Alumnae Association of the Royal Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses Scholarship

Many currents in my life led me toward nursing but what most attracted me to the profession is how nurses can affect change in their community and on a larger scale through public health policy. At 27, I had worked my way up the ladder as an HR coordinator for a fundraising company but still had no high school diploma. My sister, who is an ICU nurse and someone I admire immensely, encouraged me to look into nursing as a professional reorientation. She urged me to invest in my education and broaden my professional horizons. When I became pregnant with my first daughter I knew I wanted more for myself and my family. My wonderful husband wholeheartedly supported my return to school. My sister influenced me to explore nursing, but from a young age, it was my mother who taught me about Canada’s history and the systemic injustices that Indigenous peoples continue to face every day. When I told her about nursing school, she highlighted the role I could play as an advocate for equal access to care, cultural safety and social justice as a front-line nurse for all vulnerable populations. As a non-indigenous nurse, I actively seek to educate myself and improve the quality of care I provide to indigenous patients and marginalized patient populations. While in school, I became a volunteer in a day center which provides support to Indigenous individuals experiencing homelessness and a volunteer at a suicide intervention and crisis line for the city of Montreal. These experiences continue to inform my practice as a nurse and my goal to become a primary care nurse practitioner in remote communities. I believe access to care and continuity of care in remote communities plays a pivotal role in reducing health inequity. I am currently finishing my Integrated Nursing Bachelor’s at McGill’s Ingram School of Nursing where I sit on the McGill Nurses for Global Health committee and act as the Learning Environment Student Advisor for my nursing Cohort. In the summer, I work as an assistant to the clinical manager at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Montreal. I am truly grateful to have been chosen as a Canadian Nurses Foundation Scholarship recipient. The funds will allow me to continue my volunteering while devoting myself to my family and studies for the coming academic year.