“I came into WANDA wanting to help my kids, but I realized through the program that I had to invest in myself. I used my savings for my own education, I am proud to say I am a second year nursing student and will graduate next May. I am excited for my future and for my kids’ futures.”
WHY DID YOU JOIN WANDA?
“I realized that financing my dream of going to nursing school was going to be too difficult to do all by myself. I saw WANDA as a way to achieve my dreams, and now feel it would have been impossible to achieve without WANDA’s help.”
WHAT HAVE BEEN MY STRUGGLES AS A SINGLE MOM?
“My struggles were mainly financial. I realized I couldn’t go to nursing school without cutting my work hours and yet I couldn’t afford to go to school if I did cut my hours.”
WHAT ARE THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU LEARNED FROM WANDA?
“My favorite experience in WANDA was in creating my “Vision Board”. I found pictures of all my goals and put them on this Board. I still look at this. I put a picture of a nurse on the Board and put my name below it. I also learned a lot about savings and how to shop. I now always shop with a list so I buy what I need, not what I want. I ask myself, is this truly a need or a want? Lastly, I learned how to stick to my budget!”
WHAT ASSET DID YOU PURCHASE?
“I used my WANDAs savings to pay for major expenses I needed to start nursing school: all my books, my laptop, my medical supplies including my stethoscope, my nursing bag and a number of online academic products necessary for my classes.” Having these expenses all taken care of made it possible for me to start nursing school when I did.