Hi friends,
I am so pleased to bring you another addition of the “SoulShine” Series! Today’s feature is one of the sweetest people I ever met! Stefanie Stephens is incredibly kind and humble. I first met Stefanie when she was an Acute Care Nursing Assistant in the Family Birthplace. She was a joy to work with. She is a highly motivated individual and I loved hearing her speak about her future goals and dreams. She said she was going to work hard and become a nurse….and that is EXACTLY what she did!! I’m not talking about years later, she started toward her goals right then and there! Here is more about Stefanie in her own words:
– Stefanie Louise Stephens- born in Angeles City Clark Air Base Pampanga Philippines. I have been practicing Geriatric nursing for over 3 years now and I am very proud to say that I have been in a Federal service for the last year and a half , serving our Armed Forces Veterans. I am a nature and animal lover! (I have 4 dogs and 1 cat which keeps me busy and sane at home.) I like to go on road trips and hiking on my free time. I also love water, I enjoy water sports or just simply walking along the beach and enjoy the beauty of the sun set. Those are the things that I try to do for fun. The latest addition to these, I recently joined a Muay Thai & Kick Boxing class, which I find very intense and a good way to relieve stress(I’m still trying to make it work around my busy work schedule!) I also love photography and magnificent pieces of arts & crafts. In my spare time, I love spending time with my friends and family. They are very important to me. My friends have been such a huge part of my life and I’m grateful for them.
My journey towards nursing began way back to my birth country, Philippines. I entered college in Philippines and went into nursing school, but only stayed for 1 semester after learning about Midwifery. Something about OB seemed so fascinating to me at the time, so I decided to pursue the degree in Midwifery. There, I excelled and became the President of my class for 2 consecutive years. I also became the chairman of the convention we held together with about 1,000 other graduating nursing and midwifery students at the time. The time I spent in Midwifery school gave me the opportunity to help the less fortunate who couldn’t afford to get the health care that they needed like free vaccines, prenatal check –ups, postnatal check – ups, and most importantly, free of fee home birth that we provided. Then, the transition of my career started happening when I finally stayed here in U.S. around Dec. of 2007; In the midst of transitioning my new life in the U.S. ,including my career, it was a lot of pressure for me, and I must admit I made some mistakes in between, but those same mistakes are also what led me to where I am today. Like what my Grandpa always tells me, “you’re just like the rest of us Stephens’, so stubborn… have to learn the hard way!”
So here we go; I began taking classes at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College towards Nursing around summer of 2009; I was a full-time student at the time and also working a full-time job as a Nursing Assistant. Maintaining full-time school hours towards Nursing and a full-time job wasn’t easy; but it can be done, I know because I’ve done it myself and this is what I keep telling to those who think it’s impossible to do so. I worked as a Nursing Assistant and took care of Mentally challenged patients for 1 year, then I took a private duty Nursing Assistant job for 4 years, then after that I worked at Forrest General Hospital as an Acute Care Nursing Assistant where I was blessed to work with talented nurses in OB, who willingly shared their knowledge and expertise in nursing as I started my transition into nursing school. After waiting for some time, finally an opportunity came and I was accepted into nursing school at Pearl River Community College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. There, I was blessed to be taught by one of the smartest nursing instructors I’ve ever known. I graduated from PRCC class of 2013, and right away took my NCLEX (which by the way was easy breezy compared to nursing school itself!) Nursing school was made to be hard on the students to mold you, to prepare you to pass the NCLEX, at least that’s the way I look at it now. I have been practicing Geriatric Nursing since 2013 and I love every moment of it and soon I will be going back to school to further my Nursing education and be able to explore other areas of nursing. I am very proud to say that I am currently part of the Nursing Staff of the Armed Forces Retirement Center here on the Gulf Coast, serving our Armed Forces Veterans. To those of you who are future nurses, I am encouraging you to keep going and don’t give up! It is fulfilling to see those smiles and hear them tell you “thank you for taking good care of me”.
Please help me in thanking Stefanie Stephens for “being the light!”
