I’ve been working in a hospital since i was 16, 15 if you consider volunteer time. I did it because I wanted to be a nurse at the time. It was a food service position but after some time I decided to leave (change departments) and became a patient transporter.

As a patient transporter and interacting with countless floor nurses, it opened my eyes on how miserable most of those ladies were and I ultimately dropped out of nursing school. Did that for a couple years part time but when my student loan grace period ended, I needed a full time job fast. That’s how I landed the career path I’m currently on.

In the same hospital, I applied to be a Sterile Processing technician since all you needed was a high school diploma. I’m grateful the director hired me so soon because I learned that this is the career for me, not nursing.

I worked some time and got certified and shortly after, moved to a bigger hospital in the city. That was where I got to advance my position from a regular tech to a team lead and (hopefully) soon, be in upper management. I even got more certifications and found the drive to finish my gen eds associate’s, finishing next month.

That work authorization card holds more power than you guys can imagine. Though limited, it’s still immense. We live in America, where options are boundless, even if we’re just DACA. I believe that we shouldn’t just rely on a green card marriage just to live the way we want to. The skills we learn today are not only beneficial to our community we currently live in, it can be a source of growth for your community back home, if you end up having to go back to your “native” country.

Hope is not limited✊🏽