Born to be a nurse
On May 23, 1990, Nicole Katherine Spinali
was born to parents Joseph and Karen Spinali. According to her mother, growing
up the blue eyed, blonde haired little girl was a very sweet child always
showing deep concern for the wellbeing of others.
“She was shy outside of the house, not as
shy as her sister was in all honesty, but when she was home, she was anything
but shy. Inside and in front of her family, she was a very funny and energetic
little girl. Her and her sister were little partners in crime,” said Karen
Spinali.
Today, in her early twenties, Spinali maintains
her girl next door appearance and is an intelligent, goal driving senior at
Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH.
As a student in their prestigious nursing
program, Spinali has recently celebrated her accomplishments by taking part in
the traditional Nursing Pining Ceremony, an event designed to mark the students’
completion of the program.
“I was so nervous and anxious that day, we
all were,” said Spinali, “I got over whelmed with emotion when everyone gave
use a standing ovation after receiving our nursing pins.”
Although many students enter into college
with uncertainty over what they wish to pursue, an event from her past so
greatly affected Spinali that her decision did not prove to be difficult.
“When I was younger, I visited a younger
cousin of mine in the hospital,” said Spinali, “He was in there for surgery and
I remember going to visit him and thinking how great it was to have so many
people there to comfort and care for him.”
Spinali admits that when deciding which
college to attend, she chose Saint Anselm College not only for its traditional and
beautiful college campus, but also for the reputation of its nursing program.
“Their program is known to be one of the
most unbeatable on the east coast,” said Spinali.
She freely admits however, that it would
be remiss of her to say that there were never times where she may have questioned
her choice to enroll in the program.
“I question my choice every day of my
life,” said Spinali laughing, “no I’m only teasing. In all seriousness, there
are stressful times for sure, but you find that in any major that you choose.
When you find a specialty that you truly love, in my case pediatrics, it all
becomes worth it.”
On one occasion, during her nursing
maternity rotation at a local hospital in near Manchester, NH, Spinali was
given the opportunity to help deliver and hold a newborn baby boy whose mother
she had been with since the start of her shift that morning. According to
Spinali, it was one of the highlights of her time in the nursing program.
With good times there are bound to also be
bad and Spinali wasn’t the only one to notice the intensity of the nursing
program.
“It wasn’t the easiest road for her I
know, but I never had any doubt that she could do it,” said her mother, Karen Spinali.
“She never came out of her room when she
said a test,” said one of Spinali’s best friends and fellow nursing student,
Anne Harrington, “no study breaks allowed!”
All of the hard work during the first
three years of her college career paid off as she landed a preceptorship at her
dream location, Boston’s Children’s Hospital, for the spring semester of her
senior year.
“It was a dream come true the day I found
out I would be able to work there even for a little bit,” said Spinali.
Spinali’s pinning ceremony recently took
place on Saturday, April 28, 2012. She celebrated her hard work and accomplishments
among friends and family and is set to graduate from the college on Saturday,
May 19, 2012.
As for those who are electing to follow in
her footsteps at the college, Spinali has a few words of advice.
“Don’t give up,” said Spinali, “as much as
you may want to at times and feel like you are way too overwhelmed, when you
finally get that moment of clarity where you find a specialty that you truly
love, all the stress doesn’t seem to matter anymore.”
Following in the medical footsteps of her
father, Nicole Spinali is certain that being a nurse is her life’s purpose and
friends and family could not agree more.
“Nursing is the perfect fit for her, it’s
very natural and matches well with her personality,” said Harrington.
“I was born to work with children, if I am
not doing that then I feel like I will not be fulfilling my life’s calling,”
said Spinali.
Click here to see Nicole's video interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YTmT_20mUk&feature=youtu.be
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