Chana Levin was left completely floored when she showed up at her scheduled clinical rotation at Los Angeles Medical Center, and was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for her education.
“We are all here because we love nursing, we love to help people, but to have a hospital recognize the work ethic that goes into it and the dedication that it takes to succeed was just extremely rewarding,” Chana said.
The West Coast University-Los Angeles bachelor of science in nursing student always had a strong desire to help people, she shared, but the hands-on experience and scholarship was the boost she needed to keep going.
“The staff is incredible and there are some new grads here that graduated from West Coast University who are so excited to teach us and show us exactly what it takes in a day as a nurse which helps,” she said.
Chana’s family and background also inspire her to keep going with her education.
“I come from a family that is completely community-oriented and my parents are involved in community resource centers,” she said. “Growing up, everything was about helping other people and I knew that I had a strong passion for academics and people, so I figured out that nursing was the perfect way to go.”
It’s that passion for helping people that drives Chana to serve each day with purpose.
“We work so many days out of our lives and if there is no meaning in that work, then you will just turn around one day and not have a purpose,” she shared, adding, “There’s always room to grow and there’s always different avenues to take.”
Now a few months away from graduating, Chana is excited about her imminent nursing career.
“I knew I was interested in going to nursing school but I was looking for a more accelerated program pace that would allow me to get through my schooling and working as soon as possible,” Chana said.
While the program has had challenging and stressful moments, especially during COVID, Chana shared that West Coast was the experience she was looking for.
“It’s been great and I think the school did a phenomenal job during COVID, allowing us to transition to online schooling quicker than any other school I have heard, which allowed us to continue our program without any pauses and they have just tried their best to make the experience as fluid as possible,” Chana said.
WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.