From Peace Corps to Peace of Mind

“I always knew I wanted to work in healthcare,” says Sean Czaja, but it wasn’t until he worked with the U.S. Peace Corps and volunteered for an Operation Smile mission that he realized nursing was right for him.

His international experiences “ignited the want for constant patient interaction, exemplified the difference good nurses make, and solidified my current goals,” explains Czaja, who aspires to become an acute-care clinical nurse specialist and continue his involvement in global health. “Nursing is a career full of endless opportunities, and there is always a need everywhere for the skilled and compassionate work of nurses.”

His journey begins here, in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing’s BS-to-MSN with Clinical Residency program. Upon completing his accelerated bachelor’s degree, Czaja will continue his studies part-time in the School of Nursing’s MSN program while working full-time as a nurse resident at one of the Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospitals.

He credits the Nursing Scholarship Fund for “making the world-class education of Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing more accessible to me. As a student paying my own way through school, this scholarship has given me some peace of mind and made it easier to focus on becoming the best nurse I can.”