Day Eight

Shea Endo is a second-year nursing student, hailing from the Langley. Shea came up north in pursuits of becoming a full-fledged nurse, enrolling at the College of New Caledonia. 

Shea: My name is Shea, Shea Endo. I’m a second year nursing student thinking about going to UNBC next year to complete my studies. I’m loving it, so far.

Damon: So what was the point where you wanted to go into Nursing?

Shea: I didn’t really know where I wanted to go. I went to SFU previously for health sciences, which gave me a lot of background knowledge in the medical field, which helps me now! I appreciated the work I did in the health sciences, but I wanted to be more hands on instead of just researching – which is primarily what they did at SFU. I didn’t feel like I was contributing much, and I wanted to do more.

Damon: So coming from the city, how was the transition to Prince George?

Shea: I like it, my dad and I came over during the summer before my first semester here and I really liked Prince George. We did a little tour, a little adventuring. I fell in love with it through that. You get the small town vibe but there is still everything you need! It’s nicer up here in that sense.

Damon: How has it been, overall, being in the nursing program? I heard it can be daunting at times.

Shea: First year I didn’t find horrible. A lot of it I actually already learned so I was very fortunate for my time as SFU. Second year has been a lot of work, but I find it very interesting. It’s been very rewarding in a way. I come home and I can guarantee I learned something new. It’s hard overall, but it’s worth it. I love my choice.

Damon: What I find so great about this interview, Shea, is that your story is probably very relatable to a lot of students and people in general. You took a little bit longer to figure it all out, but waiting and seeing what you want to do is paying off.

Shea: Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. Shaun (Shaun Edwards, Health and Science Rep.) is another example. A lot of the nurses have their own stories and come from all sorts of places. I find that there are a lot of nurses who are like that. Everybody hits their pathway at a different time, some sooner than others. But there is no rhyme or reason for any of it, it is just how it is. I feel that people need to be open minded to that more, and not judge people who go into a program ‘too soon’ or ‘too late’.

Damon: Yeah absolutely. You’ve come a long way and experienced a lot of things, no doubt. Is there any realization or moment that has hit you over that time that stands out to you?

Shea: I think that like a lot of people, before I came out here I doubted myself a lot. I wasn’t sure if I could handle it or not, and I focused on my weaknesses rather than realizing my strengths. I guess my change of thinking happened when we first started going to clinical. It was just, people came to me! At that point, I never thought of myself as that type of person or someone people could come to. It was at that point that I realized “maybe I’m meant to be here”. You just have that realization that you found your worth, where you’re supposed to be. That’s my biggest realization. I feel like I’m at home.

Damon: Is there any advice that you would give your past self, or any students who may be reading this right now?

Shea: Focus on yourself. Not on your other classmates. I find that a lot of people tend to doubt themselves in the nursing program. People doubt their abilities, and their intelligence which is really sad. When they look at their classmates and realize they aren’t doing as good, they should focus on themselves. It’s not a contest, you have to focus on improving your own skills and becoming the person you want to be.