Guest Column: Hunt School of Nursing’s 10-Year Impact
A decade of perseverance at the Hunt nursing school
By Paloma Romero, courtesy of El Paso Inc.
Paloma Romero
I’ve always wanted to be a nurse. There were no major defining moments, only the scenarios in my everyday life: My father coming home exhausted from his job as an emergency medical technician, and my mother with the life lessons she learned as a certified nursing assistant. My parents worked hard but reminded me of their passion for health care and how the reward of helping others outweighed the tough nature of their jobs.
I grew up in a low-income household, understanding that the journey through college is a balancing act. Working, attending classes and clinical rotations, studying and tackling financial hardship felt like an unbalanced scale. I’m also among the 56% of college students who are the first in their families to receive a bachelor’s degree. While it’s an accomplishment, it also comes with challenges.
I’ve faced hardships in my life, which affected my studies and extended the time I’ve spent in college. I pursued higher education for nine years before being accepted to the Hunt School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.
My story is not unlike many of the stories of many of my peers. They’re mothers, fathers, daughters and sons who want to make a difference in our community and in the lives of their families.
When I think of the Hunt School of Nursing, I think of hope – the hope I felt when my mother’s coworker suggested the school to me and the sense of a new beginning when I was accepted into the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2021.
The school has educated more than 1,000 nurses, while also providing local and nontraditional students with economic opportunity they may never have had before its establishment. Many of its graduates serve in local hospitals today.
Since the Hunt School of Nursing’s 10th anniversary kickoff last spring, my peers and mentors have shared the ways the school is creating a brighter future for the borderland. This includes reducing its critical shortage of nurses, educating the nation’s future Hispanic nurses and establishing early-admission programs so local high school students can achieve their dreams at a young age and preserve their financial aid.
However, there is no greater accomplishment than the lives we’ve touched through compassionate care, especially during El Paso’s most difficult moments.
Among our alumni are nurses working in various medical departments throughout the city, traveling nurses who have made a positive impact in areas hard-hit by COVID-19 and educators who are mentoring future trusted nursing heroes. I’m proud to follow in their footsteps.
As our school’s 10th anniversary celebration comes to a close, there are many to thank. This decade of success and the opportunity I and so many others have had to change our life stories wouldn’t be possible without our community, their scholarship support and confidence in our abilities.
While the history of the Hunt School of Nursing is about perseverance, it’s also about the people of El Paso who believed the future of health care is here on the U.S.-Mexico border, and that the future of nursing could look just like me.
Paloma Romero is a member of the Hunt School of Nursing’s Class of 2022.