Elizabeth Hughett, winner of an NEF Scholarship, knew from age three that she wanted to be a nurse. While studying at St. Louis University on scholarship, she fell in love with cardiovascular and critical care nursing and knew she wanted, one day, to be an advanced practice nurse, APN. After graduation she worked in a high acuity cardio-vascular intensive care unit (CVICU) at Mercy Medical Center. Two years later, she advanced to charge RN and was also a nursing student preceptor. In 2012 she began her graduate studies at southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) to become a certified nurse anesthetist.  As graduation approaches she looks forward to beginning work in a large setting where she can practice nurse anesthesia. Eventually she plans to teach nurse anesthesia in an academic setting