Freshman Marquita Eberhart is a well-rounded student from St. Louis, striving to get into the nursing program at Missouri Southern.

“I always wanted to be a nurse because I like helping people and I feel it’s always going to be a job for a nurse,” Eberhart said. “There can never be too many nurses.”

Eberhart had mixed feelings about going to college. She always knew she wanted to attend college, but she felt this was the wrong time. Although she had already waited a year after graduating from high school, she felt she needed to wait another semester.

“I had a sudden life change and I needed to get my life together,” she said. “The road that I was traveling down was about to end pretty soon.”

While she needed to come to school to change her life around, she would rather be at home with her family and friends.

“Coming from a big city to a small town was a dramatic change for me,” Eberhart said. “There is no public transportation as for buses for me, and I don’t have my own car yet.”

Back home, a bi-state bus was Eberhart’s main transportation. Without public transportation in Joplin, she must ask for rides or contact a cab.

In her spare time, Eberhart enjoys several activities.

She said she loves dancing, clubbing and listening to music. Out of the three, she said her favorite activity would be dancing.

Dancing is an activity she always enjoyed as a child. She is considering becoming a professional dancer.

“I love dancing so much,” she said. “It relieves a lot of stress. Life is stressful, so if there’s a cure as simple as dancing, then why not?”

Eberhart wants to be a backup dancer for celebrities or be in a movie that results in dancing.

Currently, Eberhart is taking several science classes to get into the nursing program at the University.

She said she always enjoyed science and the workload is not an issue.