“Dear UCHealth Memorial Foundation Donors,
I am writing this letter to you to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for making the Excellence in Nursing scholarship possible. I was in disbelief when I read that you have selected me for this honor and I am beyond appreciative of your support in my pursuit of my BSN.
I am a junior at Colorado State University in Pueblo and have been paying for my degree out of pocket. The assistance that you are providing me will help me immensely in paying my expenses and will allow me to concentrate on furthering my education. When I was interviewed for this honor, I shared a brief story about the reason I am pursuing this degree with the board. I wanted to also share that story with you.
When I was 5 years old, my Grandpa and I walked through the front door of Beth-El Nursing School (before it was part of UCCS) and into a classroom full of students listening to a lecture. He didn’t know what was on the other side of the door, he just walked through it. The Professor stopped mid-sentence and asked him if he was lost. He calmly replied, “No ma’am. My Granddaughter said she wants to be a nurse when she grows up and I just want her to see what it’s like. She will be a nurse one day and I am hoping that by bringing her here, she will see that she can be whatever she wants to be and no one can stop her. I want her to be inspired by all of these women in this room.” And then something magical happened, all of the nursing students looked at me, smiled, and then began to clap and cheer for me and my Grandpa. We were allowed to sit in that classroom for the rest of the lecture and when it was over, that Professor gave me a nurse’s cap. I later painted a Red Cross on that cap with my Grandma’s favorite red nail polish. The point of this story is that he did this because I told him that I wanted to be a nurse, and he didn’t care what anyone thought about him when he walked into that classroom with me. It was 1977.
Fast forward to 2022, and here I am finally making that dream come true. Granted, I waited until later in life to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a nurse, but I am pursuing it nonetheless. My Grandparents passed away before I was accepted into the nursing program, but they did watch me work my way through all of the prerequisites to get here. I know in my heart that they are watching over me, (maybe had a hand in answering a few prayers) and are still cheering me on.
So, again, thank you so very much for your generosity and support. I will remain dedicated to my degree pursuit, give back to my community, inspire others, and continue to make you, my family, and UCHealth proud.”