Amanda Marie Thornton, DNP

The most important and significant memory I have is of my father. He was diagnosed with multiple diseases growing up, and I saw him in the hospital many times. I saw how the nurses were really the ones there while the doctors would be in and out. The nurses are the ones who made the biggest difference for him. I knew I wanted to go into nursing and help others ever since then. I always volunteered in girl scouts, and I was in key clubs that helped the community. I decided to attend Florida International University because the school had a program that allowed me to receive my master's and doctoral degrees at the same time. It was also more reasonable than going to some other colleges that offered my program, which was very specialized in anesthesia. I grew significantly and gained a lot more resilience in the program. I also gained a lot more trust in myself. I used to have a lot of doubt in myself and wasn't sure if I was going to be cut out for anesthesia, but the professors and clinical sites made me the provider I am today. I would say I'm definitely one of the best and the youngest. I usually don't ever brag about myself, but we always say the say to hit the ground running at FIU. Florida International University really did prepare us, especially in clinicals. We didn't have to get trained again when we were out in the field and actually hired. We already knew what to do.