A Mission to Demystify Healthcare
A middle child raised by Guatemalan immigrants, Devora Nolasco ’26 has a unique outlook on healthcare.
Though she was born in Lynn, Mass., and has been privy to American doctors and arguably the best healthcare and hospital systems in the world in Boston, that wasn’t the case for her parents and grandparents in Guatemala.
That’s why Nolasco is now committed to improving access to healthcare for marginalized communities, and as a nursing student and recipient of Endicott’s Inspire Scholarship for first-generation college students, she’s already on her way.
“I want to help despaired communities who aren’t receiving the adequate healthcare they need,” she said.
Nolasco has visited her family in Guatemala three times, and while they have limited access to healthcare and limited knowledge about medical matters, she was pleased to learn that a clinic might soon be constructed and open to the community. She stressed, however, that there is still a lack of medical education in many communities that go unseen.
“With my family in Guatemala, my grandparents and aunts and uncles, they are unable to receive medical attention due to limited resources and because usually the public clinics or hospitals are often overcrowded with long wait times,” she said. “There’s a lack of healthcare there and I want to be part of the solution. Even when I go home now, I always try to educate my family members about their health and how they can take care of themselves.”
In order to truly make a difference, Nolasco knew she needed to learn more and then spread that knowledge forward. Instead of going to a traditional high school, she attended Lynn’s Vocational Technical Institute and participated in its health technology program. This experience armed her with baseline healthcare knowledge and, more importantly, solidified her pursuit of a career in nursing.
“When I did my rotations during high school, I knew that helping others was something I wanted to do as a career. Once I received my CNA [Certified Nurse Assistant] license, I wanted to continue to expand my knowledge and learn more about the human body. Then, I decided to further my education and go into nursing,” Nolasco said.
As the first in her family to pursue higher education, the process of getting into a school—and paying for it—naturally presented some anxieties.
“My parents are immigrants and they didn’t have the opportunity to go to college, and they wanted me to take advantage of the opportunities I had in hand. They would be like, ‘We want you to have a better education, one that we were unable to receive, and for you to have a better life than what we were able to provide,’” Nolasco shared.
Nolasco also received support and guidance from La Vida Scholars, a Lynn-based nonprofit dedicated to helping low-income, high-achieving students get accepted into college. “I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at when it came to college applications, but they definitely gave me ideas and places to look around,” she said. “I wanted to stay close to home, and one of the options they brought me was Endicott.”
She researched and applied to several colleges, but when she visited Endicott, she found a home.
“It had everything I was looking for in a nursing program,” she said. “Endicott helped financially support me and I wish I could thank every single donor by name. I’m so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been granted.”
At the Cummings School of Nursing & Health Sciences, Nolasco enjoys the small classrooms and personable, knowledgeable professors. Through its curriculum—especially anatomy, her favorite class—she’s managed to get several steps closer to her dream career in nursing.
Now only in her second year at Endicott, Nolasco is proud of how far she’s come. She arrived not knowing anyone, was assigned random roommates, and was thrust into a world her parents never knew.
As a future nurse, Nolasco will work with patients from all backgrounds and financial situations, including fellow first-generation college students.
“I would tell them not to be scared of change or with being in a different environment because that’s something easy to struggle with—the feeling that you don’t belong,” Nolasco said. “If you are given the opportunity, never be afraid to take it. Be passionate about what you are doing, always put in the best effort, do everything you can and never forget to always keep on trying.”
Have an interesting story to share? Get involved in Endicott’s social media with the Gull Creator Program or submit your own unique story here. Are you an alum? We also want to hear your story! You could be contacted for a follow-up feature.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can support students like Devora through the Inspire Scholarship, contact Anthony Barbuto, associate vice president of Institutional Advancement at abarbuto@endicott.edu or 978-232-2362.