Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone by Sydney

Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone by Sydney - August 2025 Scholarship Essay

My name is Sydney Caban and in the fall I will be attending Radford University majoring in Nursing as a freshman. My aspirations for this upcoming school year are to make good grades, nothing over a B, to find some lifelong friends, get involved with campus events, make nursing connections to better ensure my career after receiving my degree, and to have fun and step out of my comfort zone.
How I will achieve good grades is by studying whenever I have free time. My class schedule allows me to have a few hours before my next class so during those hours I plan on studying. While I am reviewing my content I don’t only plan on memorizing the information but I plan on understanding the concepts of the information as that is a crucial part of a nursing major and being in the healthcare field. A motivational tool I will use to motivate myself to keep my grades up to my own expectations is that when I accomplish a good test score, which I have deemed is going to be 85% or above I will treat myself. I will take a trip to Starbucks or take a trip to Taco Bell and get an order of Cinnabon Delights.
To gain lifelong friends I plan on having confidence to introduce myself to people and make a conversation with them and get to know them. I am a people person most times so I love talking to new people. Therefore, wanting to gain new friends is a big motivation for myself.
To get involved with campus events I plan to talk to other students who have already been in these events and get informed of how I can join and participate. Once I have joined I will then give it my all to have fun during the events and make sure that other students are having fun at these events as well. These events seem super fun so I would love to be apart of them.
How I will achieve nursing connections is by talking to my professors and asking them questions about opportunities that could help me with finding a great nursing job in the future. I will also reach out to other nursing students who are sophomores, juniors, and seniors, asking them what they have done such as volunteering in the healthcare field or even jobs they had in the healthcare field while they were still in school. I am eager to work in the healthcare field so I am motivated to get as much experience that I can for after I have graduated.
To motivate myself to step out of my comfort zone and have fun I will take the initiative to research events on and off campus that I have never done. Radford, Virginia is a beautiful place to be outdoors because it is in the mountains. I have never participated in activities in the mountain so everything I have seen so far seems very intriguing and I am ready to steo out of my comfort zone to try them.