Monica Herrera completed her Vocational Nursing program at Odessa College in 2007
and worked as a licensed vocational nurse in home health for 6 years and in the Wound
Care Center at Medical Center Hospital for 10 years. She loves being a nurse. Now,
in 2024, she is completing something she always wanted to do.
Monica said that she always wanted to be a Registered Nurse, but to achieve that,
she would have to go back to college. After being out of school for 16 years, she
didn’t think she had it in her. She thought she was too old, and it would be harder
to learn now than when she was younger. She also wondered if she would be able to
handle working, going to classes, managing her family life responsibilities, adjusting
the family’s finances, and putting her life on hold for a year to go to college …
and then there was the thought that she would probably be the oldest student in the
class!
One special person in Monica’s life kept encouraging her and pushing her to go back
to school. Monica’s daughter, Meghan, is a Student Success Coach at Odessa College,
and she knew that her mother could succeed. Monica said that Meghan supported and
uplifted her every step of the way to come back to OC. She walked her through all
the processes that Monica needed to complete to get back in school.
Monica was admitted into the Nursing Program and began her classes in May 2023.
Monica described her experience of coming back to school as “beautiful,” and she added
that the journey has been amazing. During her one year in the program, she has found
that her classmates are a team, and they encourage and help each other to be successful.
The instructors also are a great support group for their students, and they really
care about them. She added that her family and friends have also been supportive and
have helped her accomplish her dream.
She plans to continue working in wound care because she loves seeing her patients
improve, and teaching them about wound care, and developing relationships them … and
she added, “We are going to take a trip to the Dominican Republic to celebrate!”