>> When I was in the eighth grade, year 2000, my father passed away with prostate cancer,
and my mother suffered a stroke shortly after that.
So what prompted me to go into nursing was just that whole year was pretty much spent
in a hospital, either with my dad, and after he passed away, my mom was flown to Jackson.
I'm from Ripland, Mississippi.
So that was some odd three, four hours away from us.
So pretty much when we would go on the weekends, me and my sister, we would just stay,
you know, stay at the hospital with mom.
And just seeing the nurses, how much they took care of mom, how much they took care of us
as well, that just really influenced me.
I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, and it was just those experiences
that really drove me to pursue a career in nursing, and then in 2007,
I was enrolled in nursing school.
The University of Mississippi offers satellite program here for the nursing BSN.
So I was able to stay in Oxford to complete my last two years of nursing school as opposed
to going to Jackson, Mississippi.
That was great because it was closer to home, and my mom survived.
Is doing good.
So I just wanted to be closer to her.
In 2009, I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Mississippi Medical Center,
and at that time, I started at the Tupelo Hospital,
North Mississippi Medical Center in neurosurgeon, orthopedics.
Did that for about two years.
Like I said, I transferred at that time to intensive care unit just
so I could know my patients better, spend a lot more time
with them, and I've been there ever since.
Currently employed there now.