Nursing student balances swimming, school work

“St. Cloud State kind of met both those requirements in one,” she said.

Before coming to campus, the Rogers High School graduate was familiar with St. Cloud State as her sister is a fellow Husky and her younger brother is now doing Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) on campus.

“My whole neighborhood kind of goes to St. Cloud State,” she said. “… I feel like a lot of people from the local suburban areas definitely flood to St. Cloud State to stay close to home.”

St. Cloud is more diverse than the suburbs, and the university offers a lot of opportunities, Young said.

Being close to home means that Young can go home on weekends when she wants to visit her friends and her pets and throw a load of laundry in the wash for free.

“I love spending time with family,” she said. “That’s something I really like, and St. Cloud State is close. Home is only 45 minutes away.”

The dedication to education by swim coach Jeff Hegle also helped her make her decision.

“My coach definitely inspired me to swim in college,” she said. “He’s really nice and puts school first, swimming second.”

Young is a distance swimmer and practices two hours each morning.

“I would say swimming is my stress release,” she said. “Working out every day definitely keeps me in the right mindset, positive attitude in order to study really hard.”

The nursing program at St. Cloud State is taught by registered nurses and has a cohort model where students go through the program together as a group.

“You really get to know students and the faculty,” Young said. “I really feel included, and I really feel supported by everyone.”

She was accepted into the nursing program this fall and is in her first courses of the semester. The program is challenging with quizzes every day.

“You really have to buckle down and do your readings,” she said.

Young took summer classes at St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud Technical and Community College to earn her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license and now works as a personal care assistant (PCA) at St. Cloud Hospital.

In the position she takes vitals, makes sure her patients are comfortable and their hygiene is being maintained and gets to know their families.

“I love being a CNA,” she said.

Now in her sophomore year, Young is finding a way to balance her school, swimming and work responsibilities. She also joined the Nursing Club to stay involved with her fellow students outside of class.

“I love going to class and then I love going to work and seeing how the skills and all the knowledge that I learned overflows into my daily life,” she said.

Now that she’s into her program, Young advises incoming students to get involved, make friends, get to know their professors and take classes seriously.

“You really just have to get to know people,” she said. “Get to know the people who are sitting around you in class because those students are really going to help you succeed.”