After my younger brother passed away in a tragic motorcycle accident in 2018, I did not think I was emotionally prepared to come back to work. Walking onto my unit, the sadness of my brother surrounded me, but I knew as an oncology nurse my patients looked to me for support. I put on my best face and separated my personal struggles from my duty to my patients. To my surprise that very evening, which marked the last day of my bereavement period, I was surprised by the celebration of winning the esteemed Daisy award. This recognition reminded me of why I became a nurse. I was so proud and honored to receive the Daisy Award out of the many nurses employed at Moffitt Cancer Center. The Daisy Award was established to celebrate the extraordinary compassion nurses provide their patients and families every day nominated by patients. Knowing that I am a Daisy nurse is the thing that I am most proud of in my career as a nurse. Since childhood, I knew nursing would be "the" career for me. My mother and my aunt are both nurses, and I witnessed how their knowledge and compassion played its part in our family. My mother and aunt are seen as trustworthy and a resource when family members did not understand health care related topics ranging from medication administration to their plan of care. I became a nurse to fulfill my dream of being an advocate for patients just like my mother and aunt are for their patients and family members. Now that I am a nurse, I love the feeling of being an advocate and trustworthy resource to my family, friends, and patients. In August of 2019, I enrolled in a nursing master's program at the University of South Florida (USF), studying to be a family nurse practitioner. Unfortunately, graduate school and work has become increasingly challenging due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Because I work in a hospital that specialized in cancer, budget cuts were necessary in order to keep our organization afloat. For example, the second quarter of 2020 required that all employees utilize 40 hours of their paid time off (PTO) hours in order to meet the hospital's budget goals. Furthermore, due to COVID-19, USF has transitioned to fully online learning including laboratory classes, where nurse practitioner students receive hands-on skills training such as mastering suturing techniques. However, because students could not physically be on campus, I bought my own equipment such as practice suturing kits, ophthalmoscope kits, etc., to facilitate the hands-on learning I need as a nurse practitioner student. My fiancé is currently in his first year of pharmacy school, and I am the sole provider for our monthly income. Although it is a challenge, my fiancé and I work as a team to manage our finances. When times get tough, my fiancé and I look at our end goal to open up a clinic where patients can be seen by a provider and obtain prescriptions at the same location, which may increase patient’s adherence to treatment regimens. My fiancé and I view this challenge as experience to future budgeting when we open our own establishment. With this scholarship, I am confident I will be able to use this grant to further my education and ease some of the financial burdens that COVID-19 has costed to my fiancé and me. Thank you for your consideration.