CeraVe Skincare Scholarships for Diversity and Equity

My name is Madyson Cox, and I am completing my first year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Dalhousie University. My second year of the three-year accelerated program begins closely after that. My interest in the nursing profession started at an early age as I watched two mentors who were Registered Nurses—my mother and grandmother. I was inspired by the challenges and rewards they experienced in their respective careers. My primary motivation was the ability to collaborate closely with other professionals to provide patient-focused care. The profession is demanding. Loving what you do is the greatest encouragement to continuous learning. I have volunteered in many care environments and spent much of the pandemic supporting seniors. Nurses have a unique opportunity to help people needing care and watch as their health and quality of life improve. As I reflect on my first year of learning, my passion has continued to grow for the future. Getting to enter a clinical setting and provide care has afforded me a unique and meaningful lesson on just how essential nurses are in the healthcare setting. After graduation, my goal is to focus on pediatric nursing. I have a unique interest in the unfortunate outcomes for Indigenous children, where newborns are twice as likely to die in the first year as non-indigenous babies. I also have a personal connection in my family to the epidemic of mental health illness. Helping families support youth with mental health problems is another area of nursing I am enthusiastic about.