Barbara Soto, MSN, ED, RN

Dr. Divina Grossman was the dean back in the day. She really inspired me to go to FIU Nursing because of a very brief conversation I had with her. During those years I was in school, I was working full-time and raising two kids. It was a blur. I graduated from nursing school in 1986. I worked as a bedside nurse from 1986 until the time I decided to go back and get my BSN. It was more difficult for me to get my BSN than it was to get my MSN. I was more prepared in life to get my MSN while getting my BSN was a tumultuous time. What I loved about FIU Nursing was that they made it possible to go part-time. They understood that, as a full-time nurse and a parent, I couldn't take on more than one or two classes at a time. That opportunity was the only way I could complete the degree at the time. My husband was in the second graduating class of FIU's CRNA Program. It was a game changer for both of us to be able to go back to school. I worked for 25 years at Jackson in the neonatal ICU. I wanted to work with premature babies. My husband's specialty is anesthesia.