DECEMBER 17, 2021 – Rose Carrillo is a junior at Clackamas High School and was a student participant in this year’s Future of Nursing program, a four-week long college-and-career mentorship program for students interested in the nursing field. Rose is interested in nursing as well as pediatric oncology as future career paths.

“I’ve always loved working with children my whole life,” she says. “Working with them just brings a lot of joy for me.” 

After the Future of Nursing program concluded, Rose sat down with PWA to tell us more about what she learned from the program and where she hopes to go with her career. Learn more about Rose below. 

Tell me about the kinds of activities that you are involved in. 

“I'm the president of the Latinx club at Clackamas, and I love that, and I’m looking into volunteering for hospitals in a couple weeks.”

That’s so cool! How did you get interested in volunteering at hospitals? 

“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse since I was little. My uncle was one of my biggest influences. Sadly, he passed away a while ago and he worked in the nursing field… he [worked] in hospitals, and I would see [his] approaches and how kind he was to everyone. So that made me realize that I would want to volunteer.” 

What was your favorite Future of Nursing session and why? 

“My favorite was the OHSU one, the last session. I think that one was amazing because I learned so much about that university that I never knew before. They went into different details about how to apply and what does that school expect from us once we want to get in, so I really liked it.” 

Tell me more about what you learned from the Future of Nursing program. 

“What I learned is that you have to put [in] so much effort when you start going into nursing. I realize that it takes a lot of time and dedication and you are going to need a great support system because it's a lot…it seems overwhelming, but it’s going to be so worth it to reach your goal. So no matter what, just don't give up.” 

Tell us more about your interest in pediatric oncology. 

I know it’s a very tough job, but I realize there’s so much potential and so many opportunities to go into that. Working with children has always been something I've wanted to do since I was little.”

Why have you always wanted to work with children? 

“I'm the oldest in my family, so I’ve always loved working with children my whole life. I realized that just working with them just brings a lot of joy for me.” 

Is there anything else you would like to share about the Future of Nursing program?  

“I would like to share that it was a great opportunity. I really like that program and I hope next year I do it again, because I just learned so much that I never knew before.”  

These remarks have been edited for brevity and clarity.