Meet our next student spotlight, David Zaleta! David was always interested in medicine. “I was originally planning to attend medical school in Mexico, where I’m from,” he explained. While serving a mission in California, however, some of David’s friends suggested he study in the states to become a doctor, so he began work as a medical assistant at Ensign College.
This allowed him to see if he would enjoy being a doctor. However, David was drawn to nursing during this time because of the patient interaction. “When the doctor wanted to know personal information about the patients, they would ask the nurses,” David said. Knowing the patient on a more personal level was important to David. So, while initially planning to attend BYU as a pre-med student, he instead decided to apply for the nursing program.
David appreciated the global nursing opportunities for BYU’s nursing program. Additionally, he is thankful for the small class sizes that allow professors to get to know students more personally.
While taking the prerequisite for nursing, David became interested in chemistry. He said if he weren’t studying medicine, he would pursue an education in chemistry. In the nursing program, David has enjoyed many of his classes. “I love pharmacology so much,” he said, an admission that will surprise most students who have completed the course. While there’s no class he’s particularly excited to take next semester, David is looking forward to fifth-semester classes such as ICU and psychology. He eventually wants to become a nurse practitioner in family practice or psychology.
David has many hobbies that fill his free time. “Some of the people in my cohort got me into camping and rock climbing,” he described. He also enjoys playing video games and reading books. His favorite books are The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
We are grateful to have David in our program and can’t wait to see what he does in his future career!