The Story of an Impassioned Nursing Graduate
Chelsea Gomez witnessed the kindness and care of the nurses who cared for her ill father as a child. The nurse’s compassion and dedication to caring for Chelsea’s family laid the path to a new passion in nursing. 
“Just seeing how my father’s nurses cared for him at the end of his life was very precious,” shared Chelsea Gomez, a graduate from the Hallmark School of Nursing. “They shared exactly what was happening with us the entire time and cared for my father in a very intimate way. I knew that I wanted to be a part of something like that.”
Chelsea enrolled into Hallmark University’s School of Nursing, dedicating herself to the passion she found as a child. As she approached the final stretch of nursing school, Covid-19 created a new normal in the world of healthcare.
“There was news constantly about how many cases we were having and the type of repercussions that they were seeing in patients from the virus. Hospitals were getting overwhelmed with patients and there was a constant shortage of PPE so it was pretty scary.”
In the final stages of her program, Chelsea was scheduled to give birth to her son, only months away from graduation. So many things worked against Chelsea as she approached the finish line, and a positive Covid test result made a tumultuous period even more stressful.
“I caught Covid-19 with only a month left in my program. I was 38 weeks pregnant and I took every precaution that I could to avoid the virus, but I started having a really high fever and just went down from there.”
Chelsea stayed home as symptoms developed, taking the best care of herself possible while attending school online. Fever, body aches and respiratory issues shook her for days, all while her instructors and fellow classmates checked in with her.
“It was scary but my professors and classmates supported me as I dealt with the virus and got through my pregnancy healthy. With everything that was going on at the time, my instructors and classmates helped to make sure I graduated on time.”
Chelsea returned to class only two days after giving birth to her son, determined to attend the final two weeks of her program. Her determination to finish her degree and become a nurse is astounding, truly emphasizing her passion for nursing. 
“I passed my NCLEX on the first attempt and I’m just so excited to get my career going after getting my education here. I feel that I can care for my family, provide for myself, and do something that I enjoy. It’s a relief to make it through everything and was so worth it.”
Chelsea graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and found her dream job as a Labor and Delivery Nurse. No matter the challenges and daunting reality of the world she faced, Chelsea never swayed in her pursuit of becoming a nurse.
“As a nursing student during the pandemic, you would think that I might run away from the profession. But for me it made me want to become a nurse even more. Was I scared to catch Covid? Yes. Was I scared to be around patients like that? Sure. But I still want to be a part of those patients and care for them, even though they might have something like Covid-19.”