Michelle Wheeler and Jocelyn Becerra

[00:02] JOCELYN BECERRA: My name is Jocelyn Becerra I am 24 years old, and today is April 16, 2022. We are in Chicago, Illinois, and my partner is Michelle Wheeler. And my relationship to her, we're friends. She's my colleague, my mentor. Yeah, she's great.

[00:26] MICHELLE WHEELER: My name is Michelle Wheeler. I'm 40 years old. Today is April 16, 2022, and the location is Chicago, Illinois. And the name of my interview partner is Jocelyn Becerra. And the relationship to Jocelyn is. She is my coworker friend, and I'm her mentor as well. You have a question for me, Jocelyn?

[00:49] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yeah. So I know a lot about you and your cute little family, but I do want to know a little bit more about where you grew up and just your childhood in general.

[01:03] MICHELLE WHEELER: Okay. So I was born in Guyana, which is right next to Brazil. So I left there when I was ten years old, and we moved to Antiguan Barbuda. So it was my mother, my father, and me at the time, because I'm the only child by. For ten years, I was the only child. And then you've met my sister. Then she came along, and she was born in Antiguan Barbuda. So we lived there for a while, and then we moved to New York, Brooklyn, New York, and then from Brooklyn, New York. You know, the story goes on and on, right? I bounced all over the place. We were in Delaware for a little bit. When I got older, I moved to Delaware, and from Delaware, we moved to Illinois. So lots of moving around. So, you know, it was three of us. I'm the oldest, and then it's my sister and then my little brother, who's still in New York with my parents. So that's kind of background of how I grew up.

[02:04] JOCELYN BECERRA: Nice.

[02:05] MICHELLE WHEELER: So how about you? Where are you?

[02:06] JOCELYN BECERRA: Do you want to know about me? That's something new I didn't know about. So I was born and raised in Evanston. So my parents are from Mexico. They came here when I. They were, I think, in their early twenties. So I was born and raised in Evanston, actually, St. Francis hospital, which no longer has a maternity unit. And, yeah, I mean, my whole life has been here. Evanston's just so close to home. I have three siblings, an older sister. Then there's me, the middle child, and two younger ones. I have three adorable nieces that you probably hear me talking about all the time. A dog who's 18 years old, and he's just wobbly. And we're hoping he stays a little longer. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm very family oriented, familiar with Evanston have been there my whole life, and I'm happy to be back working in Evanston, so. Yeah, that's.

[03:20] MICHELLE WHEELER: So did you ever live, like, anywhere else? Like, did you. You said you grew up here, but have you ever wanted to live anywhere else?

[03:27] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yeah, but then my comfort and safety zone is my family.

[03:33] MICHELLE WHEELER: Yeah.

[03:33] JOCELYN BECERRA: So I've never really thought of actually doing it. Like, of course. Don't we all want nice weather?

[03:41] MICHELLE WHEELER: Yeah.

[03:41] JOCELYN BECERRA: Like, don't we all want to go to Florida to live? But again, my safety network is here, so I don't know. That's a hard one. That's the hard one.

[03:51] MICHELLE WHEELER: Okay. And then you got married recently, so do you think that you're gonna stay in Evanston or just, like, your husband want to stay in Evanston or.

[04:02] JOCELYN BECERRA: So, not necessarily in Evanston, but nearby. I mean, he also grew up around the area in skokie. He has, you know, brothers here, so again, it's just family is here, so this kind of feels like home and going away where, you know, we'll just be loners. I don't know how that feels, but we'll see. We have not knocked it out the picture, but definitely not anytime soon.

[04:30] MICHELLE WHEELER: Okay. The reason I ask is, I wonder, like, you know, as far as, like, where you grew up, if that has. Because I've always, like, moving around so much with, you know, first in South America and then in the Caribbean and then in New York. Like, my goal in my head has always been to find somewhere that's, you know, that's comforting, right? Like, that's, like. And has warm weather, and I feel like I'm just kind of waiting to, like, get everything that I feel like I should have done in life and then kind of, like, move back to, like, either, like, you know, like, either, like, South America or, like, you, Caribbean or something, just to kind of, like, just, like, that part of my life. Just kind of, like, chill out once.

[05:15] JOCELYN BECERRA: You feel like you have your life together, is that what you mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I want my life together.

[05:23] MICHELLE WHEELER: But you don't want to move, okay?

[05:24] JOCELYN BECERRA: Not right now. No, I don't think so. As a child, what were your hopes for your future? Did you ever think you were going to be a nurse and have your I doctor in nursing practice?

[05:37] MICHELLE WHEELER: No, I didn't think any of it was going to happen, really. I wanted to be a lawyer, and that didn't work out. So I, you know, decided to become a nurse, actually, when I had my first daughter. So obviously, you know, and we talked about this before, like, I was really young when I had my first daughter. I was, like, still in high school. So it was, you know, at that point, I wanted to be a lawyer, and it was like, okay, I'm having, you know, this baby, so, you know, this is gonna be hard. I mean, I've always had family support, and, you know, whatever I did, my parents were always, like, there. They weren't happy about it, but they were there. So when I had my daughter, I was at the hospital, and the nurses were just really nice. Like, I. You know, I was like, this is interesting. Like, I wanted to see what they were doing. Like, when every time they came into the room, every time there was an interaction with, like, my dog, like, that was interesting to me. And, you know, they were just really nice people. And I was like, okay, I can do this. So the first time I actually got in my head that I wanted to actually go to nursing school and do nursing was then, like, I was just. Before that, I was just like, okay. I knew that, you know, my parents had it hard. Neither of my parents finished high school. I just knew that I needed to finish high school. I needed to do something, or I need to get a job, or I needed to. I knew those things had to happen. I just didn't know how, and I just didn't know what I was gonna end up doing. And, you know, I wanted to do lawyer. I wanted to go to school to be a lawyer, and that was. I didn't know why I wanted to do that. But, you know, it just seemed like, okay, well, that seems like it would work for me, and it just.

[07:13] JOCELYN BECERRA: The big bucks.

[07:14] MICHELLE WHEELER: Yeah. Yeah. I was like, okay, well, you know, I saw, like, stuff on tv. Like, I'd watch, like, these, like, law and order type of shows, and I was like, oh, I could do that. And that's where I got the idea from. But until I actually had, like, you know, an interaction with someone, like, you know, like I said, I was at the hospital, and I had, like, this interaction. It was a really hard time for me. Like, I was really young. Like, I was really, like, you know, it was all new for me, and, you know, for people to, like, come in that didn't know you and were, like, you know, really comforting and just really, like, made that experience a little bit better. I was like, okay, well, I can do this. And I feel like, you know, helping people that are struggling or having a hard time. Like, I feel like that felt like I could do this, and I.

[07:57] JOCELYN BECERRA: That's definitely you, seriously.

[07:59] MICHELLE WHEELER: And then you can go home and feel good about it. And, you know, that's how. That's, like I said, that's the first time in my head I thought, okay, nursing, I think I could do this. And, you know, so where I was then, like, you know, in high school and, like, you know, like a teenager, you know, I never went to prom. I never did any of those things because I had a newborn, you know, from there to here. Like, I would never think that, you know, this is where I would be. So. Yeah. How about you?

[08:26] JOCELYN BECERRA: Awesome. Well, I, since I was little, I always, my parents, I'm a first generation college graduate, so my parents, we always knew I was going to college, I was going to graduate. We just didn't know how we were going to get there. So that was always embedded in my brain. So that was a fact, that was a given. But the process of it was definitely challenging. I mean, I had to seek my own resources, my own mentors. As I've shared with you in the past, I have a, like, uic mentor. She's a professor there. Then I have you. I have several other resources. So that was great help. But I definitely always knew I wanted to be a nurse. I don't know, there was just something. Something about it, about, like you said, helping others, being there emotionally, physically. I mean, just. Yeah, the feeling my parents have, like, underlying medical issues that, you know, we've been in and out of hospitals and definitely being there to support them. I kind of got the same vibe as you did. Like, hey, this is pretty cool. I want to do this. You know, they know nothing about me, but yet they're so comforting. So I definitely did want to always be a nurse. And somehow, someway, I got through nursing school and I was the first in my family to graduate. So I did my undergrad four years, and then I, as you know, I'm pursuing my master's right now. And, man, oh, man, I never thought it would come this fast. When I was done with undergrad, I was like, oh, screw this. Like, it'll probably be in like, 1020 years. Like, I want nothing to do with school.

[10:21] MICHELLE WHEELER: I think we all say that, though. We're just like, oh, God, thank God we finished that.

[10:25] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yeah, I'm never going back, but here I am, going back. Yeah. And, I mean, the journey doesn't stop here. There's so much to grow and know, especially in healthcare. So, I mean, it's been great. And then I've been serving as a mentor to others, to my younger sisters who are currently in college, and they're not going to be in the healthcare field, but, you know, just still serving as their motivation that I have a full time job and in school and doing so much other things, I mean, they really do look up to me and that feels great, and I'm so happy to be there to help them out. So. Yeah.

[11:10] MICHELLE WHEELER: Do you think that? So in my mind, like, if there was never a time that I thought that I wouldn't go to college, do you think, like, as far as, like, having parents that weren't from here or parents that were from somewhere else, like, your values and what you think that you're gonna do and what you should do, that it's different? Because I. I always thought, like, whatever struggles like, they had, I had to do better, like, whatever, whatever it is that, you know. Cause I was always even with, you know, going in to fill out an application, like, if you're going to, like, you know, immigration and get, like, you know, like, you know, updated information or whatever, like, it was always hard, like, sitting and watching. Like, sometimes you would go in and the people that would work there, the way that they would communicate with people that didn't speak the same language or you, you know, and that was always hard for me. I mean, my parents there, you know, they speak patois, which is like a broken English, so it's really hard. You know, when we first moved there, it'd be hard to understand them. So it just interests me. Cause just observing, like, things, like, around you, it's kind of like, okay, well, maybe I think differently, or maybe I feel this, or feel like I have to do this way because of the way that, you know, I was taught from, you know, my parents. I feel like I had to do these things, whereas, you know, these kids we work with, kids, like, now, they're just kind of like, okay, I'll do it if I want to. I don't. Back then, it wasn't like if I wanted to or not. It was just kind of like, okay, you're right.

[12:38] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yeah. So definitely, I think we kind of have that mindset and that goal that we need to do better. I mean, they weren't given. Our parents were given the same opportunities that we have. So I always had, and I was always told that I'm, like, always had again, that in my mind, in my head. So I definitely think that we are set to higher standards where we need to do something. And for us, it was college. I mean, others, it could be other things, but definitely in my family, it's like, you guys are all going to college, and we'll figure it out. We'll figure out how we're going to pay for it or do this or do that. And thankfully, they got us through college. I mean, they got me through college. My two younger sisters are almost out. So definitely it was something that we always kept in mind. And, yeah, like you said, I mean, there's struggles, you know, growing up, the language was different. My parents do know English, but, you know, they have the thick accent that, you know, you sometimes you're. You just have a harder time getting through things or getting things done, just like you described. So, yeah, it's. It's definitely different for us. It's a different journey that I think we value things a little more. We value the education we got. It's not just, like, handed or given. It's like we worked for it. We wanted this. And I always, for the longest, I said, you know, I'm doing it for you guys because especially when I was, like, struggling in nursing school, I was, oh, my God, I was so sick my senior year. Like, physically sick. I was hospitalized. It was just a hot mess, but I just pushed through, and I'm like, I'm doing this for you guys. Like, this is for you guys. So definitely. Yeah.

[14:41] MICHELLE WHEELER: And what is one thing you want people to know about you that they don't already know?

[14:48] JOCELYN BECERRA: One thing that I want people to know about me that I never even knew is that I never thought I was going to be a school nurse, never in my life. That was probably the last thing I would look into. And now it's just. I just feel. I don't know. I don't think I've shared this with you in the past, but I've had several different positions and roles in nursing, and nothing has felt more like home than my job right now, which is awesome. And this is what I wanted. I wanted to feel. I wanted the homey feeling at my other job. I felt like I just showed up to work, right, to get the paycheck, to get the bills paid to, but it never was really fulfilling or satisfying. You know, I mean, it just didn't hit close to home. And I think another huge benefit or huge factor is that I'm in Evanston, and, you know, that's my hometown. I was born and raised here. I went to our high school, and it's just super different, I would say. So it is very rewarding, and. And I am really blessed to have this opportunity, and I don't think I would ever go back to the floor. So definitely. How about you.

[16:15] MICHELLE WHEELER: I don't know. I think I struggle with what I mean, you know, this, like, I do, like, ten different things. So it's kind of like, okay, I'm still at the hospital. I'm at the school. I'm teaching. I'm doing this, I'm doing that. And, you know, as I mentioned, we talked about this the other day. I don't think that I keep coming back to the school setting because, I mean, we have our challenges there, but I think it's something that it kind of grows on. You know, it's kind of, you're there and you get used to the people there. You get, you know, the things you see. I mean, we see so many different things. And it's always in the back of my mind that even for that one person that's really struggling, if we can help that one person. Like, I was in high school. I had my daughter when I was young, but I still got out, and I was still able to finish school, and I was still able to do all these things. And I think that kids are at, you know, in the building now. It's like, we can. If you can capture those people, like, you can make such a big difference, right? Because you can show people a different way. So I struggle with that feeling because I think that's, that's a good place to be where you can, you know, capture, you know, people when they're at that stage because they haven't quite. They have, they're not adults yet, but they're still trying. They're still trying to find themselves. So I struggle with being there and I struggle with being. I mean, I've done all the things that I wanted to do. Like, I've, you know, I can't. I can't do any more schooling at this point. So it's kind of like, okay, what do I do with that? Do I take that and do I try to go further with it? Do I do, like, you know, do I go be a CNO or something? Do I go work at a hospital and do I, like, you know, do management or do I, you know, stay in, you know, teaching and do I mentor? So it's just, it's just so many different things. And as you know, in nursing that you can do that. It's hard to figure out where I want to be, but where I am now, I feel like it's a. It's comfortable. So that's why I kind of just kind of, like, stick with.

[18:26] JOCELYN BECERRA: And that's the thing. I feel like with you, you're a busy body. So I definitely see you trying different things and all of that, but it's good to know you're comfortable right now, which is also important. But, you know, there's always that time where maybe there's a plateau and maybe you want a challenge and that's a good thing to think about.

[18:47] MICHELLE WHEELER: Yeah.

[18:48] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yeah. I can see Doctor Wheeler being a CNO or something.

[18:53] MICHELLE WHEELER: Yeah. But they don't want that stress.

[18:54] JOCELYN BECERRA: I know you're comfortable right now. You have the summers on. No one's gonna give you that, right?

[19:01] MICHELLE WHEELER: That's true.

[19:02] JOCELYN BECERRA: That's true.

[19:03] MICHELLE WHEELER: Yeah. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what happens.

[19:06] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yes.

[19:12] MICHELLE WHEELER: See. Who inspired you to become a nurse? Like I told you, who inspired me to become a nurse? Probably like the nurses that I've run into.

[19:24] JOCELYN BECERRA: Let's see. I don't think there was a specific person. I know my parents, actually, they always wanted someone in healthcare. They did. And I kind of fell for it.

[19:38] MICHELLE WHEELER: I think that's like every foreign parent ever.

[19:42] JOCELYN BECERRA: I think I kind of fell for it. But no, they weren't too pushy, honestly. I mean, even with my younger sisters, they're not pushy at all. You get your feet wet, see what you like out there. But I think that definitely had some factor into going to nursing school. I'm not sure if it's 100% them, but there's nothing really that sparks it out. It's just when I was small, I would always play with my dolls, and I was always a doctor, so getting them checked and everything. So, yeah, I mean, it was always in me, it's different.

[20:24] MICHELLE WHEELER: What do you wish people knew about nursing?

[20:28] JOCELYN BECERRA: Oh, man, this is loaded. I don't even know where to start. It's. I mean, nursing, you just have to. You just have to live a day in the life of a nurse to. To really see what we go through. I mean, there's ups and downs. I mean, there's days where, you know, in the past, I've gone home crying when I was like, per se in the mental psych hospital, where I've gone home crying because it was such an emotionally draining day. And then there's other days where it's physically tiring. When I was in the floor in OB, you know, running around with a hemorrhage patient, or I in the school setting, you know, maybe getting an angry phone call from a parent and just having your head blown off. And it's just. You can go from zero to 100 real quick in any nursing position or setting. So I would just invite someone to come shadow a nurse, and you'll kind of get the feel and hopefully appreciate nurses a little bit more, because I feel like sometimes we're forgotten about. Definitely. What do you think?

[21:42] MICHELLE WHEELER: I think, like you said, in any nursing specialty, it's hard. I think sometimes, even as nurses, we don't always value what other nurses go through in their setting. And I only say that because I've done a lot of different settings, and the challenges that we have where we are now are not necessarily the challenges that we would have. I've never worked on the Ob floor. I've, you know, triaged Ob patients, but never been, like, on the floor. So I've never had a patient hemorrhage. And I think, you know, as a nurse, like, there's, to me, like, hospice nurses, they're just, they're just great people. And people that work in hematology that deal with, like, especially pediatric hematology, when you have, like, babies that are coming in that are, like, you have to, like, you have two patients, right? You have the family that's your patients, and you have the babies that are your patients. So I think that's really hard. And to work with a family for a really long time and then have to console that family after they lose, you know, lose their child or, like, you know, are standing in the hallway when they're, you know, taking a child down for, like, you know, you know, for, like, organ transplant or whatever, or, you know, they have to pull the plug on their child and then they're, like, donating their organs and stuff like that. So it's the nurses that are there for that and the nurses that are working with the families and the patients in that setting. I don't know. I feel like internally, you have to be a certain way internally to actually deal with that and deal with it over and over and over and over again and still go home to your family. And I don't think that I can ever fully value that experience because I've never been in it, just as I don't think that a nursing, that setting could, you know, even imagine, like, what it's like to, in our setting to have a student that's, you know, coming in with, like, cutting because they're like, you know, having all these, you know, trauma issues at home and having to, like, the toll that that takes on us, you know, psychologically. So I just think it's, you know, not just for, you know, these aren't things that just people should know, but we should also have like, other nurses shadow other nurses, too, because, you know, the experience is just so different from one specialty to the other. So in my mind, I always think hospice nurses, because they go in on a daily basis and prepare people to go. Like how? Like, I mean, I don't. I deal with a lot of things, like, you know, in our setting and the various settings I've worked in, but I don't know that I could deal with that. Like, every. Like, at some point, you're like, you go home and that, you know, you're laying down at night and you're thinking about. That's in your mind all the time. Like, this person just passed is there. You know, they had all these other things going on. They have family you're thinking about, their kids you're thinking about. And we do that in general anyway. But I just, you know, hospice nurses, I don't know, they have it rough.

[24:52] JOCELYN BECERRA: I would say my soft spot as pediatrics. Like, that brings me up to a story. I remembered I was doing a clinical rotation at the children's hospital, and I was in a transplant unit. I just bawled in tears when this little, little child, probably like five or six, was jumping up and down because they were getting a new kidney that day. Like, OMG. Like, really a baby, like, excited to live. That was heartbreaking. And I just went home and cried and, yeah, I. I mean, that rotation was just so, so hard. It was hard, emotionally hard. So definitely.

[25:45] MICHELLE WHEELER: Is there. Is there a specialty that you bought that you don't ever see yourself doing because of that? Because of just how you think it would be, like, emotionally? The.

[25:57] JOCELYN BECERRA: Well, I think a part of the reason why I left psych is because it was so emotionally draining. Like, I really enjoyed it. I loved it. And, you know, my rapport with the kids were great. I mean, you know, I'm a little more stern, a little more hard. But, you know, sometimes that's needed, and they needed that, and they appreciated that. They appreciated that structure, that figure. So, I mean, we. It was a great time, but some of these stories were absolutely, like, heartbreaking. Like, I could never, never imagine living or going through. So it's, you know, anything that has to deal with, like, trauma and children abuse, neglect, whatever it is, I mean, it's just so, so hard to. I mean, you can't get over it. I mean, there's still patients where. I wonder where they are right now. I mean, you know, did they overdose yet? I mean, these are kids, you know? You know, are they reunited with their family? You know, I don't know. It's hard, but this is the profession we chose, and we're here for a reason, and it's rewarding at the end of the day, definitely. But there's also some very hard and some very hard stories that will always be kept with you. You.

[27:33] MICHELLE WHEELER: I think, for everyone that you have, like, a really hard time with, though, there's one that, you know, that, okay, this person is, they're better. They're, you know, they're in remission or they're, you know, they were able to go home with their families, and, you know, they're doing so much better. So I think that's, you know, I think that's why a lot of times we kind of go back to it.

[27:55] JOCELYN BECERRA: Yes.

[27:55] MICHELLE WHEELER: Is because even if there are these. These hard stories, that they're still, like, a positive effect as well. Just sometimes I wonder how much of that. Of the things that you're taking home with you daily, because I've never been able to fully. Just detach completely. I can go home and pack and go on vacation and be sitting on the beach. If there is someone that, you know, I left in the hospital when I left, like, the first thing I do when I come back is like, okay, where's this person? And, you know, what's going on with them? You know, what? You know, where are they now? So it's always, I think, how much are we not realizing that we're taking with us and how much of that is being, like, chipped away, like, slowly? So I think that's the hard part, is that, yeah, we were doing it, and we love what we do. We're gonna keep doing it. And, you know, for everyone negative there is a positive, but at the end of the day, you know, what's the toll of that whole thing? You know, I wasn't surprised. You know, like, after the pandemic and everything, that they're like, okay, well, nurses are leaving in droves. Like, we all thought about leaving. Like, it's. You know, it was hard. Like, it was like, you were overworked, and I don't know necessarily it was the overworking part, but I think also it was. I mean, we. And we've talked. We talked about this. It's. It's your family, right? Like, you go home and. Yeah, it's the uncertainty and it's the. You go home and, yeah, I'm overworked and I'm tired, but I can't sleep because I'm worried that my kid's gonna get sick or I'm gonna bring home something to my kids, or I'm gonna bring home something to my, you know, my mother or, you know, my father or, you know, they have underlining health issues. So I wasn't really surprised that, you know, people were deciding to do other things because at the end of the day, you know, it's what you have left when you go home is your family. So if you don't have your family, then what's the point, right?

[30:02] JOCELYN BECERRA: And then the guilt that you would bring and carry that, you know, you brought this home. You brought this ugly virus home. So, yeah, like we talked about, it's anxiety inducing. I mean, it's traumatizing. You know, the start of the pandemic was just so much uncertainty. No one knew what we were all doing. We were just going. Rolling with the punches, trying to keep these patients alive and just keep ourselves safe and healthy, to go home and stay alive and keep our family safe and alive. So, yeah, there were so many challenges and so many things that we can talk about to our future generations about this ugly pandemic that we worked and we're still in. Yeah, that. Yeah. Yeah.

[30:50] MICHELLE WHEELER: So, I mean, I think just even with. Again, with, like, things taking things home with you, like, even with that, like, you know, like, I told you before, like, I would go home and, like, at the door, like, take everything off, like, strip at the door. Like, the kids weren't able to, like, you couldn't come down this step at this time because I was coming in the house through the back, and I was gonna strip, and then I was gonna go to the basement and throw my stuff in the laundry. So no one should come down the steps. Cause mom's walking around naked. Like, no one come downstairs. So it's that. And then it's like, okay, even after that part's over, like, you're going home. Like, should you. When you're having dinner, should you not sit as close, like, is it on? You know, did you get everything out your hair? Did you get everything off your clothes? Is it on your cell phone? Is it, like, these are all things that are still, like, going through your mind? So I think, like, just for everyone, like, just the last couple of years, it's just been so, like, strange. Like, not just strange, but just physically and, like, emotionally just. I don't know. I wouldn't say damaging, probably, because I don't think we're ever gonna be able to go back to what things were before because this is always gonna be in the back of our heads, you know, even now at work. We're like, okay, well, you know, with our mask, like, yeah, you know, we can take them off by, you know, take it off all day. I don't know, because it's just so many. So many questions, like, behind it, so I don't know. I don't know what, you know, what the new normal is. I just know that it's left us in a different place and, you know, starting to, like, build from there. What that's gonna look like, I have no idea, but, you know, I don't know.

[32:39] JOCELYN BECERRA: We will see. We will see.

[32:41] MICHELLE WHEELER: I don't know. So. Okay. And what are you most proud of in your career?

[32:51] JOCELYN BECERRA: Hmm? What am I most proud of? I would say just being where I am today, this might sound a little cheated, a little corny, but just being on earth, being here where I am, helping our youth, helping our community, furthering my education, which is something I always wanted to do, and doing it, you know, not 1020 years down the line like I had planned, but, you know, going back and, yeah, I'm just. I guess I'm proud of myself. I mean, it's. It's surreal. It's something I never thought would happen. I sometimes, you know, when I was a baby, new grad, you know, they would call for the nurse, and I'm like, I'm the nurse. What do I do? What do I tell these doctors? And what if, I don't know, no one tell them? What do I order for this patient? I mean, it's so surreal. And then till this date, I mean, I'm a nurse. You know, it's just telling these parents no, you know, or even, you know, the staff we work with, you know, I'm the nurse, and I think, you know, my professional opinion counts, and I think I'm a nurse. Yeah, I'm the professional. So that's definitely something I take pride in and definitely something I'm proud of. I mean, we are the backbone to a lot of things, so. Yeah. How about you? What are you most proud of?

[34:33] MICHELLE WHEELER: I think it somewhat aligns with the same I'm proud of. Like I said, from where I started and where I am now, it's two completely different places, and I think. I don't always view that, you know, it was a struggle, but it was really a struggle. I'm also proud of that. I can share that with people. So, like, you know, seeing you do well or seeing, like, karina do well or seeing, like, you know, my kids do well or, you know, especially, you know, with. With nursing and just people get discouraged and I feel like, you know, if you're like, okay, well, hey, Michelle, I'm doing this, you know. Can you help with this? Well, yeah, of course I'm gonna help you do that. Cause I wanna see you do better. I wanna see that you've met your full potential. So if I can help someone. Cause like I said, I feel like a lot of people sometimes struggle with asking for help. And I feel like if I'm able to help and I'm able to offer that to someone, I should. And, yeah, I just think that I'm proud of the mentality I have, I guess, because I'm always. I would never, like, if I saw someone struggling and I knew that I could help, not help them, and that's whether it's another nurse or another person or, you know, whoever. So I think my mentality, I guess, is what I'm most proud of as a person. And then in nursing, just being able to help others fulfill, you know, what they need to do to make themselves better in the healthcare field. So.

[36:05] JOCELYN BECERRA: And I see that. I mean, you're, you're a great mentor. You definitely have that helping hand, you know, so I definitely see that. And that's great. That's a great goal. That's a great place to be where you, you know, you've grown yourself from, you know, the very bottom to the very top, and now you're like the helping hand of many. So, yeah, I thank you for being my mentor and my friend, and I'm really grateful to get to know you a little better through this interview.

[36:40] MICHELLE WHEELER: Well, you're welcome. Bye.