Maria Monica Doroteo-Espinosa

"I have taken on so many roles and duties as an academic. I've been recognised and awarded by the institutions I’ve worked for and the student body as a nurse educator, but I'm hoping to give more to my profession. I believed in the saying of Idowu Koyenikan, “To progress in life, I don’t focus on how much I have done but on how much I have yet to do.” That's why I decided to pursue a postgraduate study at Flinders University.

I prayed that God would guide and direct my journey and dream of becoming a global nurse who could contribute to the evidenced based practice in nursing.

When I started my studies in Australia, the reality of a big change in my life dawned upon me. The first few weeks have been days of adjustment and discovery.

Besides the academic challenges I was struggling to be alone away from my family. I couldn't find a job because I was not qualified to work as a nurse. Another source of concern for me was that English is my second language. Last but not least, doing a research thesis on top of studying other topics was challenging.

In the face of all these difficulties, I remembered the saying of Bernice Johnson Reagon, "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyse you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are."