The experience has truly been incredible. This was nothing I could have ever thought would be happening in my life. My mentor Marsha Hudgins is an amazing woman. Not only because of what her resume holds but mostly because of her incredible character. She is so laid back and wants to help me to be a successful student and be prepared for the future. She truly cares about me and wants the best for me. She truly has the heart of a mother and having her as a mentor is something I appreciate and will cherish for the rest of my life.

The biggest thing I learned is that building positive relationships with people and networking is powerful! I had the pleasure to be paired with Krista Costa, who has been a great mentor and advisor to me. Krista and I have totally different educational backgrounds, but she never let that stop her from providing personalized feedback for my specific career goals. As the summer of 2021 approached, I was struggling to find an internship that was required for graduation. During one of our regularly scheduled meetings, I shared with Krista my concerns and the challenges I had finding an internship. She offered great solutions and did some networking of her own on my behalf. My resume ended up with the Nurse Executive at Sentara Leigh hospital where I was selected to complete an internship with the Quality and Infection Prevention teams. I have recently relocated to North Carolina and accepted a full-time position at the Duke University Cancer Institute where I'll be doing clinical research for cancer immunotherapy. The skills and knowledge I gained from my internship at Sentara helped me land this opportunity. This shows what the power of networking can do, and it all started with my participation in the WIN program. I appreciate Krista for her pure love, dedication, and guidance....I thank all of the WIN mentors for dedicating their time to guide us mentees!