Andrea Lopez (27) is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Trinity Washington University. She is expected to graduate in December 2020.
The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Andrea was born and raised in a multicultural neighborhood in Washington DC, where she attended its public schools and entered the workforce at age 15. In this environment and due to the efforts of her parents, the Spanish language and her Mexican heritage have been treated with utmost importance and value.
A heart wrenching visit to Mexico in 2014 to see her ill grandfather inspired her to become a registered nurse. The general lack of knowledge surrounding her grandfather’s care made her determined to incorporate healthcare education as one of her main professional goals.
In 2015, Andrea, a first-generation university graduate, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Promotion from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. Since then, she has worked at the Virginia Hospital Center where she currently serves as a Clinical Nurse Technician II.
At this hospital, where she now works part-time while completing her training to become a registered nurse, she performs many technical tasks, in addition to serving as a bridge between the hospital and the sizable Spanish-speaking populations who do not always have access to the same amount of resources as native English-speakers. Andrea recognizes the social impact she is making with her ability to alleviate the language barrier between patients and medical staff.
Andrea’s professional goal is to ultimately become a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and a Nurse-Midwife because her passion lies within the area of women and infant health. She wants to provide health services to women in post-natal care, specifically within populations of low socioeconomic status who are non-English speakers. Andrea is a woman on a mission to provide exceptional and compassionate care.
