He found his purpose through his passion for helping others.
Sean Lee always had a passion for helping others, so after a chance conversation he had with his great uncle discussing careers in healthcare, Sean moved from his home in South Korea to the Greater Grand Forks area in pursuit of becoming a registered nurse. Over the next few semesters Sean earned his LPN and now plans to continue on his journey to earn his RN. See how Sean’s passion for helping others led him to finding his purpose at NCTC.
“I am in the nursing program here at Northland. I started my program in the spring 2014 semester. For the first three semesters I focused on the program’s prerequisites. Three semesters later I got accepted into the LPN program. So, I finished that last December. This fall I am going to start my RN program.”
“The reason I came to Northland, was because my great uncle lives in Grand Forks. He is a retired professor from a university and recommended that I study here, so I flew from South Korea to Grand Forks, which was an area I was not very familiar with. It was December. The snow was falling down. It was quite cold, but I thought it was okay.”
I realize more that this is my purpose … to be a nurse.
“Actually, it was my great uncle who thought nursing would be a great fit for me and told me about the nursing shortage. I had some doubt about it, but the more I study and do the clinical work the more I really like it. It makes me feel so positive when I can help other people!”
“My favorite part about NCTC are the small class sizes, like 30-40 students per class. I personally like the small class sizes best for learning. The other thing that really helps is that I can contact the advisors and teachers. They always welcome me to their office if I need questions answered, the learning here is really hands-on.”
I want to be a nurse practitioner. Pediatrics is one area I am really interested in.
“I attend classes full-time and do work study at the college. Basically Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays are my busiest days. Thursday will be my clinical day so I will go to RiverView Health in Crookston. The clinicals are hands-on experience and I really look forward to that.”
“Since I started my schooling at NCTC I’m very focused on my studies. I actually was not expecting to want to be a nurse until after I got started here. The more I study the more I realize that this is my purpose … to be a nurse. It makes me more focused on where I want to go.”
“I’ve already applied for the Northern Connect program which is the connecting program between Northland and Bemidji State University. Basically, they offer a bachelor’s program, but the classroom will be here. So, I am going to continue by studies. Hopefully in the future, I want to be a nurse practitioner. Pediatrics is one area I am really interested in.”
“Outside of school, I like to go bowling. I also recently learned golf though the East Grand Forks Community Education program. They offered beginner classes and it was quite fun. I also love to watch movies! Of course, I study a lot in the winter time!”
“Nursing is generally considered a female profession, but right now there is a demand for male nurses (partly because there is a growing demand for more nurses in general) and the gender balance is getting equalized. I hope to help bridge this gap and plan to keep working hard to reach my goals!”
SEAN LEE
Nursing Student
Seoul, South Korea
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