Guest Blog: Rina's Journey to Nursing

 Our guest blogger this week is Rina, a senior from the Philippines! She's going to share how she came to be a nursing major.

Rina at Pike Place Market

Picking a college major can be as hard or easy as picking what food to eat. Or picking which place to go. Or what clothes to wear. Hello, my name is Rina, and I will be talking about how I became a nursing major.

Upon arriving at PLU, I declared to be a global studies major due to my interests. In my first semester, I took various classes, from global studies to computer science. All of them were interesting, but I was still lost on what to do. The endless writing and reading that others seemed to enjoy seemed like it wasn't for me. And programming wasn't my interest anymore. Luckily, I had friends of different majors who would talk (sometimes complain) about their classes. One of them was doing business. And one of them was a nursing major. Hearing them talk about their classes and how they were so different from mine made me curious. So I discussed it with my advisor.

After that, I took the prerequisites for being a nursing major. My following semester was very different from my first. As of now, I had chemistry and statistics classes.

Coming back in the fall, I began my bio classes and continued another psychology class. And my last semester of prerequisites was filled with my last biology class and microbiology. Those classes were quite difficult, as science was never my strong subject. But PLU provided tutoring and supplemental instruction courses.

Prior to spring semester of that year however, was the time in which I applied to get into PLU's nursing school. I knew others who had conditional admission, meaning that they were accepted into nursing school before they started at PLU. This is a great choice if you know you want to be a nursing major from the beginning. But if you are indecisive like me, being able to apply to nursing school in my second semester was a good opportunity.

PLU is well known for its nursing program and is quite competitive throughout the state. The nursing application is quite straightforward, requiring two personal statements, one letter of recommendation and an application payment.

I received my acceptance letter during the week of spring break, which provided me information about getting accepted into the nursing school.

Though my experience may sound simple, it definitely took some struggle and sleepless nights to get where I am now. I recall many nights of studying in the library with my friends. My growing collection of energy drinks. And the relief I felt after seeing a fulfilling score. Though it wasn't easy, those moments will continue to be a memory that I will be fond of looking back on my college years.

I hope that no matter what major you choose, that you take time for yourself and reflect on your own journey. It's okay to take time, and to experience some failures. Eventually, you will be able to look back on it from a place of success and know what path you want to take.

- Rina