“I owe my whole career to Monroe. They paved the way for me to reach my dream.”
Walkiris Cruz-Perez always knew she could do something with her career, but going to school with two infants to care for at home was a challenge. When Walkiris started at Monroe, her goal was to quickly get both her General Education Diploma (GED) and her associate degree in the medical assistance program, then secure a job. But Walkiris did so well at school that the school’s dean encouraged her to continue her studies and earn her nursing degree. She took that advice, and proudly earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing summa cum laude in 2014.
Today, Walkiris is a registered nurse in the orthopedic department at New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Not only that, she's currently enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Lehman College.
She said the beauty of the nursing program is having professors who are actual nurses with real-world experiences. "They're not just lecturing from a textbook. They provided me with the tools to succeed by teaching me about real life scenarios and practical lessons.
“I owe my whole career to Monroe,” Walkiris continued. “They paved the way for me to reach my dream.”
