About Me
Do you enjoy a challenge that asks the very best from you? Well, I've come to!
High School
Winning the county piano scholarship 4 years in a row,
Working 14 hour days in potato harvest,
Playing lead roles in drama productions like 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers',
Earning my Eagle Scout award,
Knocking doors in my community as part of a voter education project.
Missionary Service
As a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I served as a full-time missionary in the Baltic States speaking Russian. I spent two years teaching about my beliefs among people with whom, when I headed home, I left part of my heart. Those years teaching and serving, while walking through -30 Celsius blizzards, taught me how to smile during the rough times; it taught me how to look past the crusty exterior and see the heart inside.
Why Nursing
All through High School, I shadowed and worked for Dr. Tony Parsons, a veterinarian. I had my career with cattle and dogs all figured out!
However, after actually finding myself during my mission, I realized that I truly did love fixing booboos! I just needed to do it with real people; I needed to help real people with hopes, dreams, and fears--real people who's lives could be changed.
An Exceptional College Experience
Some might feel like a 3.96 GPA should be the highlight of college, but I am the most proud of the students I have helped.
I was the tutor for Anatomy & Physiology II, Pathophysiology, and Nursing 322. I worked with hundreds of students and I changed their college experience and, sometimes even, their lives.
I suppose that the 'exceptional' rating every semester from my students and my boss is something that could be proof of my success, but I define my success in experiences.
(See the story to the right)
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So, here I am!
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I still love rising above a challenge and giving my very best.
I am still exceptional in every effort I give.
But most importantly, I've come to love walking upwards with the people all around me.
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A Story of Success
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I met Susan (name changed) in my fifth semester. As we talked for the first time, she told me that she had always wanted to be a nurse but (after taking Anat & Phys II once in a previous semester) that she hadn't met the minimum grade requirements needed to reach her dream. She was ready to try it again, but this semester was the 'make it or break it' for her future. I explained that success depended, first, on the effort that she put in; I then explained my expectations as her tutor--and she lived up to those expectations!
Week after week, she would show up for her appointment carrying her notebook with plain brown pages. She would always flip it open to a sticky note or two with little tiny writing--and she'd start asking her questions from those little cards. After answering her specific questions, we'd go over the material with her teaching me and I'd ask questions or make corrections along the way.
She got an 'A' in that class and then came to see me every week all the way though Pathophysiology. Every week she had those same sticky notes, but the questions got better and deeper every time I saw her. She got hired on to tutor, and then to tutor Anat & Phys II!--the same class she had struggled with just a few semester earlier. She excelled in Pathophysiology and received her acceptance to the nursing program--I wish you could have seen how excited she was!
It wasn't long ago that I ran into her wearing her nursing program scrubs. The huge smile on her face as she thanked me making her dream possible warms my heart just thinking about it.
Susan's story is like so many other students that I have come to care for deeply. I could tell you about sitting next to them as they sob out their frustration and their hopelessness; I could make you smile with funny stories about the goofy analogies that we've made up together; My eyes would smile as I recount to you all the amazing lightbulb moments and all the life-long friendships that represent my legacy as a tutor.
I'd only be kind of joking if I told you that I am legend.
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"You're one of the best tutors we've ever had"
-Trulee Ann Stocking (Tutoring Center Director)
