"Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final." - Rainer Maria Rilke What a year this has been. If I had known back in freshman year that I would finish out my final semester of college from self-quarantine due to a massive global pandemic, I'm not sure I would have believed it.
This is a time that is undeniably going to influence the rest of my life, for better or for worse. As I reflect on the past four years of college while looking forward to an uncertain future, I am choosing to remain hopeful and positive. I'll admit it's difficult, and that I have suffered countless disappointments these past few months, but there are so many things that I have learned and experienced throughout my college career - both within the College of Nursing and the University Honors Program - that I cannot honestly say I wouldn't do this all again if given the opportunity. This year, I completed my final year in the BSN program through the UC CoN. In the fall, I engaged in my psychiatric clinical rotation at Cincinnati Children's College Hill facility, where I worked with pediatric and adolescent patients with a variety of mental health conditions. I also had my community clinical rotation at Hopewell Early Childhood School in West Chester, OH, where I worked with the school nurse to care for students in grades K-2. I truly enjoy working with children, so both of these experiences were incredibly beneficial. Surprisingly, I developed a love for school nursing - something I never expected to enjoy so much - and have considered going into a school nursing career at some point. In the spring semester, I was accepted into my first choice specialty (the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU) for my final Role Transition clinical, in which students are expected to complete 200 clinical hours in preparation of a transition to practice as a registered nurse. I was fortunate enough to spend 145 hours in the NICU at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, KY before in-person clinicals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this time, I learned valuable information about how to care for newborn infants from 25-42 weeks of gestation, including those in incubators or on CPAP/mechanical ventilation. I never believed in a "calling" until I discovered NICU nursing. Throughout my college career, I have been able to shadow in three NICUs, as well as volunteering for two years in Good Samaritan Hospital's NICU as a "cuddler." There is something about this patient population that makes even the most difficult 12-hour shifts feel like a joy and a blessing. I so desperately want to find a job in this field after becoming licensed as an RN, and I am hopeful that it will be where I spend the majority of my career. In terms of the UHP, I completed two honors experiences this year: the "Crime, Kids, and Abuse" seminar during the fall semester and "The Black Body in European Art" course in the spring (which had an additional study abroad component that was cancelled due to travel restrictions). In "Crime, Kids, and Abuse," I learned about a great deal of psychological concepts regarding how childhood abuse of all kinds impacts the developing brain, as well as legislature for individuals under 18 who commit a violent crime - particularly those with a history of abuse. This seminar was an extension of the "Kids Who Kill" seminar I took my junior year and expanded on many of the concepts discussed in that course. Through a variety of books, films, and readings, I was exposed to a plethora of stories about abused children who went on to commit violent crimes and/or abuse others themselves. Through class discussions and reflection papers, I was challenged to analyze the situation through a variety of lenses and develop my own thoughts and opinions about this troubling issue. In "The Black Body in European Art," I learned about paintings and other visual art from the 6th century to the present day, with a focus on works by European artists featuring black and African subjects. Art history is something that really fascinates me and I had not previously had the opportunity to take a class like this during high school or college. It was wonderful to learn about such a vast amount of art, as well as how to understand the visual aspect of these works in regard to the greater historical context. As I anticipate graduation and the "real world" after college, I continue to reflect on the experiences I've had in both the BSN program and through my honors experiences. I can honestly say I have learned so much about myself these past four years, including how I think and my own personal way of viewing the world. I have been challenged to look beyond myself to the greater local and global communities, using my own unique skills to make the world a better place. I have enjoyed my time at UC and it is bittersweet to see this time end. The view from the observation deck at Carew Tower
An installation at the Blink event, downtown Cincinnati
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Graffiti on the Purple People Bridge in downtown Cincinnati
My scrubs, after a 12-hour Role Transition shift in the NICU
A friend and I, attending the Cincinnati Coffee Festival
Visiting the Cincinnati Zoo for their Festival of Lights
Me spending some time with my favorite tree, Burnet Woods
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