Reagan Morrell from South Dakota received one of the Children of Warriors National Presidents’ Scholarships to aid in her academic journey pursuing a degree at Purdue University. Starting out in the exploratory studies program, Morrell gained the time to direct her studies into nursing. Morell is eligible for the scholarship through her parents, both of whom are U.S. Air Force veterans. Her mother retired as an Air Force nurse, and her father retired after over 20 years as a fighter pilot. He now serves in the Air National Guard. Morrell plans to graduate May 2029 with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. After spending time in the field, she hopes to go back to school to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.

What gave you the idea to pursue nursing? 
In high school, my dad suggested to me so many times, “Reagan, why don’t you think about nursing? I think you would really like it,” and I was like, “Dad, no, no.” Then I got to college, and they make you do a certain exploratory class when you’re in the program here. I was just going through all the things and doing different shadowing. I was like, “Wow, I actually think I might enjoy nursing.”
 
My mom is a nurse practitioner for women’s health. She has a business now where she does a lot of health and hormone therapies for specifically women’s menstrual cycles and things like that. I got really excited about the possibility of nursing because I think I would really enjoy the type of patient care my mom does. It is, weirdly enough, my mom I would say who encouraged me in that.


How does this scholarship benefit you?
It helped me a lot, but I think it made coming to Purdue a lot more accessible because obviously monetary reasons and everything. It took a lot of that burden away, especially for my first semester and first year getting adjusted and into things. It allowed me to feel a lot more excitement about coming.

What advice do you have for others in the transitional phase from high school to university — especially military children?
The advice is to not put all this pressure on yourself to have it all figured out. Rely on your family — I mean, hopefully they can rely on their family — but to rely on the people close to you for support, and to know the expectation isn’t that you know exactly what’s going on. You don’t have to go into it knowing exactly what you’re going to pursue, exactly what you’re going to do when you graduate college, and exactly what the rest of your life is to look like. Give yourself grace in the process, and also, enjoy it. 

What would you like ALA members to know about this scholarship’s impact?
Honestly, I feel like it opens so many doors to people who may be [going through] financial things, and feel like maybe a burden to the pursuit of their dreams and their schooling. That it provides such a relief, and it’s been such a blessing in my life, actually, to get to know that my whole first semester was paid for. I’m sure other people who receive the scholarship also feel the same way where you’re really grateful. It makes coming to college more exciting when you aren’t so worried about “Oh my gosh, how am I going to pay for this?” in that moment.