My name is Kimberly and I am a sophomore here at NAU. I am a nursing major working on my minor in psychology. I am a second year student in the Blavin program. I am a full-time student and I work on campus in Building Access Services as the administrative assistant. After college, I plan to begin my nursing career. I hope to live in Seattle and work at a good hospital where I can make a huge impact. I may go back to school in the future to become a nurse anesthetist, but for now I’m just focusing on making it through nursing school!
When I was in 5th grade, my mom and stepdad lost custody of me and my two younger brothers. My grandparents didn’t hesitate to take us in as their own. While we were lucky enough to avoid foster homes, we still had monthly visits from CPS to make sure our grandparents were treating us right. My grandparents have had permanent guardianship since then.
The Blavin Scholarship has helped me in so many ways. While I am a local to Flagstaff, I moved from my house into the residence halls on campus. Even though I was only moving a half an hour away while others were moving much farther, it was still a really tricky and difficult transition for me because my family and I are very close. It was also really nerve-wracking to be starting college during this time, too. It was a lot of change all at once. That’s where Cindy and the other Blavins came in. They gave me another family to fill that space. I always knew I had people who I could go to whenever I needed them, no matter what. It provided me with friends in a place where I might not have made any. My life was changed by every person in this group, and the impact has been amazing. It also provided me with a way to get more involved on the campus, and gave me a network of people to hold me accountable for my work. I always had people checking in on me, and I think that really contributed to my success last year. I am so thankful for all that has come with the title “Blavin Scholar.” I thought it was just a scholarship, but it’s not. It’s a family.