Meet Braeden.

Why do you want to be a nurse?

The bottom line is, I like to help people. It makes me really happy to see a patient’s condition improve from when they first came in. I also really like being a light for patients in a dark place. If I can make someone forget they are ill for five seconds, and just make them smile, it makes my entire week. I feel like this is what I was supposed to do. I also want to honor my mother, who was a nurse who passed away when I was young. Her compassion for her patients was benchmarked by receiving multiple Daisy awards during her short career. She had a gift of making people feel truly cared for, and that torch has been passed down to me.

What does the Pledge Ceremony mean to you?

The pledge ceremony represents the end of some things and the beginning of others. I never thought I would be a college educated person and those self imposed thoughts have always weighed me down. This ceremony will end that chapter of self doubt, while at the same time marking the beginning of the rest of my life.

Why did you choose WVU School of Nursing?

If you would have asked me in high school if I would have been accepted into college, I would have thought you were crazy. I had extremely low self esteem and never thought I could amount to anything substantial. I knew that I had drive deep within but it had never felt like anyone had given me a chance to prove myself. That’s where WVU comes in. They accepted me as a pre-nursing student and this meant that I finally had my opportunity to prove myself. WVU did not judge me on my past of sub-par academics. They let me start clean my freshman year, and apply to the program with my freshman grades. I took this opportunity and ran with it, finishing freshman year with a 3.5 GPA, and a phenomenal study abroad experience in Cyprus. After getting accepted into the program, I could not even put into words how that made me feel. I am forever grateful for the opportunity that has been presented to me. Thank you to all that were involved, you are appreciated.

What do you hope to do after graduation?

Post graduation, I would like to work in the ED at Ruby Memorial, while also coming back for a masters degree at WVU. Eventually, I would like to work alongside my clinical instructors (Mrs. Cyr, Mrs. Tuttle, Dr. Curran) and help people learn.