Lexi Lehan is a junior on the Fairfield University Women's Soccer team and is also enrolled in the University's Egan School of Nursing. Lehan joins FairfieldStags.com to describe how she started on her journey into the nursing field and how the Covid-19 pandemic has shaped her motivation for the field
When did you first know that you wanted to get into nursing?
Growing up I always loved kids and knew I wanted to do something that would involve working with kids and helping people. Throughout high school, I volunteered for a community based program designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to children and adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. As I began to explore my options for college and continuing to play soccer in college, I had the opportunity to meet the nursing students on the soccer team at Fairfield.. With my deep-rooted desire to help others, nursing clicked, and since then has been all I can imagine myself doing.
What aspect of the nursing major and field interests you the most?
I think I am drawn to nursing and medicine because you get to have a direct impact on other people's lives and form connections with people of different backgrounds and experiences through nursing. So far in my nursing studies, pediatric oncology and obstetrics have caught my interest as potential fields to further explore.
What have been some of the challenges balancing being a student-athlete while also maintaining your work in the nursing major?
Definitely time management. I think all student athletes would agree that it is a big adjustment when you start college to manage your academic workload with classes and study halls on top of practice schedule, games, lifts, and taking care of yourself for your sport. For nursing especially, we have clinicals and extra hours in the lab that quickly add up so I try my best to plan my time well and stay on top of all my work and studying.
How has being a nursing major at Fairfield shaped your desire to get into the field?
Being a nursing major at Fairfield has made me feel very prepared and excited to get into the field. I have older teammates on the soccer team who are also nursing majors, including recent graduates, and hearing their experiences in the field make me excited for my future career. I am grateful to love what I am learning and look forward to starting my career.
How has the pandemic shaped your interest in nursing?
I think the pandemic has shown me how important nurses and essential healthcare workers. I admire all the nurses jumping in to help during the pandemic and recent nursing graduates who began practicing during this time.
Why is being a nurse so important to you?
I think nursing is both a passion and a profession. Nurses do so much more than simply care for an individual. While nurses are caregivers, they are also innovators, advocators, teachers, and beyond. I see nursing as an opportunity to make a real difference in someone's life, and an opportunity with unlimited professional and personal growth. I think being a nurse will be extremely rewarding and continuously humbling.
Looking back to when you first started at Fairfield, how would you say your desire for the nursing field has changed or increased?
I think that my passion for nursing has only grown. Since starting at Fairfield and now being two years in, I have only grown more excited to earn a nursing degree and begin practicing! I definitely think I made the right decision to pursue nursing and attend Fairfield, I love it here.
