What do I want to make sure to accomplish today?
Friday, December 12, 2008
Alumna: René Pick
Bachelor of Science, Nursing
Alumnus: Class of 2009, College of Nursing
Campus: Tampa
René Pick is a busy woman – daughter, mom, and wife. Whether she’s organizing a family movie night or heading to a Bucs’ or a Rays’ game with her husband and her six-year-old son, René’s family life is a priority while she attends South University full-time. She added earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing to her steady list of accomplishments.
Before attending South University, René majored in Biology at Florida State University. After FSU, she earned her certification to work as a Surgical Technologist. René worked part-time as a nurse technician, and her job is one thing she says greatly inspired her to advance her career in healthcare. She began the nursing program at South University – Tampa during fall 2007.
A native of Jacksonville, René’s family says she has always been a very driven person, pretty much all her life. “Oh, I’d say I’m about the same now as I was as a kid – really energetic and determined. I still set goals and do my best to achieve them. I guess the only difference now is I’m just slightly taller!” René laughs.
About a year before she entered the nursing program at South University, René was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I can’t really explain why—but I don’t remember being scared when I first heard the diagnosis – maybe because I never felt alone. After the biopsy, I took out my cell phone and saw that Collin had filled up my text message screen with a stream of ‘I love you’ messages.” Collin Pick, René’s husband, is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
René admits now with a successful smile, “My husband has been an unbelievable support and encouragement. When I decided to go to nursing school, I was still fighting breast cancer; I find it funny now, too, because I was the only bald person taking the entrance exam.”
René passed the entrance exam with flying colors and a thankful heart. “I know there were many desirable, qualified candidates aiming to be accepted to the program, and I was just so happy to be one of them.”
René says she’s thankful today for so many things. “I’m thankful for the great oncology nurses I had during my chemotherapy, the ones who made me smile and who spurred me on to nursing school. I’m thankful for the amazing professors I had at South University who, with their real world knowledge and experience, share what they know and who they are like virtual textbooks.”
René doesn’t sweat the small stuff anymore and acknowledges, “There are just bigger problems in the world than agonizing over a flat tire. Sometimes life reminds us to ask the real question – if tomorrow doesn’t come – what do I want to make sure to accomplish today?”
The most rewarding part of her life, René says, is seeing women disease-free, happy, and healthy. “It’s a victory when a survivor realizes she’s winning the battle and maybe she thought she wouldn’t. The women I work with become like family.”
René graduated in June 2009. At that time, she planned to continue working at the doctor’s office where she was employed until the following December, when she began a part-time student nursing position in the E.R. of the Veteran’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“The only other reward I look forward to is growing old,” says the 32-year-old. “I look forward to retiring and, hopefully some day, playing with my grandkids!”