Meet Annie, future nurse and lover of food!

Hey, friends! My name is Annie and I am a pre-junior Nursing major here at Drexel University. This means that I am in my third year out of five in the 5 year, 3 co-op program. I grew up in South Jersey, just about 20 minutes over the Walt Whitman Bridge, so I grew up being pretty familiar with Philadelphia! I also grew up being vaguely familiar with Drexel since both of my parents are Drexel graduates! My dad graduated in 1980 with a degree in Management Information Systems and my mom graduated in 1979 with a degree in Interior Design. They met in the fall of their freshman year, and the rest, as they say, is history. I am an only child, so it's kind of fun to have everyone in my household be a Drexel Dragon. Though I'm an only child, my three-year-old Goldendoodle, Bentley, causes more trouble than a sibling ever could.

Though I love being home and spending time with my family, I have found a warm and welcoming home away from home at Drexel University. I now spend the majority of my time in my off-campus home in University City that I share with several friends I have met through various organizations on campus. I can truly call them lifelong friends and family. Whether we are exploring different museums, hunting down some of the well-known food trucks, or just walking around the city with no particular destination in mind, every day as Drexel students can easily become an adventure.

When I am not pursuing my passion of eating my way through all of Philadelphia’s food trucks, I am pursuing my passion for my future career: nursing. When I was nine years old, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. That diagnosis started a long and hard journey for my family as we tried to make her well again. I went to all of her chemotherapy sessions and as many doctor's appointments as I could. Through all of the fear and doubt that I felt, there was one group of people who never failed to ease my worries or dry my tears: my mother's nurses. I'm not sure whether it was their kind smiles or the fact that they would leave lemon-flavored hard candy out at the nurse's station specifically for me, but they changed the course of my life while saving my mother's life. My mother has been cancer free for over 10 years now, and I can't help but feel like I owe everything I have to the nurses who cared for my family.

Being a nursing student, specifically a nursing student at Drexel, is the most fulfilling endeavor that I have ever undertaken.

In the three years that I have been attending Drexel, I have learned that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought possible. Through Drexel's amazing co-op program, I have spent two co-ops working for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. This has been my dream employer since I decided nearly 10 years ago that I would do whatever it takes to be a nurse. Since then, I have had the opportunity to see and do amazing things that I would never be able to do at a "normal" school. I've even gotten to ride in a helicopter! How cool is that? Be sure to stay tuned for that story!

Drexel is different, and so am I. I have found the university that will get me where I want to be in my life and in my career, and I can't wait to share my continuing journey with all of you!