Former college drop out finds drive

By Jeffrey Christian
The Collegian

Fresno State student Grant Bailey was a failure — or at least that’s what he thought of himself after he was thrown out of school.

But after flunking out of college, the 25-year-old former business major, overcame personal and financial obstacles to transform his life.

Now, the nursing student has not only been awarded an emergency assistance grant — he has finally found a career field that he is passionate about.

Bailey was introduced to the medical field and hospital environment at a young age after his father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

When Bailey was 10, his father spent four months in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit before passing away. That experience still resonates with Bailey today and has helped create his relentless drive for success in medicine.

“I got a chance at a young age to see what warmth a nurse can bring to such a dark situation,” Bailey said.

Despite his early introduction to medicine, Bailey struggled to find a potential career path after enrolling at Fresno State. His indecisiveness led him to choose business as his major while he completed his general education classes.

In addition to going to school, Bailey was also working at a restaurant and traveling around the state, playing guitar for a local rock band. The late hours working and playing music didn’t leave Bailey with much time to focus on school.

Bailey ended up on academic probation and eventually flunked out of school.

“I was academically disqualified, which for me in my opinion, was reaching the status of loser. People won’t change their habits or lifestyle until they’ve hit their own rock bottom and for me, that was my rock bottom,” Bailey said.

Instead of becoming just another dropout statistic, Bailey decided that he would rededicate himself to his schoolwork and graduate from Fresno State.

However, he decided that in order to return to school successfully, he needed to change his major to one that he was enthusiastic about.

“I was always working in restaurants and one of my passions is working with people,” Bailey said.

“Everything just sort of clicked and for me nursing is the best of both worlds. I’m embracing the science of what makes humans click and I’m working with people.”

The path back to Fresno State wasn’t easy.

To reenroll, Bailey had to withstand an interview process and write a few papers, meet academic qualifications and overcome the staggering number of his peers who also wanted to get into the nursing program.

“I don’t ever want to feel that failure, like I’m not trying my best again. Even if I wake up tired or don’t want to do something, that thought comes to my head right away and I don’t want to be that person again,” Bailey said.

In addition to the list of challenges that Bailey had to overcome simply to get into the program, there were financial burdens as well. Students must purchase textbooks, scrubs, stethoscopes, immunizations and other equipment for their first semester.

According to Bailey, the first bundle of textbooks cost about $1,300 and the other various costs and tuition create an expensive opening semester.

After applying and waiting for student loans, Bailey paid for the high cost of his first semester with plastic.

“I got two credit cards that had zero interest for a year and I put everything on those,” Bailey said. “I waited for student loans and then paid them off. I didn’t want the temptation of using the cards so I cancelled them credit cards. But, maybe next semester I’ll do the same thing.”

Fortunately for Bailey, the financial burden was recently eased when he received an $1,100 grant from Flo’s Cookie Jar. The nonprofit organization, named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, provides emergency grants and assistance to nursing students faced with leaving school or for those who need assistance starting out.

“We literally covered textbooks for Grant, but for other students we’ve paid things like rent, car payments and any debt to help keep them in school,” Flo’s Cookie Jar Founding Chair Kristine Yahn said.

Transitioning to the environment of nursing classes has been one of the biggest adjustments that Bailey has had to make since joining the program.

“Nursing classes are different because you are actually having to apply what you learned. With some classes you can just study before the test to get the grade, but with nursing you can’t do that,” Bailey said. “You’re dealing with people’s lives, so you have to study and make sure that everything is completely absorbed.”

Fresno State Nursing Chair Michael Russler said he believes that Bailey’s perseverance and work ethic not only provide great motivation for his peers but will also help him achieve future success.

“It is not unusual to see students who have gone through situations like Grant. It has tempered him and it makes his determination to get through the program more potent,” Russler said.

Often stereotyped as a woman’s job, Bailey comfortably falls within a minority population in the nursing profession.

“A lot of times people are like nurse? Really? Not a doctor?” Bailey said. “But I think that the profession and the idea of being a nurse is changing to the point where in ten to fifteen years it will be a male and female profession.”

Despite the puzzled looks, Bailey believes that he has overcome the challenges and is finding success on the career path that has been his destiny since he was 10 years old.

“I just feel this connection to help people and I have empathy for people in those situations,” Bailey said. “I just feel that this is where my niche is.”

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