Erica Wark photo Krista Kenny gets ready for a hard day of work at the manor.

Krista Kenny is finally in her element as a first-year nursing student at Algonquin.

Kenny enrolled in the early childhood education program at Algonquin after high school. Her hopes were to become an elementary school teacher.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I knew I loved working with kids and helping people,” said Kenny.

After a semester of early childhood, she realized it was not for her. “I like kids, but not 20 at a time,” she said.

“My mom has worked with Paramed, a Canadian homecare company, for years,” Kenny explained. “I was really having a tough time deciding what I wanted to do next. My mom brought up applying for a personal support worker program through Paramed and I decided I would look into it.”

“After two interviews, I was accepted into the Paramed vocational school PSW program,” Kenny said. “I thought health care was a great idea and could be a steady and successful career path for me.”

Paramed paid for Kenny to take the course in exchange for working 10 hours a week as a homemaker until the eight month course was finished.

“After writing the provincial exam and receiving my diploma, I got a job at Fairview Manor in Almonte,” Kenny said.

After months of working at both Paramed and the Manor, Kenny realized she wanted to explore the health care field more in depth.

“Although I really enjoyed the PSW work, I wanted to challenge myself more,” she explained.

“From there I decided to apply to the nursing program at Algonquin this past September,” Kenny said. “I loved it right away, and knew it was for me. It’s going to be a lot of work but it’ll be worth it in the end.”

Kenny hopes to enroll in the bridging program through the University of Ottawa, to receive her registered nurse certificate and degree in nursing.