As a senior nursing student at Salve Regina University, I am greatly honored to be a new member of Sigma Theta Tau International, an organization that stands for a profession that will help define the rest of my life. While a student at Salve, I have focused a great deal of my time on community service throughout Aquidneck Island as part of the AmeriCorps Scholarship for Service Program, taking on leadership roles with Best Buddies International, Learning Unlimited (a program integrating students and community members with developmental disabilities), Circle K, and Salve’s Office of Community Service. Through enrolling in the VIA: Life Studies Design program at the University, I have also gained a greater understanding of the role of nursing in an ever-changing society and the importance in providing culturally-competent care.

As a result of my experiences, I foresee my enrollment in the Peace Corps shortly after graduation and, upon returning, the pursuance a career in public and/or mental health.  I plan to utilize my membership in STTI to network with other nurses and create programs that will further improve the health care system of our country, focusing on things like improving health care and overall understanding of mentally ill individuals, improving homeless shelters and resources for those with little means, supporting health care advancements in third-world countries, and advocating for individuals with developmental disabilities.

The support I have received and the knowledge that I have fostered at Salve Regina will carry me into a new role as a nurse; as a member of STTI, I will have an outlet to share this knowledge while gaining an even deeper understanding of the role of nursing in current society. The opportunities are seemingly endless, and I am eager to become a certified registered nurse in such a progressive era.