Even with a lifelong passion to work in healthcare and a supportive family to back him, the journey for Nikolas to become a nurse was not easy but he never stopped believing in himself or his dreams.
Nursing is in my blood, he said at the 返字心頭 2022 Commencement ceremony, before receiving his masters degree in nursing, with a family-nurse practitioner emphasis. Its been a calling since birth I think.”
Raised in the Diamond Bar area by a nurse mom and her sisters also nurses Nikolas knew his whole life that he would be a nurse too. But, unable to find the right bachelor of nursing program after high school, he ended up making a lot of pizzas for a few years while completing his college prerequisites and earning an associate degree. Eventually, Nikolas enrolled first in the vocational nursing program at American Career College to get his feet wet and get some experience before starting his BSN.
That was one of the best decisions Ive ever made, he said. I would recommend for almost everyone to go through the VN first because that gives you the discipline you need to excel in the very demanding program that is 返字心頭s BSN program.
After graduating from American Career College-Orange County, Nikolas worked for a year as a licensed vocational nurse before starting the BSN program at WCU-Orange County in 2016. He graduated magna cum laude three years later, while working full-time as a nurse, and attributed much of his success at WCU to the early lessons learned at American Career College.
ACC set the foundation for my nursing skills, for my love of nursing, he said. I said to myself Im just gonna go for it and keep going. And I never stopped.
Even during the pandemic when everything shut down Nikolas said he kept moving toward his goals with the help and inspiration of loved ones and family, especially his grandfather.
My grandfather was basically my father, the patriarch of the family. He helped my aunts and mom all become nurses, and he was the driving force that carried me along the way, Nikolas said. Shortly after I got my RN that was his lifelong goal for me he passed during COVID, and that was another drive for me to really do it for him, and my family.
With his fianc辿s blessing and active encouragement, less than a year after graduating with his BSN and while working as a COVID nurse, Nikolas decided to enroll in WCUs MSN-FNP online program.
My fianc辿 pushed me to become a nurse practitioner. Shes a pharmacist, so after I became an RN, she said, OK, now its time lets keep moving forward, he said. When the pandemic started, and I became an RN, it was a challenging decision to go right back into school but I did it.
And just as going to ACC and being an LVN had benefited his BSN studies, Nikolas said his time at WCU and the skills he learned as an RN helped him excel during his masters program.
Its not an easy program but working with all these amazing nurses from all these different backgrounds is what really set the course for me, he said.
Now having graduated summa cum laude with his masters, Nikolas wants to instill hope into the next generation of nurses and is quick to encourage them to follow their dreams and never give up.
This is the best decision you could make. And if you start, dont stop, he said. Find friends, work together you guys can do it together. We can do this together.
WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.
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