Imprint 2022 November/December | Page 41

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BRADY JACOBS : LEADERSHIP & CALLING By Abigail Borland 2022-2023 Imprint Up Close Reporter

NSNA has six core values and of these Brady Jacobs , a senior from Georgia , exhibits leadership at its best . And yet there is another trait , not included on NSNA ’ s list , that he exemplifies as well – a sense of calling .

Many nursing students feel a “ calling ” to enter nursing for their chosen career – or rather , the career they feel chose them . And yet , not all of us felt a sense of instant connection with the nursing profession before entering college . Some of us slowly found our way into it .
Brady Jacobs , a twenty-one-year-old graduating in May , experienced this type of journey to nursing . Originally from Cave Spring , Georgia , he felt a sense of divine calling before college , a calling to serve others , which he felt God wanted him to exhibit by becoming a children ’ s minister . With these plans in mind , he enrolled in Shorter University , a Baptist university in Rome , Georgia , as a communications major . However , as Brady settled into his classes and completed an internship at a local church , he sensed that full-time children ’ s ministry was not how he needed to express this calling to serve others . So he pivoted to nursing .
Brady describes two people as being pivotal in his path to this profession . His best friend , herself a nursing major , encouraged him to pursue the career because she thought the profession would fit him . Around the same time , his psychology professor praised nursing as a worthwhile career because it is a direct way to serve people at vulnerable points in their lives .
Since loving others and caring for them was Brady ’ s end goal , the switch from
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