Inspired by care, driven to give back
Some of Sam Pascarella’s earliest memories are of the nurses who helped him through a difficult start in life. Born with clubfoot, a condition that turns the feet inward, he spent much of his early childhood traveling with his mom from their home just south of Cleveland to St. Louis for treatment. In a single day, he would have his feet taped, get fitted for braces and go through physical therapy before catching a flight home that same night. Through it all, the nurses found small ways to put him at ease during procedures that could be frightening for a young child.
“It was their ability to make me feel comfortable,” Pascarella says. “Those little things stuck with me, because they made something scary feel a lot less scary for a kid.”
Now a second-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student in the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing and a Cincinnatus Presidential Scholarship recipient, Pascarella hopes to offer other patients the same comfort and reassurance he remembers receiving. As the first in his family to pursue a career in health care, he’s building on those early experiences to find his own place in nursing.
Finding his purpose in nursing
Getting the right care for Pascarella wasn't easy. When a doctor near home refused to use the less invasive treatment his mom wanted for him, she kept searching until she found a specialist in St. Louis who would. Thanks to her persistence, Pascarella received what he describes as world-class treatment.
“I didn't realize it when I was three, but now I see how important patient advocacy is,” Pascarella says. “If my mom had let that doctor persuade her, I could have had a lot more surgeries and interventions that weren't necessary.”
Three-year-old Pascarella at home
His experience also gave him an appreciation for how fortunate he was to receive that care. Clubfoot is treatable, but Pascarella notes that only about 20% of people born with the condition worldwide receive corrective treatment, leaving many to live with pain and limited mobility.
That desire to help others initially led Pascarella toward a specific career goal. In high school, he was convinced he wanted to become a nurse anesthetist. But after shadowing one, he realized the part of nursing that excited him most wasn't a particular specialty. It was the relationships nurses build with their patients.
“The biggest thing for me is that I love people,” he says. “I want to meet a new person every single day, and as a nurse, you get to connect with your patients the most.”
Choosing where to study nursing was a little easier. Pascarella is the youngest of three, and his older sister and brother were already attending UC, studying architecture and construction management. Watching their experiences gave him an early look at how the university supports its students.
Since arriving on campus, he’s found that support firsthand, from his first-year learning community to Supplemental Instruction sessions and professors who, he says, “really want us to do well.”
UC’s nursing co-op program was another draw. The opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a program that many nursing schools don't offer, along with access to nearby clinical partners such as Cincinnati Children’s, helped make UC the right fit.
For Pascarella, the goal is to carry forward what he learned as a young patient: that good nursing care goes beyond treatment. It also means listening, advocating for patients and helping them feel less afraid during some of their most vulnerable moments.
Helping others find their footing
For all his certainty about nursing, Pascarella's first semester at UC was harder than he expected.
“I came into school stressed and worried about everything, and those first couple of weeks, things felt impossible,” he says. “I was seeing the campus psychological services regularly, honestly my whole first semester.”
Pascarella and his siblings at his Clinical Commitment Ceremony in fall 2026
Part of the challenge was the academic adjustment. Nursing students take Anatomy and Physiology right away, a course many other students don’t encounter until later in college. Pascarella calls it “a huge jump scare,” since one of the first college exams many nursing students face is in an upper-level course.
He leaned on Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions and the upperclass mentors in his learning community to get through those early weeks. Once he made it through his first exams and lab practicals, his outlook began to change.
“It made me realize I actually could do it,” he says. “And when I knew I could do it, the whole rest of the year was great.”
As a sophomore student, Pascarella has come full circle. He’s an SI leader for Anatomy and Physiology, helping other students navigate the same material that once felt overwhelming to him. Inspired by the SI leaders who helped make complex concepts easier to understand, he sees the role as a first step toward his long-term goal of becoming a nurse educator.
Many of the students who attend his sessions are first-year nursing students. Along with walking them through topics such as bone remodeling, Pascarella makes time before and after each session to check in on how they’re adjusting to college.
“I wish I’d had someone to tell me that it was going to be okay,” he says. “Yes, it’s challenging, but this is for something you love, so don’t lose sight of that end goal.”
His interests in nursing continue to evolve, too. Pascarella is now drawn to fast-paced settings such as intensive care and emergency nursing, and learning from instructors who work at Cincinnati Children’s has sparked a new interest in pediatrics.
Wherever he eventually specializes, the qualities that first drew him to nursing remain central: connecting with people, advocating for patients and finding small ways to make difficult moments easier.
Like Sam Pascarella, you can turn your experiences into a meaningful career in nursing.
Explore our Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and see where nursing can take you.
Feature image: Sam Pascarella as a newborn. / Photo provided
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