Henry Villarreal

I went to Jackson Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Miami, Florida. I graduated in 1983 and pursued a career at Jackson Memorial Hospital. I went from being an RN bedside nurse to an RN educator. I obtained my master's degree and became a nurse practitioner for the last 15 years of my career at Jackson Memorial Hospital. My degrees gave me the ability to move and accelerate in my career. I had the knowledge and power to accomplish things. From the moment I became an RN in 1983, I had my heart set on being a nurse practitioner. I watched and learned about what it would take to become a nurse practitioner. In 1995, I was a staff member in an oncology unit - all of us RNs did a buddy system and took turns going back for our master's degrees. We swapped shifts weekly so that we could attend classes. It was a whole floor project - we made a commitment to each other, and it was a great teamwork effort. I was very lucky to be a part of that team. One of my professors mentored me with my final master's thesis, and that went on for months. I went from a junior nurse to a master's degree-prepared nurse practitioner. I was ready to provide healthcare to adult individuals independently, and that was my goal since 1983. My brother obtained his master's degree in special education, and I have a couple of cousins who have master's degrees - I am proud to be part of the generation in our family that accomplished our graduate studies.