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I am 27 years old . My real jobs include being a mom and wife, and working full time
as a NICU nurse at University of Maryland Hospital. I also volunteer at Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department.
I used to ride as an EMT/IV tech, but since having Jack, I don't really feel the need to use my free time at the station anymore.
I prefer to spend it with Jack and Archie. Now I just help with administrative things at the station like doing fire
stats, etc. Most of the time I like my many jobs, but as with any job, they all have their moments.
I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Growing up I played the violin, played softball,
served as an altar server at church, participated in Girl Scouts, and volunteered at an assisted living facility.
I attended Catonsville High School for four years, and I had a blast. I didn't realize it then,
because I wanted to be a big time college girl, but I would soon realize what I shouldn't have been wishing away. I
think one of the best memories I have from high school was going to the dances, homecomings were maybe the most funfilled,
not too many frills, but a nice balance. Proms were second, I went to three senior proms, and one junior prom in my
four years there, and I think the most fun may have been my senior prom. It was bittersweet, but it was the most memorable
prom I had.
After graduation I moved onto UMBC where I was a biology major (wanted to do pre-med) for the first
year. Interesting how my mind was changed, many of you know the story, however, many do not. I had to "work" (volunteer
was more like it) for part of my financial aid. I was placed at University of MD Hospital and was asked what I was interested
in. I told the director of volunteer services that I was interested in working with babies or children, that I might
like to go somewhere like the nursery. Well, they had a spot in the NICU. So I volunteered there for a year, then
in the ER (boy did I find out how much I didn't want to work in an ER the rest of my life), and then in Labor and Delivery
(which just really sucked to be completely honest). The NICU nurses were awesome, very caring for the kids, and they
really ran the unit, the docs just were there for the emergent management. The nurses had a lot of autonomy which is
what I noticed. I also began to think about what I wanted for the rest of my life. I wasn't keen on spending a
ton of time in school, I didn't want to be on call all the time, and I wanted to raise a family and have time for a family,
not be married to my job. Thus, a nurse was discovered. I switched my major, took an extra year, and then off
I went to nursing school.
I attended University of Maryland School of Nursing, and let me just tell you that nursing school
shouldn't be wished on your worst enemy. It was pure hell. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, yeah well,
nursing school damn near killed half of us. It didn't help that I worked full-time during most of college and nursing
school, or that I had to do clinicals on top of work and class time. Anyway, I graduated in 2003, and have been very
happy since, thank God.
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