I would like to introduce myself, my name is Frank Daniel N. and I am in the Lower Mainland cohort of RDPN 1114. I actually go by Daniel, any my family all call me Daniel, funniest part of all that is I didn’t actually realize my first name was Frank until I was 12 years old. My brother’s middle name if Frank, and under Alberta law at the time, two siblings couldn’t have the same middle name. Plus my parents had an obsession with Frank being a middle name! As you’ve guessed, I was born in Alberta, Edmonton to be exact. I have an older brother, Donald, and older sister, Karen.
Serving full-time with the military
I was an army cadet with the 2812 Seaforth Highlanders of Canada starting at the age of 12, it was a highlight of my high school years, where I achieved top cadet in BC in 2005, and was top cadet at a cadet camp in Canada in 2004. This spiked my interest in the Armed Forces and in July of 2005, at the ripe age of 16, I was sworn into the army reserve regiment of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada.
I did well in high school, but after I graduated, I decided to spend some time serving full-time with the military and explore the world. I still serve today, with my 10-year mark coming up in July 2015.
After I graduated in 2006, my wife and I started dating. We bought our first home in 2009, and finally married in 2012. My wife started her program Cardiology Technology in 2010, and graduated in 2014. This put my post-secondary pursuit on hold while we waited for her to graduate.
On May 17, 2013, she gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Madison. We now live in Surrey, and my wife is a budding Cardio Tech working primarily out of Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. In early 2014, I had been working as a construction site manager for 3 years, I was making a good living and providing for our young family, but something was missing and I wasn’t happy with what I was doing.
Finding my passion
I have always had a passion for helping others, the sense of community and service was instilled in me from a young age as a cadet. I always wanted to help others, and for years thought I would one day be a police officer. When my daughter was born, I reflected on my life, and my time in the military, and realized law enforcement wasn’t what I wanted to do, I wanted to be a nurse.
I looked into RN, LPN, and my wife opened me to the world of RPNs. I decided mental health was the way I wanted to go, from my childhood experience to my time in the military, I knew there was much good that I could do as an RPN. I have witnessed violence, overcome issues of abuse, and lived with death and suicides of people I knew; the effects of mental illness are all real for me.
My motivation
I chose Stenberg College because of the accelerated program, and the flexibility of being able to do it on my time, and work around raising a family, my service in the military, and part-time work to help with the bills.
I spend what little free time I have with my family as much as possible, I also enjoy camping and recreational shooting. Hunting has never been something I have wanted to do, but my military friends and I try to go to the shooting range every couple months.
My motivation lives in my daughter and my wife, a drive to self-fulfillment and ultimately being able to raise my family in a stable and productive environment. Stenberg has given me the opportunity to pursue my dream of helping others, while obtaining the education I have waited so long to gain. The encouragement of my wife has been paramount to my success as well, she is my rock and without her I am sure I would not be here. I hope to leave with new skills, new friends, new confidence, and a new career.
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