Siblings hope to work as nurses in the Coachella Valley after receiving full-ride scholarships to CSUSB Palm Desert
Jennifer and Scott Hanson are two siblings pursuing the same dream to one day be nurses in the Coachella Valley.
“Hopefully, we’ll get the same hospital in the future,” Scott told News Channel 3.
They both graduated from Palm Desert High School. Now, Jennifer is a junior and Scott is a freshman at Cal State San Bernardino Palm Desert campus on full-ride scholarships through the University Legacy Scholarship program.
“Most siblings don’t get to go to college together so I won’t take our time together for granted,” Scott said.
Due to having a mom in the healthcare field, they both said they wanted to become nurses since they were younger. But now, while witnessing the demands of a pandemic, they feel even more motivated to become nurses.
“I was in the hospital when the coronavirus was getting kind of big and it started impacting the Coachella Valley more and it was pretty scary at first just seeing the nurses. They weren’t really sure what to do because it was such a new thing,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer said she’s grateful to be learning how to be a nurse during this time.
“I got to see how the nurses reacted initially and it’s kind of a great experience just for future just in case something like this happens again,” Jennifer said.
“It’s kind of a reality check telling me what I have to prepare for in the future but it’s also a great motivator too,” Scott said.
Once they graduate, they plan to stay here in the valley.
“I hope to somehow work with the nurses that I’ve already made bonds with in the hospital,” Jennifer said.
“And we have such great hospitals here and I may be biased but I love it here and want to stay here for as long as possible,” Scott added.
In the meantime, they’re on the sidelines studying and gearing up to one day work the frontlines.
“We’d just like to thank every single nurse for their continued efforts during this pandemic and hopefully we’ll be one of you guys," Scott said.
