Tasha Sadler always dreamed of becoming a pediatric nurse, but she was always too busy – first helping her ailing mother and then raising her two daughters – and the goal seemed unachievable.
“My girls are my whole world, and everything I do, I do for them,” she said. “I never thought that becoming a nurse was still possible because I felt that I was too old to go back to school. I wanted more for myself and my kids.”
Tasha, a single mom, juggled two jobs at area grocery stores while tending to her two children, now 8 and 11, as well as supporting her mother, who suffers from kidney failure.
Then came the pandemic and, thanks to online classes, there was time.
Tasha, then 36, leapt at the chance to pursue her licensed vocational nursing certificate at Chaffey College – made possible with the help of a $1,000 scholarship from Hope through Housing in 2022.
She soon found work at Kaiser Permanente Riverside County, caring for babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“That’s always been my calling. I love working with babies,” she said. “I’m a person who is supposed to help.”
Inspired by her success, she set her sights on earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from a four-year college and becoming a registered nurse. First, however, she has to complete her Associate of Arts degree.
And, there have been some challenges.
“I am renting a laptop because I can’t afford one,” she said. “Not having a computer has been a huge obstacle for me. If I had my own laptop, I could take more classes and possibly be done already with school.”
Tasha has just three classes to go before she can apply for the BSN program. Once again, Hope through Housing has stepped in, awarding her $1,000 and providing a new laptop to support her journey.
“I am so proud of the person I have become and all the obstacles I have overcome. My future doesn’t just seem like a dream anymore, it’s becoming my reality,” she said.
Equally important, she says her hard work has inspired her daughters.
“They have learned to never give up. They can be anything they dream to be anything they put their mind to be. They can do it. They saw me work and go to school,” she said.