{"id":3226,"date":"2018-07-30T14:12:45","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T14:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3226"},"modified":"2018-07-30T14:12:45","modified_gmt":"2018-07-30T14:12:45","slug":"tstc-first-nursing-graduate-its-never-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3226","title":{"rendered":"TSTC first nursing graduate: \u201cIt\u2019s never too late.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – The last time Texas State Technical College featured student Sylvia Cleary she was studying biology at TSTC with two of her children and waiting for the inaugural Registered Nursing courses to start.<\/p>\n

Now one year later she is part of the first graduating cohort of the program and its first valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 GPA.<\/p>\n

Last night, the 50-year-old and 29 of her classmates earned their associate degrees during TSTC\u2019s Commencement Ceremonies at the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium, joining the nearly 300 other students who earned a certificate or associate degree from the college.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still so surreal. I can\u2019t believe that I can check this off my bucket list,\u201d said Cleary. \u201cMy personal goal was to become a registered nurse by the time I turned 50. And here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rio Hondo native, who worked two decades as a licensed vocational nurse before returning to school, said she thought being accepted into the program was a long shot, especially at her age.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was scary returning to school and being the oldest in all of my classes,\u201d said Cleary. \u201cBut I had a goal and wanted to prove to myself and my children that success is possible at any age.\u201d<\/p>\n

So in 2015, Cleary quit her job and devoted 100 percent of her time to school.\"Sylvia<\/a><\/p>\n

And although her family was supportive of her decision and desire to apply to TSTC\u2019s first registered nursing program, she still kept the application process a secret.<\/p>\n

\u201cI secretly applied last year in case I didn\u2019t get in. I didn\u2019t want to have to disappoint anyone,\u201d she said. \u201cBut fortunately I was one of 30 students to get accepted. It was a competitive bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the program, graduating was a distant and sometimes impossible goal for Cleary who struggled and was close to giving up on several occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a huge sacrifice, like for many, for my family and me,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd things got tough. At times I was torn between my two loves: family and nursing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleary is a mother of four and also her husband\u2019s full-time caregiver. He is a decorated army veteran who earned a purple heart for his service, but suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to falter as a wife or a mother, so I pushed myself at home and at school and it eventually takes a toll,\u201d she said. \u201cMost of the time I did my homework while my 15-year-old did his just so we could spend time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleary said she credits the support and care she received from her instructors in the program for her will to continue pushing forward.<\/p>\n

Shirley Byrd, Registered Nursing program director, said she is proud of Cleary and all she has accomplished in the past few years and months.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is an inspiration to me and everyone in our program,\u201d said Byrd. \u201cIt takes a lot to come back to school after being away for so long, but she really devoted herself and made it through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Byrd added, \u201cShe was one of our best students and I can\u2019t wait to see her succeed like I know she will. She is definitely going to be a leader in the nursing profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly has a few ideas of where she wants to work now that she has graduated, but is waiting to pass her National Council Licensure Examination, which she will take in the next few days.<\/p>\n

Her journey with school is also not stopping with TSTC. She hopes to pursue her bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing and eventually a master\u2019s degree so she can return to TSTC as a nursing instructor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my family that keeps me going. Everything I do, I do for them,\u201d said Cleary. \u201cMy son John who is legally blind has overcome so much and is my biggest inspiration. If he can do it, so can I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her son John is studying Education and Training at TSTC, and her daughter Logan who also received her associate degree in Biology from TSTC and has recently been accepted to medical school at the island of Antigua, were last featured with Cleary.<\/p>\n

Cleary will officially be sworn into the nursing profession on August 4, during TSTC\u2019s Registered Nursing Pinning Ceremony at the TSTC Cultural Arts Center.<\/p>\n

For more information on TSTC\u2019s Registered Nursing program, visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – The last time Texas State Technical College featured student Sylvia Cleary she was studying biology at TSTC with two of her children and waiting for the inaugural Registered Nursing courses to start. Now one year later she is part of the first graduating cohort of the program and its first valedictorian with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3226"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3228,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3226\/revisions\/3228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}