Image Credit: CNC
CNC

CNC student ‘beating the odds’ by winning bursary

Dec 21, 2022 | 7:27 AM

PRINCE GEORGE —First-year College of New Caledonia nursing student Caleb Murphy has been awarded the national Paul and Gerri Charette Bursary.

He’s one of 20 recipients and has been awarded the maximum amount of $5,000.

What makes the award even more special, is that Caleb suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2015, and a mental health diagnosis in 2020.

“I’m just speechless right now. Since I started the nursing program, I’ve had a fear that I wouldn’t make it,” he says. “It’s still shocking to me that I’m doing well in school because I’m beating the odds. I thought I’d be failing everything, and I’m not.”

The brain injury Caleb suffered in 2015 left him in a coma, forcing him on a new journey to learn how to walk and talk again.

The UBC Bachelor of Commerce grad then found work on an oil rig before finding himself back in hospital with a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder.

“I learned a lot about myself that year, and what I wanted to do with my life. With all the time I spend in hospitals, the nurses were really caring towards me and gave me hope. I thought to myself, that’s something I want to do.”

In addition to his studies at CNC, Caleb spends his time working with Prince George’s homeless population through the Association Advocating for Women and Community supporting those in active addiction.