Judy Hill Memorial Award

My decision to pursue a career in nursing is one I will never regret. First, the profession of nursing boasted a dynamic career option that offered flexibility for my lifestyle. I admire the variety of career options available within nursing, and I am excited to begin exploring different avenues of the profession as I progress through my career. Secondly, I love how every shift is different. Nursing is a face-paced, changing environment, and I love that nursing challenges me to adapt and grow, and inspires me to explore my passion for learning. Finally, I have always admired the trusted role of the nurse, in that, they are with people during their most vulnerable moments. As I move forward in my nursing education, I have realized that providing empathetic, compassionate care in times of illness and hardship leaves a remarkable impact on the lives of individuals in your care, and that is the most rewarding.

This fall I enter the fourth year of my baccalaureate degree in nursing. I am also pursing a critical care nursing speciality that I hope will lead me to nursing in both ICU and emergency settings. Currently, I am practicing as a student nurse in the emergency department, which by far my favourite clinical experience yet!

I am proud to have been repeatedly recognized for academic excellence at my university by letters from our Dean of Nursing and by monetary scholarships and awards. Above all, I am honoured to become the seventeenth nurse in my family and continue making my late grandmother, an operating room nurse herself, proud.