The End of an Era

You always hear about how hard university is but you never hear the talks about the transition, the struggle of figuring out where you fit in nor what makes it so hard...... now throw in completing your final year of nursing school during the height of a global pandemic.

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Despite the abrupt end of 3rd year, starting off my 4th year was eerily frightening to say the least. The world had shuttered down in response to the quickly growing pandemic and just a few months prior, universities were forced to close as everywhere went into lockdown. But of course, a mere 5 months later we had to learn how to navigate how to "keep it pushin" when it came to getting this degree. Honestly, only by the grace of God did I align myself over the duration of my degree to set myself up to only have to focus on practicum/clinical placement during my last year of school which meant I narrowly escaped having to experience "zoom university". All the summers spent doing a full course-load and the barely required load during the academic year seemed to have payed off as I honestly don't know how I would've faired learning the content meant to equip me for my career online. Nursing theory is difficult to conceptualize on its own, let alone when it can't fully be realized when presented via an online format that it was never intended to be delivered ass.

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Before I get into the introspection of the more nitty gritty of actually fairing my final placements, I feel like I should paint a picture of how my final year authentically looked. I was amidst my second year of being Editor-in-Chief for my university's year book and had to grapple with producing a product that reflected a year truly like no other. With barely any in-person (a new term we had to get used to referring to) events, or any at all really, it was a struggle to create a physical book that told the story of what the year entailed while working with very little; especially when our traditional way of getting content for the book didn't quite fit the bill (ie just sending photographers out to random events we would get wind of happening around campus). But despite the challenge, I worked with an amazing team that was able to pull through and help create an amazing book that I am extremely proud of and look back on every once in a while.

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A new addition to my roster of responsibilities that year was taking on the position as a student elect Board of Governors position for the university. On a whim, I decided to give it a whirl and when the votes came in I had somehow managed to win. I was thrust into a world that I was never really aware of and gained an alternative perspective of governance within higher education. Looking back now, I think sitting in on those meetings gave me insight into the workings of an institution that many find themselves apart of that seems so untouchable or unable to infiltrate. But alas, despite not saying much, I found my time on the board uncovering my enjoyment for policy; which can be transferrable to any field if you look hard enough! This addition was not originally in the plan of "having a chill final year of uni" but it was definitely gladly welcomed.

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If you couldn't guess by now, I seemed to have an inability to just chill out and ride out my final year without doing a million and one things. So naturally, I found myself joining my student union by ways of a temporary position to help work through a case of misconduct within their executive team as a black representative. With racist undertones lining the case, I found myself participating in meetings to help offering the alternative perspective of someone who has never been involved with the student union but rather a thoroughly engaged black individual who had contributed to student life over the years during my time at university.