Hi! My name is Kyra, and I am a 29-year-old licensed vocational nurse living in Long Beach, CA. It has been my lifelong goal to become a labor and delivery nurse and make an impact in the healthcare profession for all the patients I come in contact with and their families.

I have worked in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, home health, behavioral health, and now I am working as a private duty pediatric nurse. I never wanted to just stop here in my career and have always wanted to go back to nursing school to become an RN but thought it would have to be far in the future due to not having a big enough salary to cover my regular living expenses on top of schooling.

Regardless of the anxiety of "how am I going to make this work," I decided to take the leap of faith, enrolled in the BSN entrance exam, passed it, and started making my way into the program. As excited as I am to be back in school to pursue my goal, it has been just as equally anxiety-inducing about how I am going to afford it. I was told about the loan options, but when I tried to apply on my own, I was denied. I decided to reach out to friends and family to find out if anyone would be willing to co-sign, but unfortunately, that ended up not working in my favor either.

My dad, whom I lost to a car crash in 2022, was the one that would always help me financially when I was in a bind, but I thought that this time I would be able to handle this on my own. I have been applying to scholarships every time I see one come up, working extra shifts, just completely changing my lifestyle; however, I am still coming up short. I ultimately decided that it was time to reach out to the masses and ask for help. I understand that everyone is going through hardships and may not be able to support financially, but even just sharing my story would help tremendously. Thank you in advance to anyone that is willing to help!