This fall semester, I continued pursuing my nursing degree at UMass Boston, and I’ve been loving the experience! Being in the city has been such a refreshing change, offering new opportunities! One of the highlights of the semester was starting my first clinical at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, part of the Mass General Brigham system, in the spinal cord unit. It was an exciting experience and I love it a lot! I truly enjoy every moment of it. I was placed in a small group with just two other students, which I appreciated because it allowed our instructor to give us more individualized attention. In our Health Assessment Lab, we practiced head-to-toe assessments with real patients from Hope House, a program that supports individuals recovering from substance use and alcoholism. These patients volunteer to help us develop our skills by acting as our patients. Performing a head-to-toe assessment was challenging because it involves evaluating the patient’s overall health and body systems to identify any abnormalities. However, I loved the hands-on practice with real patients rather than mannequins. I think that give me an opportunity to ask questions, hear their stories, and learn about their journeys toward recovery. Their resilience and openness was truly inspiring, and it made the experience even more meaningful. Overall it was such an exciting and rewarding experience, filled with hands-on learning opportunities that I truly enjoyed and loved! It’s amazing to see how far I’ve come, and I’m incredibly grateful to my community and MVYouth for supporting me throughout this journey. I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished and couldn’t be happier with how things have turned out!