Eaton Foundation Award

Many years ago, I made a life-long promise to travel and explore at least as many countries as my age. I am delighted to report that, at the age of 31, I am on track having visited 34 countries.  Some of my other hobbies are knitting – I volunteer by knitting costume items for Fort Edmonton Park; horses – I volunteer with Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association; scuba diving, and the arts.

So why am I studying nursing? Well, my greatest joys in life have always come from helping and connecting with others.  My vocation in the past has been in customer service and hospitality because these industries allow me to connect with and provide services to people and that is what I live for.  When I began university I planned to be a doctor, since medicine had always fascinated me, but something just didn’t feel right so I switched and finished an Arts degree.  Afterwards, I did a lot of soul searching and traveling.  On one of my trips, I lived in a monastery in Nepal and taught English and I noticed that many of the boys were infected with lice.  I got involved in helping change the hygiene routines at the monastery and that’s when it hit me: nursing!  Following my trip, I enrolled in nursing because I finally knew my path: nursing is the perfect marriage of my fascination for medicine and my desire to help and provide care for people.