Ambree Gawrych: Beats PT scores by day, nursing student by night

After 17 minutes and 39 seconds, Ambree Gawrych, nursing junior, completed 90 push-ups, 86 sit ups and ran two miles during the ROTC physical fitness test (PT test) last Friday.

Gawrych consistently beats every ROTC student in the state – regardless of gender. She is not a member of the army, but is a nursing student who lives to work out.

“She has the highest Army physical fitness test score – male and female – beating all ROTC from UVU, BYU, SUU and Dixie [State Univeristy],” said Captain Rich Elias, the ROTC class instructor.

When asked how he thinks Gawrych can compete and beat military men who train for this test, Elias gave an answer that perfectly illustrates her dedication.

“[She is] extraordinary because she puts everything she has into everything she does,” said Elias. “She has an amazing attitude while doing it.”

According to ROTC member Matt Jensen, business management senior, Gawrych is a determined person who is always pushing herself to do better.

“She wants to be the best and she lets people know that. She works out almost every day after the workouts to better herself,” said Jensen.

When Gawrych was first invited by her friend to work out with the army, Gawrych was a little hesitant. “I like working out but I didn’t think I could handle it,” said Gawrych. “Once I went I realized that it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I kept going and I love it.”

Gawrych has yet to decide whether she will join the army, but one thing she knows she wants to do is to take care of people when they are sick. For many years, Gawrych has wanted to be a nurse. She has always enjoyed helping people and learning about the medical field. When she was younger, she had to complete a number of different job shadows for school. Every time, she chose to “shadow” someone in the medical field.

“One time I job shadowed a pediatrician and I loved it. It was fun to see what he did and to interact with the kids,” said Gawrych. “After talking to some of the nurses there, that’s when I decided that I wanted to be a nurse.”

After finishing a number of job shadows and completing all of the prerequisites for the nursing program, Gawrych was accepted into the program. “I enjoy interacting with the patients and getting to know them,” said Gawrych. “I like to try and figure out how I can help them the most.”