Optimism: The Key To Success by Gabryjela

Optimism: The Key To Success by Gabryjela - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

The role model I have grown a really close relationship with is my nursing professor, Dr. Hermann. She is the most lively, charismatic, and optimistic person I have met.
Nursing school is a challenge within itself because of large course workloads, persistent memorization, and keeping up with grade averages that are necessary to be part of the nursing program. This past sophomore year was one of the most challenging years for me. The amount of responsibilities I had took over my life from 8 am to 1 am every single day, with mostly only breaks to eat. That amount was due not only to the dedication to my education, but to three organizations that aided in my personal growth in leadership development, as well as a part-time occupation to help afford college living expenses. There were 2 weeks in particular that were the most challenging and which I considered my lowest point of the semester: the same time my roommate had her ACL surgery, and had to take time off to recuperate. I had to take some of her clinical days that were consecutive to mine, which just added more workload to an already busy schedule that consisted of studying for the exams we had those two weeks and work. Because of the stress and lack of sleep, my performance levels in my courses during that time were not exceptional. For a while, I struggled to comprehend how my performance levels got so low, especially since I’m not a student that is used to such results. The problem was that one of the exams I took was the lowest one I’ve had in my high school and college career, and the worst part was that I was on the pathway to failing out of nursing. The exam was taken in the middle of the semester, so it gave me time to bring the grade up. However, the road to achieving greatness was filled with so much unnecessary stress. The one person that really helped me realize I wasn’t a lost cause was Dr. Hermann.
The next exam we had, I worked so hard to know all the content because the possibility of failing was weighing down on me, and that came with stressful costs. With the case of most nursing exams depending on the course, the amount you study can be exceptional, but can still result in a mediocre grade, no matter how long you study for. Dr. Hermann reached out to me herself and helped me through that overthinking, as well as truly put time and effort into helping me learn the content weeks prior to the rest of the exams. She made sure I had everything I needed to help me be successful in her class, and took hours out of her day to talk through content with me multiple times. She also always encouraged me, and believed in me more than I believed myself and that impacted me to the point where I realized that’s how I wanted to act and be towards others. She was never criticizing or judging my performance, and was always encouraging me to be the best I can be and perform exceptionally in my academia. Even after I took my final exam, she went out of her way to congratulate me individually on my performance and really acknowledge how I did. It made me realize she truly cared about her students and that’s the difference between a good and bad professor. A bad professor is one who only gives content and doesn’t take the time and effort to acknowledge and enhance a student’s place academically; A good professor is one who encourages her students to do better, and cares about their whole wellbeing, not just academically.
My professor inspires me greatly to lead my life with a large amount of optimism as well as living life by providing care to other individuals, even when off duty from nursing.