Help me go to Johns Hopkins Nursing Program

Hello and thank you for reading my gofundme page. My name is Miriam Peguero. I am a 44-year-old woman, born and raised in Puerto Rico and have been living in Los Angeles for the past 22 years.

I always knew I wanted to be a caregiver. Life had taken me through different paths. Then during the pandemic, it materialized that it was my turn to follow my dream and become a nurse. I have just been accepted to Johns Hopkins School of Nursing to complete their Master in Nursing Program but I need financial assistance to be able to make this dream come true.

Why now? you may ask. The reality is that I've been living in survival mode for most of my life. It was less than 15 years ago I learned about my mental health diagnosis. Still, because of the stigma and embarrassment I tried to keep going on with my "normal" life. Years later the death of a friend through suicide shook me to my core. It didn’t take long for me to crash, which forced me to make the greatest and hardest decision in my life, get help.

For the past 5 years, I've been very honest about my journey. I have made new friends and lost others. It is very hard work and is something I work on every day. Still, this process brought me back to my dream. While working on myself I got to meet many nurses. Many took care of me in some of my darkest, hardest times. This hard process was the way for me to learn about what I wanted to be. I wanted to be able to help others and care for them as they had cared for me.

During the pandemic, I felt the need to be doing more, so I went ahead and took all my prerequisites and started applying to different nursing schools. Being accepted into one of the top nursing schools in the country is more than an honor. For me, it also proves that I am exactly where I need to be. Johns Hopkins requires that you become a full-time student as their Master of Science in Nursing is an accelerated, rigorous program. As a single adult woman, this means I need full financial support. Here is where you can help.

Expenses start the second I hold my seat for the fall semester with a $500 nonrefundable fee. Getting ready for nursing school is already expensive. At this time I've had to pay for a rigorous background check, medical requirements not covered by insurance like vaccines and drug tests, books, uniforms and health insurance. Still, I have travel, housing deposits, furniture, etc. plus tuition which are all due before I receive any financial aid if any is awarded. Below is an estimate given by Johns Hopkins for 2022 expenses a 3% increase is projected for 2023.

Those of you who know me, my journey, how hard I've worked to get here and how passionate I am about becoming a nurse may be able to understand why I am reaching out to make this possible. For those of you that I am yet to meet I am asking for the opportunity to help me pay it forward. I am forever grateful to you for considering helping me in this journey. No donation is too small.

Thank you