For some, finding your passion comes easy. Tabitha Gardner knew she was called to be a nurse since she was a child. She dreamed of helping people, especially those who were scared or in pain. Tabitha wanted to make a difference in the lives of everyone around her. That dream carried into her young adult life, even though she faced many struggles to get there.

Tabitha was a teenage mom, having her first child at 15 and second at 18. She dropped out of high school her freshman year to care for her first child but went back to school at age 21 to complete her GED. After completing her GED, Tabitha earned her CNA license. However, she knew that her nursing journey didn’t stop there. She signed up for prerequisite classes to work towards her RN license.

While working on her prerequisites, Tabitha’s father got sick. Between classes and working to support her children, she stood beside him through every imaginable hardship one goes through when battling heart disease. He died soon after she graduated. Tabitha was crushed, but she continued to work hard to support her family. It was only a few short years later before her family was hit with a second blow. Tabitha’s mother fell ill and died of cancer shortly thereafter. Three years after that, her grandfather, an influential figure in her life, died of Alzheimer’s.

Students often encounter trials and have to draw inner strength to graduate. That is what Tabitha drew from as she experienced the deaths of those near to her while in school. Tabitha and her family grieved these losses, yet she knew that if she could overcome dropping out of school and raising two children before her twenties, she could overcome this and help others. Today she stands victorious, inspiring others through her Conquering Nurse clothing line.