医疗保健背后的核心： CTRA学者萨曼莎·里尼是如何从追随音乐的节奏转变为追随她对病人护理的热情的

作为一名竞争激烈的现代舞舞者超过15年，偶尔的疼痛对萨曼莎·里尼（萨曼莎里）来说绝非寻常。 “Injuries were my normal,” she casually stated, so when she acquired her last injury during her junior year of high school, she didn’t realize how bad it truly was.

一个月后，萨曼莎开始感到腰痛。 到了第二个月，她的双腿开始失去知觉。 一天上课时，她的膝盖完全无力，瘫倒在地板上。 不久之后，萨曼莎被发现患有L5-S1椎间盘突出。 在看了无数的医生、理疗师、按摩师，并接受了多轮可的松注射后，萨曼莎被迫挂起了她的舞鞋。 “It was a big piece of me,” Samantha admitted, “but thankfully, dancing taught me to push through and keep going.”

走向另一个方向的一步： 把焦点转向成功

在关闭了舞蹈梦想的大门之后，萨曼莎为她的未来找到了一个新的焦点。 After spending countless hours in doctor’s offices and waiting rooms, it’s no surprise that Samantha was captivated by a career in nursing. “I’ve always been a very caring and empathetic person,” she recognized.

萨曼莎讲述了她早期作为一个体贴的看护者的经历。 “My grandma had fallen on ice, hurt her hip, and was staying at our house for a little bit,” Samantha shared. “She is older and needed help getting to the bathroom. And even though I had school in the morning, I remember staying up the entire night to make sure that I would be awake to help her if she needed to get up and navigate through the house in the dark.”

当谈到她的教育时，萨曼莎有一种预感，她可能会从小就专注于护理。 “I was always told by my family that I should go into healthcare because I care that much about other people,” Samantha said. So when she became a student of Connecticut River Academy ’s Early College Program, Samantha was “readying [herself] for the nursing program at Goodwin.”

正巧：值得鼓掌的学术课程

“My local high school had early college classes, but it was different because you were in class with other high school students, whereas with CTRA’s Early College Program, I was able to walk right down the street to Goodwin and take college classes with adults,” Samantha explained. 作为“早期大学”模式的一部分，大二和大三的学生要学习包括大学预科、公开演讲、英国文学和心理学等主题的前沿课程。 一旦通过高级课程，他们将在周一和周三与其他CTRA学者一起开始为期半天的大学课程。 到大四的时候，CTRA的早期大学学生将与皇冠app的学生一起上课。

“It was a smooth transition,” Samantha conveyed. “Because of CTRA’s Early College Program, I was able to start college classes a lot sooner.” Appreciative of CTRA’s easy academic progression, Samantha shaved a year off of college, tuition-free (including books). “I didn’t have to pay for any of it,” Samantha indicated. “I don’t know how I would have gone to college not having this experience. CTRA helped me learn what a college class was going to be like, and ultimately set me up for success.”

为富有同情心的事业谢幕

Now an accomplished student in 皇冠app’s 护理学副学士 program, Samantha is capitalizing on the convenience of 自定义类 that fit around her schedule. “I completed a lot of my prerequisites online, and I’ve been attending my 护理类 at night,” Samantha detailed. “I’ve also attended morning, afternoon, and weekend clinicals,” she added.

When asked about her experience with Goodwin professors, Samantha’s point of view was a positive one. “The professors are willing to work with you no matter what,” she shared. “I’m not afraid to go up to them with any questions, or to meet with them outside of class to go over exams. 我也愿意与临床顾问和其他学生交流。 You don’t feel like you blend in with everybody at Goodwin, and the classrooms are small enough that you feel like you’re noticed.”

萨曼莎将于2020年12月从皇冠app毕业。 “I’ve always wanted to be proud of my accomplishments and to make my parents proud,” Samantha said, smiling. 萨曼莎从以前的舞蹈生涯中走出来后感到很舒服，她期待着在医疗外科和行为健康领域从事旅行任务的可能性。 From monitoring musical beats to now honing in on the heartbeat of healthcare, Samantha hopes to go back to school for her BSN with the ultimate goal of earning her Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) degree.

“Being at Goodwin made me take a step back and say, ‘This is what I really want to do,’” Samantha reflected. “Towards the end, the nursing program prepares you for whatever life is going to throw at you.” And, as someone who has fallen and gotten back up time and time again, Samantha encourages other students that “even broken wings can fly” and that they, too, “can always get up, heal, and learn.”

Learn more about Goodwin’s 护理学副学士 today!