First, I want to acknowledge Valerie Matthews (Membertou) and Jake Cremo (We’koma’q), who raised me to respect and care for elders. From a young age, I knew I wanted a career focused on helping them. Inspired by my mother’s stories as a PCW and watching Membertou nurses care for our elders, I realized nursing was my calling.
In the summer of 2021, I began taking prerequisite courses at Sydney Adult High School to prepare for the 2022 academic year after missing the initial application deadline. That same summer, L’nu nurse Madelaine O’Reilly approached me at my summer job at the Membertou Heritage Park and asked if I was still interested in nursing. She informed me of an extended admissions deadline at CBU for L’nu nursing students. With her guidance, I applied and was accepted into the 2021 cohort.
During my second term at CBU, I failed my statistics course. However, with the support of Unama’ki College and Wilfred Prosper from Membertou, I retook the course and passed.
Throughout my nursing clinicals, I often encountered L’nu patients who spoke Mi’kmaw.
