessed the ramifications of the social determinants of health, and simultaneously became passionately motivated to provide upstream education and prevention of poor life outcomes. Growing up I was surrounded by many different cultures, alternative norms, and family dynamics that I previously thought were universal. In retrospect, the struggles that my family (and many others) had faced with addiction, incarceration, adverse childhood experiences, conflict and divorce, have provided me with a framework for understanding the importance of blended models of disability, trauma-informed care, mental-health first aid, and low-barrier resources for rehabilitation. Therefore, my intentions throughout and upon completion of my program are to support priority populations alongside their self-defined journeys towards health, recovery, and wellbeing. The duality present in nursing (as both a science, and an art) brings me joy, daily, and I look forward to exercising both sides of my brain for the remainder of my career.