AJ is a Graduating Senior!

C

ode blue. I’ve seen enough hospital TV shows to know that those two words are pretty serious. I admire nurses for what they do. I cannot stomach half of the things that they deal with day-to-day. I know this for a fact because I’m the girl who nearly fainted when I saw the sight of my own blood when I got my nose pierced in college. Yep. Embarrassingly enough, I got a juice box from the heavily tattooed artist afterward.  I’m also the girl who has to think of happy thoughts whenever I have to get my blood drawn.

I asked Alyssa, lovingly nicknamed AJ by her family, what her most memorable moment in her senior year of nursing school was at California Baptist University in Riverside, California. She said it was seeing her first code blue.  “I saw my first code blue this year and not until then did I realize how quickly one’s life could expire. At that moment I felt like I was acting as a true nurse, helping during the code blue. My adrenaline was pumping, I was scared and thrilled at the same time. It was a great experience to participate in, but not until after stabilizing the patient did I begin to realize that someone’s husband, father, and grandfather almost passed away in front of me. It was a bittersweet moment- I helped in some little way, a dying patient. What I learned from this was to not grow insensitive to these events; I must learn to balance being strong and remaining sensitive at the same time,” AJ said.

Below are a few favorite photos from our senior portraits on campus at CBU. We started at the Lambeth House, onto the main campus by the famous globe, and we ended our session at an abandoned house on campus! I  was so excited that AJ wanted a completely different setting. I LOVE it when clients are open to unique ideas and locations. It can result in some dramatic portraits that are out of the ordinary.

Our session took place only days before Halloween, so it was perfect that the abandoned house was one of our locations for portraits. AJ mentioned that the abandoned house on campus is rumored to be haunted.

After a quick stroll through the CBU campus, we made our way to the abandoned house. The sun was setting and it was casting some dramatic shadows on the abandoned house. AJ was such a great sport in front of the camera as we chased daylight. 

The sun was setting as we took these senior pictures on the porch of the abandoned house. The porch had a nice charm to it, with rounded banisters, and its chipped white paint. I think these portraits of AJ have that sweet girl-next-door look, which I think AJ totally is. She’s a sweetheart!

I had to ask AJ what made her want to become a nurse. She mentioned that she knew early on that she’s always had the heart to serve others. Nursing is fulfilling to her in many ways, but AJ recalls when she really knew that nursing is her calling, “Not until my grandmother’s passing the summer before my senior year did I confirm that nursing was the profession God was leading me to. The compassion the nurses had for my grandmother and my family had also influenced me to pursue nursing because I felt the need to do the same for those that were hurting. God had purposely placed great nurses and health care professionals in my life (friends and family), so without them sharing their experiences with this field, I would not be where I am at today.”  Each of us have our calling. If you’re lucky enough to know what that is before your prime, you’re blessed.

AJ eventually hopes to take part in travel nursing one day, but she is open to anything so long as she can work with babies and children. When she’s not working, AJ loves to spend time with her family and friends, whether it’s exploring around with her cousins or enjoying a great meal with friends after a long week of school.

Below are a couple of headshots of AJ in her nursing uniform.

AJ, thanks for a fun afternoon on your campus! Congratulations on graduating from nursing school this year. It’s such a great accomplishment!

xoxo,