Determination to care

“I want to be the nurse that makes a difference in people's care.”

Meet Brandy St. Gelais. Patient. Resilient. Compassionate.
Home: Opaswayak Cree Nation, Manitoba
Program: Bachelor of Nursing

A handful of years ago, Brandy St. Gelais didn’t think she was capable enough to get into a nursing program. Now, the former Mount Royal University nursing student is walking the stage with a bachelor’s degree and a clear purpose: be the nurse who makes a difference in people's care.

St. Gelais first joined MRU for upgrading through MRU’s Indigenous University Bridging Program.

“That program is absolutely phenomenal. And the staff who work in Iniksim are just so amazing,” she shares.

The mom of six said she had decided she wanted to pursue an education and career in health care, but her doubts were holding her back.

“I actually initially didn't think that I could get into the nursing program … just not feeling like I was smart enough or capable of doing it. And the Iniksim Centre, the staff there really truly believed in me and pushed me to do that.”

Four years of determination, hardship and resilience later, she’s come out the other side stronger. And she says her success is in part because of her supportive MRU educators.

“I don't even know how to describe how amazing they are. I can't single out any one of them, because every instructor, every clinical instructor, lecture professor, the faculty, everybody was so amazing throughout the entire program,” she says.

“They were just so supportive and believed in you so, so hard. I had quite a bit of life struggles throughout the program, and they were just so understanding and so gentle, and they helped me navigate it, and they believed in me.”

Her biggest hardship, she says, was balancing life at home with school.

“Everybody goes through hardships and I think over four years, it's kind of inevitable,” she starts, explaining that she and her fiancé share one child together, and they’ve adopted her five siblings as their own as well.

“And so with the siblings, it just comes with a lot of, I guess, mental health struggles because of things in their past. Navigating through that through nursing school was challenging.”

She says between her supportive fiancé and her MRU instructors, she had a support system that helped her achieve her goals. She now plans to use her degree to work in psychiatric wellness.

“I didn't know that was going to be my passion because of my own struggles. But I figured out in my final focus in an inpatient psych unit I really, really love helping people in that aspect and supporting people. I really love being there for people in some of their most vulnerable times and making sure that they feel safe, and feel heard, and feel supported.”

She says overall, her main objective is to help as many people as she can and be the nurse who makes people feel genuinely cared for.

“I've had some not-so-great experiences with hospitals. I've had some not-so-great experiences with nurses and medical professionals,” she shares.

“I just want to be that nurse who just makes people feel good when they don't feel good. And I want them to know that they have someone who actually really cares and listens.”

Now, as she dons her cap and gown and prepares to walk the stage, the Honour Roll student hopes current and new students can learn a little something from her: anyone can do it.

“I didn't even think I could get into the nursing program to start, and the fact that I got on the President's Honour Roll and then the Dean's Honour Roll every semester and the fact that I even had As was absolutely incredible to me,” she says.

"I'm not special, I'm not smart, or like super smart, in any way, and I didn't think I could do it. But if you want something bad enough, you can do it.”

She also says to ask for help when you need it — don’t struggle on your own.

“I learned it the hard way through the nursing program, struggling with my mental health kind of halfway through because I was trying to juggle everything,” she says.

“I struggled with asking for help. But it very quickly forced me to kind of reflect on that and not be worried about asking for help.”

Eventually, St. Gelais wants to pursue a master’s and become a nurse practitioner, but for now, she’s focusing on being the caregiver her patients deserve.