To a 1st semester student,

Congratulations of making it to nursing school!! This is an amazing accomplishment that

deserves to be celebrated. I still remember my first day and the nerves I had. Going into this
program I knew 1 person out of 54. I can easily say I am friends with everyone in my cohort at
this point. I encourage you to gain those friendships, you are going to need the support for
these next 4 semesters. Being fully transparent, nursing school has been one of the toughest
things I have been through and multiple of my classmates agree. We worked up to this moment
under the impression that we must be perfect in every class, but that is not necessarily the case
now. Obviously, we still need to have good grades, but it is okay to struggle. I have gotten
straight B’s this entire program, but I am still about to start my dream job as a pediatric
oncology nurse. You can still manage to find time to study while having a fun personal life I
promise. Just keep in mind, if you fail your first exam in nursing school like I did, or any exam at
all, you will still become an amazing nurse. You would not be in this program if you wouldn’t.

Best of luck,
Katy Williams