As a child in New York City, Jaza Amchok ’23, dreamed of becoming a professional nurse. Now a first-generation college student in the Professional Nursing program, Amcheck says she felt inspired by her parents' stories of their homeland, a rural area of Tibet with no hospitals nearby and no access to medical care.

“Growing up, my dad would tell me how the women in his village would give birth in their tented homes without any medical help. Living in a country where medical access is much easier made me realize how fortunate we are to live near a hospital and receive care quickly," she says.

This gap in access to health care drove Amchock to pursue a nursing degree. She plans to continue her education to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

“As the first person to go to college in my family, I’ve come to realize the value and privilege of being able to receive a college education,” she says. “My parents, who only received a grade-school education, always ingrained in my brother and me the importance of a solid education.”

Amchok currently spends a lot of time working with standardized patients — or role actors — in UVM’s Clinical Simulation Laboratory, learning to check vital signs and administer medication She says her experiences at UVM will help her serve the broader community,

One of her goals following graduation from UVM will be to visit Tibet for the first time and use her new expertise to help the people in her parents’ village who don’t have access to immediate medical care. She envisions the experience as a family affair.

“My uncle is a nurse and my cousin is studying to become a doctor, so we’ve always dreamed about opening a clinic together to help people seeking care that they cannot find nearby," she says. “Just knowing that the care of a person is in your hands, it’s humbling for me. As a nurse, you’re with them through the whole journey, until you know that they’re free from suffering or free from pain. Caring for someone is a huge responsibility, but it’s a rewarding one.”

Amchok says she had a choice of universities, but UVM’s outstanding nursing program and a financial aid package far surpassed that of other schools set her on a path to Burlington. She received the Ellen B. Hazzard Nursing Scholarship, which supports students in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences who help to advance the college’s goal of creating a diverse community.