Jasmine White ’17 is working to become an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), a career path that only became apparent once she learned and accepted the importance of “pivoting” through life so that her dreams, goals, and action plans always align with her truest self.

Jasmine always wanted to be an Emergency Room physician. At SUA, she took a heavy load of STEM courses to prepare for her upcoming pre-medicine curriculum in college. After graduating with honors, she earned a full academic scholarship to the University of Toledo to major in Biology/Pre-Medicine.

She soon realized her downtime had dwindled down to barely 30 minutes each day between studying and class time. Her mental and physical fatigue led to less than desirable grades; she knew something had to change. She also began to wonder if she had truly found her niche in the medical field or was just holding onto her original career plan because she felt shame about giving up a dream.

Jasmine began crafting a plan to get back on the path of success.  She realized the core of her desire to become a doctor was her innate passion for helping others. After further research, Jasmine found her niche as a Nurse Practitioner, which was the perfect blend of diagnosing and treating patients while having ample time to get to know them, provide useful information, and form a bond in a medical setting.

After completing her bachelor's degree at UT in December 2021, Jasmine was accepted to the Master's in Nursing program at UT. She plans to graduate in 2024; then, she will continue her education to become an APRN.

Jasmine says her future is bright because she realized that it is fine for dreams to change; people need to balance life with realistic expectations based on the circumstances. Now, she can pursue a career that will fully satisfy her whole self, and she looks forward to completing her journey.