Broaden your horizons!

Before attending graduate school the first time, I contemplated where I should obtain my master’s degree. My original plan was to obtain my MSN at San Jose State University (SJSU), the same school where I obtained my BSN. It made sense for several reasons: The school was local; I was already familiar with the campus climate and politics; and, most importantly, I had established a rapport with the nursing faculty.

My plans took a back seat, however, to life’s twists and turns. As fate would have it, I ended up leaving the Bay Area of Northern California and coming back to Los Angeles, in Southern California, prior to submitting any applications, and I ended up enrolling in a school—California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)—that wasn’t originally on my radar. My choice to attend CSU Dominguez Hills was one of convenience. I quickly learned, however, that fate was doing its job, and what I thought was a choice of pure convenience taught me the value of broadening my horizons.

What I thought was a choice of pure convenience taught me the value of
broadening my horizons.

Having attended San Jose for my BSN and Dominguez Hills for my MSN, I was certain I would attend yet another school for my PhD, and I did—the University of California, Los Angeles, better known as UCLA. After being accepted by UCLA, I thought my educational journey had reached its last stop. Boy, was I wrong! As I began my second year of doctoral studies, postdoc seemed to be the new buzzword. Almost everyone, it seemed to me, was either suggesting I plan to commit to a postdoctoral program or asking what schools I had in mind for my postdoc. Continuing on as a postdoctoral fellow was the last thing on my mind until I began to understand the benefit of such a program. Faced with having to make a decision about where to apply for a postdoc, I chose, once again, to look at programs associated with institutions not on my list of alma maters.

Now that I have attended three universities in pursuit of three degrees, I encourage everyone I can to attend a different school for each degree. My rationale is simple: You want to make your network as wide as possible and learn from as many different scholars as you can. Each school has its own philosophy on teaching, learning, and education. I don’t think it’s beneficial, therefore, to become too attached to any one institution, because you inadvertently miss out on the opportunity to partake in other educational experiences. I’ll use myself as an example of someone I regard as having a well-rounded education.

I attended SJSU for undergrad and had the opportunity to experience a teaching-intensive university. While some of my professors may have participated in research, it was not their main focus. I was in a teaching institution, and my instructors were dedicated educators and clinicians.

When I enrolled at CSUDH, I knew my experience would be different because, although the school is another California State University and a teaching-intensive institution, the master’s program was completely online. The experiences associated with earning my BSN and MSN degrees were as different as night and day.

Now, as a student at UCLA, a Tier One research university, my experience is vastly different from the experiences I had at the teaching universities. Research is the top priority at UCLA; that is no secret. Opportunities to participate in research training, work on grants, write publications, and work as a teacher’s assistant are unparalleled. Had I stayed at SJSU for my MSN and enrolled in its DNP program, I would not have had the amazing experience of obtaining an online degree or studying at a world-renowned research university.

Aside from the educational experiences one has as a student, there are also the connections you make with classmates and faculty members. If you attend the same school for your undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees, you may have different classmates (unless everyone else has the same mindset as you and doesn’t change schools), but you will probably have the same faculty members, and chances are their teaching philosophies won’t change. Neither will their networks.

As a student, you want to be exposed not only to colleagues and faculty members within your university, but also those with no connection to your university. One way to increase this exposure and your potential networking opportunities is to attend professional conferences, but another way to create strong networks with many nurses is to develop relationships with faculty members from various schools.

As you branch out and expand your network, your potential connections grow exponentially. It’s like having a Twitter following. The more people you follow, the more information you’re bound to come across. It has nothing to do with the people you are following, per se. It’s more about their following and with whom you become connected while using them as an intermediary. No one in the Twitter-verse would follow the same 30 people and refuse to expand their network because of the convenience of following just 30 people. Use this same sort of thinking when considering schools for obtaining your next degree. You want to be connected to as many people as possible.

While earning all of my degrees at the same school may have been less expensive, less time-consuming, and much less of a headache, I cannot adequately convey the benefits that learning from three sets of faculty, being exposed to three different institutional ways of thinking, and being connected with new mentors from three universities has provided. Some of the most rewarding professional relationships I have are with nurses with whom I struck up a conversation after introducing myself as a student of Professor X or a past TA for Professor Y. It’s not always easy to be the new student at a large (or small) university, but think of all of the potential connections there are to be made. Think of all of the new people you will meet and the places you will potentially go!

The point of networking is to create a proverbial net that, when cast, covers a vast amount of space. Don’t hinder your opportunity to network by staying within the same four walls for all your days as a student.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI).

Do you know the way to San Jose?

Why did I decide to go to San Jose State University (SJSU) for nursing school? The answer is simple: because my godsister lived there. Choosing a school for this reason was quite possibly the most ignorant thing I have ever done, but it was a great choice and everything worked out just as it was supposed to. I don’t know that I would have had the same experiences had I not gone to SJSU. My professors, mentors and friends all shaped my college experience and I honestly cannot imagine having gone to another school.

I first began to think about college in the 10th grade, when my English teacher assigned a college portfolio project. We had to attend a local college fair at California State University, Long Beach and include college pamphlets and other materials from the fair. We were also asked to list three colleges we were considering applying to, providing a one-page write-up on each. I chose to write about Hampton University, the University of San Francisco and San Jose State University. I chose the University of San Francisco, because it is a private school, and Hampton University, because it is a historically black university, but I really wanted to go to SJSU.

My desire to attend SJSU was solely based on the fact that my godsister lived in the city. I had always looked up to my godsister as if she were my biological sister. I have fond memories of spending time with her at my godparents’ home. One time in particular, I was in 7th grade, and my mom took me to visit them. My godsister asked how I was doing in school. When I told her I was getting good grades, she confirmed that with my mom and said she wanted to reward me. She took me on a shopping trip to the mall. The clothes she purchased for me that day became my most cherished pieces of clothing. I wore the pants and shirts until long after they were too small for me.

I also remember a time when my godsister really came through for my little sister and me. It was Christmas time, and we had a tree, but no gifts under it. At the time, my godsister was working at BEST. I looked out the window one afternoon and noticed her walking to our house with a large black trash bag. It was filled with toys! She put the toys under the tree, talked to my mom for a while and left. Those were the only toys we received that Christmas. My mother didn’t have the money to buy anything for us, so that year my godsister stepped in as Santa Claus.

She and her husband married and moved to Washington when I was 12.Fortunately, they moved back to California when I was in ninth grade, settling in San Jose. In the spring of my 11th-grade year, they had their first child. I thought it would be nice to live close to them so I could help with the baby. With them being in close proximity, I also felt like I was on my own, without being completely alone.

The summer between my 11th and 12th grades, I spent a week in San Jose with my godsister and her family. I had the opportunity to see the city, and we even took a self-guided tour of the SJSU campus. Oddly enough, the day we went to campus was the first day of the 1999-2000 school year. I enjoyed walking around the campus; it wasn’t too big and it wasn’t too small. I had the chance to see the building that housed the School of Nursing. Because the students were already on campus, I also had the chance to interact with them. Some of the boys even flirted with me. College boys! Oh yes, this was definitely the school for me!

When I talked with my mom about applying to college, she told me I should apply to Long Beach City College, because she couldn’t afford to send me anywhere else. I was crushed, but I applied to SJSU anyway. I knew I didn’t want to stay in Long Beach after graduating from high school. Long Beach is a nice city and all, but I knew that, if I didn’t venture out, I wouldn’t amount to much. I had watched other classmates who graduated before me, and I noticed a trend—staying around home provided a sense of comfort and security that prevented them from reaching their full potential. I didn’t want that for myself. I wanted to become everything I had the potential to become.

SJSU was the only school I applied to. I was accepted and I traveled to San Jose with my mom and godmother during the spring of my 12th-grade year for freshman orientation. During the orientation, I enrolled in my fall-semester classes and I was given a tour of the campus. I came back to school the following Monday with my college ID. It was official; I was going to college and it wouldn’t be at the local city college. I showed the ID to all my friends and teachers.

I spent the summer after high school graduation working to save money for college, then began school at SJSU in August. The rest is history, or maybe just another blog post.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.