Originally from Severna Park, MD, I moved to West Virginia at the beginning of my freshman year of high school and graduated from Preston High School. If you asked me what my ideal career would be when I started high school, I would have told you that I would be an attorney. That’s right. I fully intended on going to law school. During my junior year of high school, I had fulfilled all of the requisite courses to graduate in addition to taking general education college courses at night.

I grew up in Rockville Centre, a suburb of New York City on Long Island. During my high school summers, I volunteered at a summer camp for adults and children with special needs. Working with people with developmental disabilities and having exposure to their unique health care needs from such a young age are initially what inspired me to become a nurse and ultimately to pursue an oncology specialty.

Growing up in Clayton, North Carolina, I have been interested in medicine since I was very young and wanted to become a forensic pathologist at the age of 11. When I was 15, I began working as an EMS cadet. I learned that I loved the adrenaline of responding to an emergency and decided at that time I wanted to respond to emergencies. I still do this in my current job, but my responsibilities look very different.

Originally from Dubuque, Iowa, I graduated from Simpson College with a BA in Rhetoric & Speech. I originally planning to be an analyst with the CIA, but, during my senior year in college, I had a life changing moment. My roommate had a grand mal seizure one day in front of me, and I had to do some quick thinking to help her. The feeling was so intense I knew I needed to completely change my path and go into nursing, so I did. I never looked back, and I have no regrets.

I grew up in a country where resources were limited. I had the privilege of attending an institution that draws inspiration from the teachings of St. Ignatius, promoting the member to strive for excellence in every aspect of life; to be there for others. While completing my undergraduate degree, I participated in multiple outreach programs in the underprivileged portion of the Philippine community, allowing me to experience life in another's shoes, a life where the smallest resources were scarce.