Michelle Rene Allen

I was paying for my own education, and the location of FIU and its affordability were the reasons I chose to attend. I am actually a second-generation nurse, and after joining the military and becoming an Army medic, I realized I wanted to help people at a higher level. My passion to help people is the reason I became a nurse. All of the instructors were very caring - I was working while I was a full-time student, and they were very understanding of that. Since I was working at the same time, I was able to use my experiences within the program and build on them. I was in the reserves, and so once I finished there, I went to work for Jackson Memorial Hospital in a special unit. I did a training program there, and I felt very prepared to do that job. The clinical instruction I got at FIU prepared me, and I was not afraid to go out into the workforce. My grandparents raised me, and my education helped me cross the poverty line and be able to take care of myself.