Rita Williams
My name is Rita Williams. I am married and the mother of three children. Their ages and genders are: 21/F, 15/F & 11/M. I am currently a Registered Nurse working in a small hospital in North Carolina.
I graduated from high school in June of 1986. Wow, that was a big year for me. I also got married at the age of 17 and had a child before November of that year. Needless to say, I made my walk through life a lot harder. I worked for a few years at local sewing factories and even delivering newspapers for a living. In the meantime, I divorced by age 21. I should have listened to my parents!
I had a very serious automobile accident when I was 22. My mother and I were going shopping that morning and a lady pulled out in front of me as I was driving at 55 MPH. I never had a chance to hit the brakes. I was hospitalized with serious internal injuries and required emergency abdominal surgery to repair my ruptured internal organs. My mom had a slight concussion but was otherwise okay.
During my hospitalization, I was very fortunate to witness several kinds of nursing care. I saw nurses that meant well but were very overwhelmed. I saw nurses that you could plainly see were only there to collect a paycheck. These nurses had absolutely no caring or compassion in the carrying out of their duties. I also saw nurses that gave their everything to make me as comfortable and calm as possible. One nurse made time to help me wash the blood and glass out of my hair. This was days after the accident! After helping me shampoo and comb my hair, she helped me to put in my contact lenses and apply a little makeup to cover some of the bruises on my face. She could only do so much due to all the stitches around my mouth and chin. But even that little bit helped my outlook and attitude so much! Before I was discharged from the hospital I had decided that I wanted to go to college to become a Nurse. I wanted to be one of the good nurses and I wanted to make a difference in someone elses life!
I remarried in 1991 and had my second child in October of 1992. I was still working in factories at that time. I was finally able to go to the local community college to get an Associate's Degree in Nursing. I enrolled in August of 1994.
My husband worked seven days a week for nearly the entire time that I was in school. I attended classes Monday through Friday and worked every Friday and Saturday night; twelve hour shifts! My parents had a big hand in helping me to raise my daughters during those two years! I graduated in May of 1996 and passed my state boards 2 months later. I had my last child, (finally a son!) in September of that year. I have been constantly employed in the nursing profession since then.
I have always wanted to continue my education and earn a Bachelors of Science in Nursing but there are so many obstacles! I cannot commute more than an hour each way to take classes at a 4 year university. I have three kids and a husband to care for! I must continue to work full time in order to help support my family. I also cannot afford the tuition. I want to be a great role model for my children but it seems so hard to accomplish the things that I am preaching at them. Stay in school, go to college, get a degree, set goals and reach them.
If I were able to return to school and get my degree, I would be eligible for more types of jobs in the nursing field. There is much more chance for advancement and it would open up quite a few more opportunities. I think that the opportunity to get my degree online would be a wonderful thing. There is no doubt that it would be more family friendly and less time consuming (no travel time).
My husband has encouraged me to go back to school for my bachelor's degree but there is no way that we can fit it into the budget and there are no scholarships out there for people like me! Well, at least not until this one! Thank you so much for this opportunity and for supporting working mothers. I will continue to provide great nursing care to my patients and continue to search for ways to better myself and improve my legacy to my children. After all, I promised myself that I would be One of the good ones!