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C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 19 L istening to Malinda Markowitz, RN talk about how she's arrived at this point in her nursing career and as a leader on the CNA's board of directors, it's obvious her success is largely based on determination and hard work. However cliché it may sound, it's true. She managed to apply to and graduate from nurs- ing school despite having dropped out of high school at age 16 to get married and have her first child. Markowitz said she wasn't one of those people whose studies came easily; she had to put in long hours with the books while raising two kids. When she applied for the first job of her life, to be a nursing assistant while she was still in school, the department manager bluntly asked her why the hospital should hire someone with zero work experience. Markowitz replied just as straightforward- ly that she loved working with patients, that she was reliable and conscientious, and that the manager needed to give her a chance. She got the job. At CNA, she has volunteered in almost every position avail- able, working her way up the ranks from helping out on the strike committee at San Jose's Good Samaritan Hospital where she's worked as an RN for 25 years, to serving as chief nurse rep, to the region 10 board, and finally to the state board of directors, where she currently serves as secretary. Though it's clear that she was always inherently strong of will, Markowitz credits CNA for providing a structure within which she could learn, grow, and mature into the person that she is today. "I did quit high school and raise a family at a very young age, so I missed a lot of that education that expands your world- view, to become worldly," reflected Markowitz. "So they've helped me develop a lot of that, and given me the tools to develop my confidence and be the person that I am." An only child, Markowitz was raised in the Santa Clara and Sunnyvale area. She got interested in nursing when she was in her mid-20s. She was trying to get her high school diploma and volunteering at what is now Kaiser Permanente's Santa Teresa Hospital. Markowitz discovered that she thoroughly enjoyed tak- ing care of patients, particularly older patients, and won a schol- arship to attend nursing school. For seven years, she worked at Good Samaritan as a medical oncology nurse, a job she found extremely rewarding not for just Feature Story The Lifer Malinda Markowitz is dedicated to CNA because she's grateful for the role it played in her life BY LUCIA HWANG