MEET OUR GRADUATES: Duarte Says Her Degree Will Further Her Life and the Life of Her Family and Community

Rhode Island College has been known for having a diverse campus community. 维罗妮卡杜阿尔特, a Cape Verdean who moved to Rhode Island in 2012 and graduated from RIC with a degree in 医疗管理 this spring, 是生动的证据吗. 

第一代大学生, Duarte says that when she arrived in this country, 一切都很不一样, 尤其是文化, and “starting school as an immigrant felt like being born again. You have to relearn everything,” she says.

Though her transition to life in the United States wasn’t easy, she has diligently worked hard toward her goals. 第一个, get a college degree and make her father proud; second, bring her mother and siblings to Rhode Island from Cape Verde; and third, 能够在医疗保健领域工作. Currently, she is a patient care coordinator at Highbar, a physical therapy clinic in Pawtucket. 

“I’m grateful that I’ve been able to impact my younger siblings’ paths, 也, because they are going to come here and go for the same opportunities I’ve had,她说。. “我对健康很感兴趣, especially in this country where health care and insurance is such a complicated thing.” 

在补助金的帮助下, financial aid and her full-time job, Duarte has been able to support herself and go to RIC for the last seven years. She says that at RIC not only are the teachers “awesome and very supportive, they always go the extra mile to help students.” 

“At RIC I received help from the PEP program and Learning for Life. They were always there to assist with anything I needed,她说。. “Now I feel accomplished; like I can do anything. My major and what I’ve learned impacted me in a good way, 也. The skills I’ve learned have prepared me for the real world. Now, I’m able to use that knowledge to solve problems beyond the classroom.”

Duarte says she’s happy to see her father reach his goal of having all four of his children earn a degree from Rhode Island College. “My brother graduated from RIC with a degree in justice studies last summer and is now about to graduate from the police academy,她说。. “My second brother is still going to RIC for computer science, and my youngest sister is in her first year of the nursing RIC项目.” 

“Every accomplishment we have, my father feels like it’s his own,她说。. “My mom is still learning how things work in the United States, but she’s very proud of me and makes sure she tells me that every single day.” 

Now that her time as an undergraduate student at RIC has come to an end, Duarte says she cannot help but feel overwhelmed by all the changes happening in her life. At the same time, she is extremely proud of everything she has done to get here. 

“The day I received my cap and gown I literally sat down and cried,她说。. “I couldn’t believe I was so close to graduating after everything I’ve been through.”  

这个年轻的女人, who speaks four languages – Portuguese, 克里奥尔语, 西班牙语和英语, says she’d like to give back by assisting patients who don’t speak English. 

“I never had the stomach to be a nurse or a doctor,她说。. “But in 医疗管理, I can be of help outside the operating room. I hope to work at Blackstone Valley Community Health Care, so I can help more of the Cape Verdean and Hispanic communities there.”

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