Spring — 2006

Kristina Maciuleviciute

Nursing

“I had a couple of excellent instructors for my clinical studies: Marcy Bregman and Queen Davis. They were always encouraging and helpful.”

Hers is a country of 3.5 million people; fewer than live in LA proper. But for Kristina Maciuleviciute, Lithuania is a state of mind and always close to her heart. “It’s such a beautiful country because of the culture and the history,” she says with evident fondness. “We have all these castles, ancient streets, and old churches. And when you walk through the cities and towns, it’s like you’re breathing in history.” But Kristina’s own history has been unfolding nicely—over the past four years—at SMC.

“I began here as just an ESL student to make my English better. And then I turned into a regular student,” she explains. And please consider this: Kristina is a young woman who learns another language, leaves home, family, and culture behind, and then enrolls in SMC’s Nursing program, one of the most demanding in all of California. She is—first and foremost—brave. “It was hard in the beginning because I missed my family a lot. But as I got stronger with my English, I started to make a lot of new friends and find my own way. I think,” she adds, “that I adapted very quickly.”

Now a passionate inline skater and an avid student of the American political system, Kristina offers the following advice about how to get all the ‘juice’ out of SMC. “Instructors here aren’t just gonna bring you everything on a plate. You have to show them that you’re excited about what you’re doing. And then—when they see that passion in you—they will do everything they can to help you along.” Following her brother, who also went to SMC, Kristina states, “For me, Nursing is the best way to get involved in medicine. I’m just not someone who’s into technology or business. When I’m directly involved with people—and helping them—then I am happy.”

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