WCU-OC BSN Graduate Spotlight: Mathew Songponnopachon

Mathew Songponnopachon has the green light and is ready to take on the nursing licensing exam! The West Coast University-Orange County alum recently completed his bachelor of science in nursing degree and after a two-week break to reset, got to work on the Virtual ATI program that prepares WCU nursing graduates for the NCLEX exam. 

“I took my time on the VATI but now I’m ready to take the NCLEX exam,” Mathew shared. “The incentive to go through the ATI was nice and now I am prepared and have my test paid for.” 

Mathew moved down to Orange County from the Bay Area right before the pandemic shutdown in 2020 and has been happy to have classes resume in person. 

“Nursing school was tough and we had to make a lot of sacrifices during the pandemic with not going to clinicals and school online,” Mathew shared. “It was challenging but I never wanted to quit, I wanted to become a nurse.” 

Mathew’s passion for nursing started after he completed his bachelor of health science degree at San Jose State and accepted a staffing coordinator position at a Bay Area hospital. 

“I’m passionate about helping people and I want to make my parents proud,” he said. “After experiencing nursing in my last job, I knew I wanted to help people so I applied for nursing school and came to West Coast.” 

Discussing the differences between his two degrees, Mathew explained that the accelerated program was more challenging but worth it. 

“Time management is key because it’s an accelerated program switching classes every 10 weeks, but if you stay focused, it’s worth it,” Mathew shared. “The school was great; I learned a lot.”  

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