NAILED IT

Image from: http://www.xeevents.com/

Today I had my second and last essay/interview at Clackamas Community College for the nursing programs I applied to for fall 2014 entry. Before heading out to CCC, I stopped off at home (from school - I have microbiology M/W from 9a-12:50p) to change my clothes and eat a quick lunch before making my way to the Harmony campus in Milwaukee. I wasn't sure what the drive would be like, but, it was actually fairly quick. I arrived about 25 minutes early. Once I got there, I realized I didn't know where the hell I was supposed to go. PCC's email with instructions for their essay process was very straight forward and had a building room and number...it even asked you to arrive 15 minutes early for check-in. The email from Clackamas had none of that. So, while I sat in my car in their parking lot, I called to confirm the building number for the health sciences and asked what I needed to do once I got into the building. Luckily, the women I spoke with was very polite and gave me instructions on how to get to where I needed to be.
Once I got to the waiting area, I sat down. I was the only person there...and for quite some time, too. I started to get nervous because I thought I might be the only person signed up for this time slot and I'd thought the interview was supposed to be a group interview. Luckily, I was not alone, and the other applicants started to make their way to the waiting room just before 2:45p (the start time). Once we were all present, our moderator lead us to a small computer lab. There were laptops set up on a table - about 10 of them. We got to sit down wherever we liked. The moderator asked us to read the paper sitting to the left of us...it was a piece of paper that had the prompt for the essay we needed to write. I won't go into detail about the question, but, I thought it was a fair question to ask for the time period allotted (we had 30 minutes). I started typing right away and I felt like I was on my way, writing a pretty good essay. When time was up, I'd just finished. I'd gotten a chance to write everything I thought I needed to write though. Heck, I even read through the thing from top to bottom before needing to press print. When we were all done, I felt so positive about the essay...it was nice to have good thoughts going into the interview portion. 

The interview went well, too. In fact, I feel like I nailed it. The four of us applicants sat down and took questions from 3 of the nursing faculty from CCC; Susan, Michelle, and Sarah. These women were so great. They were so welcoming and tried really hard to keep the mood in the room light. They even provided us candy to eat. At one point I asked if anyone had taken any candy from the bowls during the other interviews (none of the applicants, nor myself, had taken any at this point) and they said yes, some of the other applicants had. That lightened the mood some more, and we all pretty much let loose and took a piece. Again, I won't go into detail about the questions (I don't think I'm allowed to - although the process is over at this point), but, I think I answered all the questions I was given really well. I answered confidently, I answered using key words (like advocacy, prioritizing, time management, etc.), I elaborated on my thoughts, and I put my own personal touch on each of my answers. I really felt like the ladies of the panel were very receptive to what I said. Lots of nodding, smiles, and generally positive body language. They totally could have been receptive like this to most all the other (or maybe even all) applicants. I have no idea. But, I feel really good about it. 

We were told we would hear one way or another in the first week of May. I am both anxious and excited to find out. Until then, I will try and focus my efforts on doing better in microbiology. I got my first exam back and I got an 83%. Not stellar, but, good enough to put me in striking distance of an A in the course. Considering all that's gone on in the last few months and my current mental state, I'll take that any day of the week. 

On another note, I just want to give a quick shout out to my friend AM. She so generously agreed to pick Isla up from school today since I was away at my interview. She took Isla home with her and Isla got to play with her bestie from way back, Ms. S. I arrived at AM's house around 5:30ish and Isla and I stayed and played (and had a lovely dinner made by AM) until just after 8p. Thank you again for hosting us, AM. Isla and I always enjoy spending time with you gals and we're both looking forward to spending more time with you both <3