Ipswich fifth grader wins nursing essay contest

 

Kaylin Onken, a fifth-grader at Ipswich, is honored as the 2018 winner of the "Why I Want to be a Nurse" essay contest winner at a May 18 ceremony at her school. She is flanked by her teacher, Carol Lacher, left, and Linda Burdette, an assistant dean with South Dakota State University's College of Nursing accelerated nursing program in Aberdeen.

Kaylin Onken, a fifth-grader from Ipswich, won the 17th annual "Why I Want to be a Nurse" essay contest sponsored by the College of Nursing at South Dakota State University.

"I like to help people. If someone is sad or if they're sick or if someone needs help, I make them feel better," Onken said after receiving her recognition at a May 18 school ceremony.

The presentation, which includes $100, was made by Linda Burdette, an assistant dean with the College of Nursing's accelerated nursing program in Aberdeen.

Onken wrote, in part, "Nurses are caring people, and that's why I would love to be one. I am willing to take the risks and work hard, so I will be able to feel satisfaction after helping patients. Someday I will go to a school of nursing and fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse."

Onken's career preference doesn't come via family influence. Her mother, Christy, is a teacher's aide in Ipswich and her father, Jason, works for the Edmunds County Highway Department.


But because she likes to help people and animals, being a nurse is at the top of the list when Kaylin talks about what she would like to do, Christy Onken said.

When Kaylin was just a first-grader, her oldest brother had back surgery in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Christy Onken said of Kaylin, "She was very interested in what the nurses' roles were in his care. He also had therapy, which intrigued her also. She also spends a lot of time caring for her youngest brother when he's hurt or sick. She definitely enjoys taking care of others.

Kaylin seems to be aware of the challenges of being a nurse.

She wrote, "Nurses also sometimes might have night shifts. It can be hard to work nights when you have a family at home to take care of during the day when they really want to sleep. Sometimes nurses will have to deal with patients who aren't the most polite. They have to deal with them and take care of them.

"Being a nurse is a tough job and they put in long hours each day, but they are always there to do their best to make others feel better."

Runner-up in the contest, which is open to all South Dakota fifth-graders, was Destiny Bekaert, of Gary. She received $75.

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state's Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from six different colleges representing more than 200 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 36 master's degree programs, 15 Ph.D. and two professional programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.

 

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