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!
Crystal Zheng - University of Massachusetts, Boston
Like most students, I was sad when summer was over but I couldn’t wait for the new semester to begin. I’ve continued my nursing studies this fall semester and it has been so much different from last year! I have gotten used to being a college student and am open to experiencing more challenging things. And of course, classes are still getting harder like Med. Microbiology and Pathophysiology & Pharmacology. Even though classes are tough I do enjoy the subjects and listen to the lectures! I would often ask the professor if I didn’t understand anything and they would always assist me. In Patho & Pharm class we learned a lot about medication and it was fascinating to learn all the big terminology words. Aside from my studies, in my free time, I ran around to participate in art, theater, and dance. This year one of my best accomplishments is forming a K-pop/hip-hop dance club (K.D.C) with some friends. The process of making this club was much longer than I thought it would be. As the vice president of the club I never knew beginning a club would be difficult. But I love the challenges and I was extremely eager to see how it would turn out. I can’t wait to see how this club grows in the future. Also, this fall I was so happy to be part of the play “Alice in Wonderland!” I still couldn’t believe I got the lead role of Alice in this production! Overall this fall was a rollercoaster ride full of challenges and rewarding experiences. I feel like I have gained more independence. I am forever grateful to MVYouth and this community for the support they provide me. Without them, I wouldn’t be here today!
Crystal Zheng - University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
I can't believe the fall semester is over already! Time does go by very fast! The first semester at UMASS Dartmouth has been exciting for me. It was the first time I had been away from home alone for a long time. However, I can’t wait for the opportunity and experience that awaited me. I started off my school year volunteering at Mass Audubon's Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary with some friends. It feels nice to explore outside the campus and they taught us all the animals and birds that live around here. It was challenging to adapt to college life but I have learned how to manage my time according to and complete assignments on time. There are some exciting courses I truly enjoy. For instance the Anatomy and Physiology course! Even though that class is tough but I have tried my best and used all the resources the campus provides to help me to study. I was fascinated by all the structures of the body and their function. So far in that class, we have learned about the nervous system, skeleton, types of tissues, and many more! This semester I also took Psychology, Math, English, and Nursing classes!