As I looked at my upcoming bill this semester, my heart dropped. Since both of my older sisters graduated, my FAFSA grant was gone, and my bill had more than doubled. The problem is fairly common. School bills go up as students become more focused on their majors, and all they can do is swallow the cost and work more hours during the summer.

This is not the case for Cianna, a nursing student at the University of the Incarnate Word. She decided to join ROTC (the Reserve Officer Training Corps), which will cover most if not all her tuition. After she graduates, she will become an officer in the military and serve in the military for a minimum of 8 years—4 years active and 4 years reserve.

From my previous article, The How and Why of Nursing School, we can imply that the nursing program is incredibly difficult and time consuming—and it is. Nursing school is not for the faint of heart. So how does Cianna fit ROTC classes and its extracurriculars into her busy schedule?

Since she lives on campus, Cianna can sleep in until 0500, but she must arrive in uniform for PT no later than 0520. This usually takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but if a cadet has a physical incapability, they may have to show up on Friday as well. PT consists of challenging workouts that can last anywhere from forty-five minutes to over an hour, and it often consists of “grueling workouts that may focus on upper or lower body, full-body, and cardio,” according to Cianna. To get an idea of what exercises this would include, Cianna provided the examples of “high-jumps, lunges, squats, pull-ups, chin-ups, push-ups, core, sprints, and long-distance runs.”

Before the pandemic, PT took place in parking lots, the university stadium, and the Wellness Center. Now, because of COVID-19, PT sessions consist of smaller groups to reduce the spread of the virus should a cadet become exposed, and their location is normally limited to the parking lot.

After PT, which usually ends around 0630 (when most students are still in bed), her normal class day starts. For nursing student Cianna, this may mean jumping into scrubs to run to an 8-hour clinical or grabbing a breakfast before class. It just depends on the day. In addition to the normal nursing classes, labs, and clinicals, she must attend classes and labs as required by ROTC’s educational and training requirements. As Cianna said, “These include lectures on field tactics and leadership, with the utilization of this knowledge out in the field during ROTC lab.”

She finishes out her day as a normal student with maybe a few extra classes, but there is still more. Once a week she must attend a semi-field training for two hours, as well as accomplish her daily studies, and go to the gym. In spite of her crazy life, she still manages to make time to hangout with friends and is now trying to add in working a twelve-hour shift at the hospital every other week. My hat is off to her.

With the extra classes, labs, PT, and the crazy early mornings, I had to ask if she relied on coffee. This was her response: “Personally, I am not a coffee addict…yet. I have made it my whole life without coffee, and I see it as a pretty good accomplishment thus far, especially knowing that once I start drinking it, I won’t be able to get enough.” So, no. She has not started down the path of the dark liquid known as coffee…..Yet. So how does she manage? When asked, this was her response: “Honestly, I don’t know how I have made it this far. I’d like to think that it’s my personal drive to be successful and learn as much as I can while in school, but I also would like to add that it’s really the little things that keep me going. Things like treating myself to a bowl of ice cream or a cup of boba (I am definitely a food lover), watching movies in the dorms, going on night drives in the middle of the night with the music blasting and the windows down, and especially, ESPECIALLY, just having a day to myself.”

Thinking about it, I would have to agree with her. Even though I am not part of ROTC, I am still stressed by the workload of a nursing student, my finances, my job, and orchestra. This is what I have learned: It is the little things that keep you going. Set up times you can look forward to and just relax. Plan in your relaxation time. Forget about the craziness for a little while and enjoy life. Don’t think about school during your lunch at clinicals. Watch a brief YouTube video or TikTok as a reward for making it halfway through your day (but don’t go down the rabbit hole). Speaking of clinicals, stay tuned for next week’s article, A Day at Clinicals!