An MTSU nursing student will be dressed for success thanks to her essay-writing skills and the School of Nursing and Phillips Bookstore.

Haley Davis, a 22-year-old sophomore and native of Pekin, Illinois, received two scrub tops and a lab coat Monday, Nov. 17, at MTSU’s Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building.

MTSU nursing student Haley Davis, second from right holds up the MTSU scrub top presented to her Nov. 17 at Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building. The presenters are, from left, Melissa Warner of MTSU’s Phillips Bookstore, holding Davis’ new lab coat; and Yvonne Creighton and Leigh Ann Krabousonos, School of Nursing lecturers. (MTSU photo by News and Media Relations)

Phillips Bookstore donated a scrub top and a lab coat, and the school’s alumni committee contributed an additional scrub top.

Davis won the professional attire for writing a 250-word essay on what nursing means to her and what she can do for the field of nursing.

The essay reads, in part,

What nursing means to me goes beyond just a simple definition of caring for the sick. It is who you are and who you are meant to be. It is to take care of anybody regardless of their circumstances and who they are and not just their physical being, but also their mind and soul.

Davis, who lives in Lascassas, Tennessee, balances her education with her work as a clinical nurse assistant at Adams Place, a residential facility for senior citizens in Murfreesboro. She has worked there for nearly three years.

Davis also is the single mother of a 4-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.

“I basically just get through, but it is a constant struggle,” Davis said. “I’m getting the hang of it, though. It’s getting better. I’m starting to get things down.”

Alumni committee representatives Yvonne Creighton and Leigh Anne Krabousonos, both lecturers in the School of Nursing, selected Davis’ essay from among more than 60 entries.

“All of you exemplified what nursing is, and I think that, if you can take that out into the world and workforce, we’ve got a good group going into nursing,” Creighton told the applicants.

Creighton said the entrants were all first-semester students with grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher. Financial need also was taken into consideration.

“We are changing from the traditional white scrub uniforms to this beautiful MT blue which has the logo on it, and the white lab coat has the logo on it, too,” said Creighton.

For more information about the MTSU School of Nursing’s traditional bachelor’s degree program, call 615-898-2437. To learn more about the master’s degree and registered nurse programs, call 615-898-5950. The School of Nursing’s website is www.mtsu.edu/nursing.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)