My educational experience began in St. Raguel church school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, before moving to the United States at age 19. I grew up in a close-knit family with my father, stepmother, brothers and sisters, and it was extremely difficult to leave them in order to pursue my academic career across the globe. But my father always encouraged me to do well in school and pursue my dreams. He still does. So hard choices aside, I knew it was something I needed to do. I went to Gateway H.S. my senior year, and it wasn’t always easy assimilating to American culture since it was so different than that of my home country. After applying to various colleges, I decided to attend Community College of Aurora because of the reasonable tuition and proximity to my place of residence. I tested into advanced ESL classes and learned so much from those courses. I am currently taking my prerequisites with the hopes of transferring into a four-year nursing program. It’s my fervent hope over the next five years that I not only graduate from nursing school, but also apply and attend medical school. I have always wanted to be a doctor or to work in the medical field. I want to help people who are in need and in pain. Nursing will give me the four-year degree that will allow me to apply for medical school.