Chelsea Kendall
I had begun my search for a school after moving to a new state with my family and realizing that I wanted to change career paths. I have always been interested in the medical field and wanted somewhere that would allow me to do my school work from home. Between this big change and my desire to work online, everything eventually led me toward starting my education at Herzing.
Not long after I enrolled in Herzing’s medical assisting program, I learned that I was pregnant with my second child. While this was certainly a surprise after moving, another big surprise came in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, a little after 6 months into starting the program I was told it was best to leave my current job as a Pre-K teacher since I was considered high risk due to my autoimmune disease and pregnancy. While it was unfortunate, I decided to take time off work to stay safe.
This meant that there was now one less source of income within my home, so my fiancée and I ultimately decided the best option would be to move in with my parents for a bit. Though having my beautiful baby was supposed to be an exciting experience, and it still very much was, I was scared of delivering a baby during a pandemic. That’s not even touching on how hard it was to balance the baby, school and pandemic all at once!
I struggled with sleep exhaustion, disconnection, not having personal space, and being overwhelmed all while keeping up on my homework/classes with a new baby. I had to deal with all of this on top of protecting myself and my family from the virus, which mostly meant staying inside the house. It was very difficult learning how to manage all these things and how to cope with processing my emotions.
Thankfully, with the help of my fiancée, family, friends and doctors, I was able to safely get back to sanity. I am thankful for Herzing and how they made it possible to complete my work through Zoom, and a lot of the teachers were helpful during my journey. I’d like to give a shout-out to Pamela Borsum, as she did a wonderful job at being positive and encouraging throughout my clinical process!
Unfortunately, I failed to land an externship site due to COVID, which delayed my graduation from December till May. Thankfully, I was eventually able to secure a spot at the office that also managed my pregnancy. It was a wonderful office and I had incredible learning experiences with those who aided me in my journey! I learn better with hands-on experience, so clinicals and my externship definitely prepared me the most for my career.
At the end of my education, I managed to be on the dean’s and president’s list multiple times, and am so proud of myself. I think any student in the medical field who was able to finish their degree during this time should be extremely proud of themselves because it was not easy for any of us!
Despite everything, I was able to complete my degree in a great timely manner. Although it was quick, I do not feel like I was ever truly overwhelmed with my workload from classes. I feel like they were properly balanced out as well, which really helped during the chaos of 2020.
I was surprised to see that even though classes were done at a quicker pace, they were still completed on my own terms. I think having control over that helped me finish my degree a bit easier. I am thankful for attending a school that encouraged me to start and pushed me toward not only finishing but finishing as a stronger person!
