I take my personal motto from the Latin inscription on the clan badge of my Scottish ancestors. It reads, “MISERIS SUCURRERE DISCO”, or loosely translated, “I learn to help those in need”. People are my passion, learning is my life-long love, and my daily search is to salve the suffering I see.
During the late 1990s, I lived in the small country of Uruguay. For nearly two years I spent every moment serving those I met. I helped everyone I could. I fixed cars and motorcycles, listened to peoples’ problems, helped build homes and cleaned up communities. I also spoke publicly for local environmental organizations, painted community-enhancing murals, fed people, cared for the ill and comforted the passing of loved ones. I never received any money for it; I did it out of love.
I received a bachelor’s degree in 2007. During the journey to attain it, I studied computer science and mechanical engineering, but graduated in exercise and wellness. Going back and forth and changing majors, along with having to work to support my family, made me take a little longer than most to complete my first degree. However, I never regretted a single course I took. I think there is no learning that is regrettable.
The very day that I graduated I was hired as an exercise physiologist, conducting cardiopulmonary stress tests and pulmonary function tests on morbidly obese patients. After a year, I was hired as the administrator of the clinic and had the unique opportunity of directing the same medical professionals that had once directed me. It was during this time that I cemented a desire to pursue a career in nursing and even set my eye on becoming a nurse anesthetist someday. It meant going back to school, but to me it would be worth it to follow my passion of helping those in need.
I do not fit the demographic of a typical nursing student. I am a man in my thirties. Nursing is my second bachelor's degree. I have an insatiable desire for learning. I have a wife and three kids that are my keel; they keep me aright and hold me steady as I go along my chosen course. My family encourages me to do what I love, and gives me reason to love what I do. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation scholarship made the journey toward my goals as a nurse possible by providing necessary funding and support.
Nursing is where I will go as a passionate person to make a difference in this world. Above all, I believe nursing is a tailor-made avenue for me to continue the longstanding tradition of my ancestors and be able to help those in need.
