Angel (Ramos) Park ’17 typed hurriedly on her phone’s keypad, filling her notes app with sentiments of gratitude and excitement. Just minutes before, she had been asked if she would be willing to speak during the ceremonial partnership signing between Azusa Pacific University and Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC). A graduate of both institutions, Park was a forerunner for future nursing students who will concurrently earn their associates degree in nursing (ADN) from Mt. SAC and bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) from APU in just four years. “I’m just so grateful to be here,” she said to the audience. “I’m proud to be standing in front of my professors from both my alma maters, knowing what this partnership means for future nursing students.” As the audience applauded for Park, she thought back to what brought her to this moment.
Originally from the Philippines, Park moved to the U.S. in 2007 at 20 years old. She had already started college and was studying computer science at the encouragement of her mother, but part of her had always wanted to go into healthcare, due to her deep love for science and her care for others. “That’s what drew me to the path of nursing, and when I became a nurse, I ended up loving it even more,” she said. “I learned how to help people, to be more compassionate and empathetic, and I’m so happy I chose this career.”
Park worked as a medical assistant while doing prerequisite courses at Long Beach City College before pursuing her ADN at Mt. SAC. When she found out Mt. SAC had a bridge program partnership with APU, she jumped at the opportunity. This accelerated pathway allowed her to graduate from Mt. SAC with her ADN in 2016, then begin working as an registered nurse (RN) while she finished her bachelors, before graduating from APU with her BSN in 2017. The two institutions’ new partnership speeds the pathway to earning a BSN up even more, allowing students to save time and money, while also launching them into the nursing workforce faster.
“I have lots of friends who got their ADN and said they would go back for their BSN later, but never did, so this prevents the distractions that can get in the way of going back to school.”
Aside from setting themselves up for financial and career success, Park is excited about the quality of education students will receive from both institutions. She loved learning all of the basic skills needed to be an effective nurse at Mt. SAC, and was grateful for how APU’s faculty pushed her to grow even more. Through clinical and classroom experience, Park knew she found her calling in nursing. “My clinicals at APU definitely equipped me to not just be successful as a nurse, but also as a leader who advocates for my patients with confidence and competence,” she said.
After graduating from Mt. SAC, Park worked as a new grad nurse at Beverly Hospital. She worked night shifts and took day and online classes at APU. When she graduated from APU a year later, she switched workplaces to Pomona Valley Hospital (PVH) where she’s worked ever since. Park serves as a clinical level four nurse in the step-down tele unit at PVH, helping patients recover from heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular and neurological diseases. “As a clinical level four nurse, I’m able to participate in lots of committees, initiatives, and quality improvement projects that make our patients’ lives better,” she said. “It’s very rewarding for me because you see and experience the deepest empathy and most profound compassion anybody could ever feel, witnessing them at their most vulnerable before seeing them get better.”
Although she loves bedside nursing and has no plans to leave it, Park is excited to have taken on an additional role as a nursing educator. Serving as a clinical instructor for Mt. SAC, Park mentors new grad nurses, showing them the ropes around the hospital and helping them grow in their care skills.
Looking back on her journey, Park is grateful for how everything worked out. When she thought back to her first days of nursing school, she remembered how hard and daunting it was, but wanted to offer advice to future Mt. SAC and APU nursing students. “I know how challenging it can be and you will question if you’ll be able to make it, but you will and it’s so rewarding when you do,” she said. “Keep going and you’ll see how amazingly capable you are on the other side.”
A major contributing factor to perseverance is faith, and Park recollected how much it meant to her when she was in nursing school. She had grown up in a Catholic family, but it wasn’t a big part of her life until she started at APU, when she reconnected with her beliefs. “It can be hard seeing so much suffering in the hospital, but you have faculty and classmates that care about you at APU, and more than that, you have your faith to cling onto which will help you be a more compassionate nurse for the patients you serve,” she said. In the coming years, Park plans to continue working as a bedside nurse and a nursing educator, while also opening up a healthcare business with her friends.