Ashley Goes to Nursing School!

Hi, I'm Ashley Mangino (the Other Ashley), and I'm fundraising for my dear friend Ashley Nick to get through nursing school. Ashley Nick and I met in college and worked together for many years at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church. Ashley is the most cheerful person I have ever met, and as the proverb goes, "a cheerful heart is good medicine." Who better to be a nurse than Ashley Nick? No one! She is truly the best of the best, and I know she will bring healing to many hurting people through this vocation. I hope you will consider supporting her on her journey to becoming a nurse. Here's her story in her own words:

Dear Friends and Family,

I am so excited to get my nursing degree! I will be starting nursing school at Biola University this fall and will be finished in December 2024. This was my dream over 18 years ago, when Autumn (my oldest) was born and I'm so excited to be coming back to it.

Since 2019, I have been supporting myself and my 4 kids working as many part time jobs as I could just trying to survive. When COVID hit, and my income went down, I decided I needed to finish my degree and put my energy into having a stable profession that would pay the bills. I have always been eager to become a nurse and am grateful to be closer than ever to being one.

I’ve been working steadily and have now finished all the prerequisite classes. In January, I applied again to Biola's nursing school and was accepted! It's a tough program to get into, so I was excited when I found out I was accepted in March. The acceptance letter is still on my refrigerator. The degree I am pursuing is an RN and a BSN.

Biola is $44,000 a year, and of course, I still have living expenses. I am eligible for quite a bit of financial aid, which is amazing. I have also received three smaller scholarships from Biola donors and gifts from my church. My needs right now are mostly what the university would call "room and board." I am my family's sole financial provider, and my part-time jobs are not enough to cover these expenses. I am a single mom of 4 teens. With the help of friends and family, I am trying to raise $24,000 for this next year (2,000 a month to cover my rent and utilities).

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated! Please reach out personally if you would like to re-connect or have questions. The story of our lives is long and the road we travel is circuitous; I am happy to have my winding road bring me back to Biola and nursing. Thanks for your support.