Nicole Medina: Coming Back to School and Being a Single Parent
written by: Ally Powell
C.S. Lewis once said, “You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Nicole Medina is a great example of that. She graduated from Bartlesville High School in 2002 and decided to get a degree in Nursing. Nicole wanted to come back to school because she has always wanted to be an OB-GYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist) but was deterred because she became pregnant not long after she graduated high school.
After losing her first baby before the child was born, she went into a five year depression. She says, “For years, I just lived life in fear.” After getting pregnant with her son (who will turn five in November), she said, “Okay, now is the time to do something, because I don’t want him to grow up the way I grew up. My son deserves to have a future.” After talking to her son’s Nurse Practitioner, Nicole was inspired to pursue this career.
Now a sophomore, Nicole said she doesn’t always get a lot of free time. However, when she does, she tries to do things with her son. She says, “When I do have the time, I do whatever my son wants to do—if he wants to go out and ride his bike, then we’ll do that, or we used to, during the break, do a lot of skating in Owasso at a skate rink called Wheels and Thrills, or we would go to Incredible Pizza.” “Every once in a while,” she continues, “I may go out with my cousin, but I’m not a club person, and she is.” We understand that, Nicole!
To any new Nursing major, or any new students at all, Nicole says, “Stay focused.” Nicole had a challenging semester in the Fall of 2017. She shared, “My mom got sick, and I was seeing a guy who caused a lot of confusion. The Enemy was going strong, and because of that I’m a year behind.” As a result, Nicole knows now that she needs to “stay focused, stay prayerful and hopeful, and don’t let anything get in the way.”
One of Nicole’s favorite things about OKWU is Chapel, bur her absolute favorite thing is how the professors pray for her. She says, “To have professors pray and let you know that they are there for you to pray for you whenever you need it is really important to me.” Her favorite class so far is a math class because she loved math in high school, and her math professor brought back the love she had for math.
Apart from the class Nursing Fundamentals, one of the toughest things for her in coming back to school is being a single parent. She says, “It’s just me, him, and my mom. My mom will be sixty-eight this year, so she’s not really able to do much to help.” Nicole says that she doesn’t complain and she loves all she gets to do for her son, but it isn’t easy. She says, “I’ve heard it said that it takes a village to raise a son, but it’s just me raising my child, so I’m being a village on my own.”
Nicole believes that one of the most important things in being a college student is having a good support system. Getting the most support from her aunt, Nicole says, “My mom’s sister also went to college later in life.” Her aunt always tells her, “Hang in there! Don’t give up! You know what you’re doing this for!” Nicole’s aunt’s encouragement helps her to remain strong and focused while she is coming back to school and being a single parent.
