Stephanie Manning

I graduated from Eastern KentuckyUniversity in 2007 with a BA in Communication Studies. There I was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority where I served as Philanthropy chair to many different volunteer organizations. Philanthropies included March of Dimes, Big Brother Big Sister of the Bluegrass and American Cancer Society. After graduation I moved to South FL and pursued a career in sales. I really enjoyed the time I spent in South FL and gained great career experience but always felt my life was missing something.

At the end of 2011 I fell in lovewith the idea of going back to school and pursuing my Second Degree in Nursing.I met a terminally ill patient at a local dog park through a brief and random encounter. We sat and talked about life, love, happiness, and everything inbetween. His love for his hospice nurse persuaded me to do just that. I want tobecome a Registered Nurse and, more specifically, work with Hospice care andpatients at the end of their lives. He had such a different perspective on everything in life and his unwavering appreciation and love for his beloved nurse was persuasive and empowering. He was with his nurse at the time and hisbeloved dog, Rex. She would bring him to the park to visit Rex on occasion.

This encounter touched my heart on so many different levels. I immediately went home and knew what I needed to do. It persuaded me to not only attend a BSN program and become an RN but also I, now, volunteer at the Volusia VITAS PAWS Innovative Hospice care. I visit patients every weekend that are at the end of their lives. These patients have had to give up their pets because of their health condition. I bring along my furry best friend, Baylee. She is a chocolate lab and her ears perk up and her tail wags non-stop at the sight of each patient. She loves to go visit them and they look forward to seeing her every weekend.We visited the patient I met in the park every Saturday until he passed. I will cherish those memories that I was blessed to have made with him and hopefully I was able to change his life and make the end a bit easier to bear. This is my motivation and I am determined to achieve this new found goal for myself. I am a verycompassionate and loving person. I feel like this is the perfect career for not only my personality but it fits the mold of what I feel is a life changing career. If I
can make a difference in someone's life than mine is worth living.