A Journey from Injury to Inspiration
For as long as she can remember, Dalia Mendoza-Salgado has carried two things with
her: the scars from a childhood tragedy and the determination to turn that pain into
purpose. Today, she stands proudly as a first-generation college graduate, completing
her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Odessa College—just one year after giving
birth to her first child.
Dalia’s path to nursing began in the fourth grade, when she survived a vicious dog
attack that left her with significant facial injuries and wounds on her hands. Recovery
meant years of surgeries and treatments, but the emotional toll was just as heavy.
“It was a very dark time in my life,” she recalls. “But my nurse was so positive—she
was a light to me. She always said, ‘Everything is going to be okay.’”
That reassurance stayed with Dalia. As she healed and grew older, she found herself
wanting to be that same light for others. She knew she wanted to become a nurse.
After high school, she began her college journey at a university with plans to earn
her BSN, but financial limitations forced her to pause her education. Undeterred,
she went to work, saved her earnings, and stayed focused on her dream. In the summer
of 2020, she applied to the Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN) program at Odessa College.
She was accepted and completed the program in 2021, all while working full-time at
the Pecos hospital.
Her momentum didn’t stop there. She was accepted into OC’s Registered Nursing program
the following year and graduated in 2023, still balancing full-time work and full-time
coursework.
Then came a new chapter: motherhood. Despite being pregnant with her first baby, Dalia
applied to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in December 2024. Her daughter
was born just two weeks before the spring semester began, yet Dalia started her BSN
classes on schedule in January 2025. One year later, she is crossing the finish line.
As she looks ahead, Dalia feels drawn to two possible paths, becoming a nurse practitioner
or returning to the classroom as a nurse educator. Either way, her goal is the same:
to make an impact.
“I want to be a light for others, just like my nurse was for me,” she says.
For Dalia Mendoza-Salgado, nursing is more than a career. It is a calling born from
resilience, gratitude, and a promise she made to herself long ago: to help others
heal, just as she once did.