More Valuable Than Riches
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After graduating from the University of Georgia in 2003 with a degree in French and Speech Communication, I had a great opportunity to work in a rural physicians family practice.  I was trained as a Medical Assistant by a very patient RN with over 50 years of nursing experience.  She was 71 years old and ran circles around all of us in the office. Working beside her truly changed my life.  I am a better person today because of the guidance and expertise that she poured into me and from watching her care every day for people who respected and trusted her.

 

During my employment at the doctors office, I began to consider the field of public health.  I was accepted into the MPH program at Tulane University and moved to New Orleans two weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit.  Katrina changed everyones life, including mine when classes were abruptly cancelled after the storm. 

 

The Johns Hopkins University graciously opened its doors to many students who were displaced by the hurricane.  I attended the Bloomberg School of Public Health for one quarter until I walked into the School of Nursing--and I have not looked back since.  The people at the school were open, warm, receptive, and encouraging.  Nursing itself allows me to give compassion and holistic care to my patients, and to contribute to the change of an individuals life.  I believe everything happens for a reason, and the School of Nursing is exactly where I am supposed to be.

 

After completing the accelerated baccalaureate nursing program this July, I will spend a year as a nurse clinician in the ICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  In fall 2008, I will begin the Johns Hopkins MSN program.  I believe that education is more important than many of the riches people often boast about having, because knowledge can travel with a person no matter the location or distance. I am excited about having this opportunity at one of the finest schools in the world and am doing my best to make the most out of this experience.

 

I would eventually love to apply my nursing knowledge with my previous degree in French to serve French-speaking countries in Africa.  The Accelerated Program has already provided me with an opportunity to combine my interests in French and nursingas a student in the Public Health Nursing course, I conducted my clinical rotation in Haiti, where French and Creole are spoken.  Thanks in part to the Judith Franklin Campbell Scholarship, I am growing in my ability to contribute to peoples lives and am striving to become a leader in the field of nursing.

 

 

-Jessica Pardue, Accelerated '07