More than 20 years ago, NPC nursing student Sarah Duran was a teenager on the west
coast with a dream of providing a better life for her family.
“When I was a teenager, my family was poor and we ended up homeless,” Duran said.
“We couldn’t afford rent in California, and I ended up living in my car for about
a year while I worked to save money for a deposit on a studio apartment. It was tough.”
Through adversity, Duran found a silver lining which sparked a new purpose.
“When I was in high school, my mom had a stroke which completely debilitated her,”
Duran said. “I remember watching how her nurses took care of her and how kind they
were to me and my family. From then on, I knew I wanted to be a nurse, too, so that
I could help people and be there for them in their time of need.”
After relocating to Arkansas, Duran has spent the past 12 years working in the Hot
Springs area as a CNA and physical therapy technician. While she was helping others
in the medical field, the mother of three desired more out of her career and sought
to do something no one in her family had ever done before.
“I decided that I wanted to go back to school to learn more,” Duran said. “I always
wanted to be a nurse, but I didn’t know how to do it and no one in my family had ever
went to college. I applied to NPC online and my advisor, Stephanie Rizzo, showed me
the ropes early and has basically held my hand for the past four years. She’s like
a sister to me. When I failed Foundations of College Math 2, I wanted to quit because
I thought there was no way that I could keep going. Stephanie kept me going—she made
me stay and helped me enroll in a fast-track College Algebra course, in which I passed
with an A.”
In addition to tough coursework, Duran also faced financial hardships in her journey
to higher education.
“Enrolling in school was hard for me at first,” Duran said. “As a mother of three
and with a young baby when I started, daycare was really expensive. Working as a nursing
technician, I couldn’t afford both daycare and school and I didn’t know how I would
survive.”
Through National Park College’s Career Pathways Initiative, Duran found a lifeline
to staying afloat in rocky waters.
“The only reason I was able to stay in school so long and do it successfully is because
of Career Pathways,” Duran said. “Meeting (Career Pathways Director) LaTaschya Harris
changed everything for me. From her support to the help that I was able to get with
childcare, books and gas, this program has truly been the backbone of my college career.”
Nearing the end of NPC’s nursing program in 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic provided
an unanticipated bump in the road for Duran.
“When COVID-19 hit in March, our program went entirely online. I also gained three
homeschooling children. As someone who learns best hands on, I couldn’t grasp the
content as well as I could have. None of us have ever faced that situation before
and I ended up failing the spring semester by five points.”
Disappointed, but not discouraged, Duran dug in, determined to defy the odds once
again.
“When I failed, I knew that I wanted to go back and try again,” Duran said. “There’s
nothing else I wanted more than to be an RN—so I knew that I couldn’t give up after
how far I had come. My Phi Theta Kappa advisor, Dr. Rebekah Robinette, was one of
my biggest supporters. She was always calling and texting me to see how my kids and
I were doing, and she inspired me to keep going. I went back this semester and finished
the course that I had failed with a B.”
After years of juggling work, schooling, parenthood, and the occasional roadblock
along the way, 38-year-old Duran will be all smiles this weekend as she completes
her dream of becoming an RN. For NPC’s newest nursing graduate, it’s this one moment
that makes everything endured along the way worth it. 
“I graduated high school in 2001,” Duran said. “Now, I’m graduating college 20 years
later in 2021. When it comes to celebrations, I’m pretty low key, but I’m thankful
to have a little more time to spend with my kids instead of studying all the time.
My children—Emilio, Eva and Lijah—have been my strength and inspiration from day one.”
The future is bright for Duran, who has already accepted an RN position in Hot Springs.
“After graduation, I will be a cardiac nurse and a breastfeeding counselor at National
Park Medical Center,” Duran said. “I think it’s pretty awesome that I’ll be able to
help heal people’s hearts and floating between labor and delivery and cardiac is the
best of both worlds to me. I’m very excited for the opportunity.”
In addition to gaining new skillsets as an RN, Duran is also excited to help break
color barriers in her career field.
“I’m a very proud Mexican American,” Duran said. “In the United States, less than
four percent of RNs identify as Latina. I am very honored to be part of that four
percent of Latina RNs joining the workforce. It’s such a small number, but it has
made me work harder because of the disparities that people of color face in healthcare.
I see it every day. I think it’s so important to see people of all races and faces
in healthcare and I’m excited to be a positive impact for my patients who have colored
skin to see that there is a woman of color taking care of them, caring for them and
understanding not only their health, but everything else that plays into it.”
As she prepares for her next chapter, Duran hopes that her journey will provide inspiration
to anyone facing obstacles in the way of their dreams.
“Rock bottom isn’t the end—it’s actually a beginning,” Duran said. “Honestly, there’s
nowhere you can go from rock bottom except up. It takes hard work and dedication but
it’s totally possible. I feel like going through all I have and living as a low-income
mom all these years has shaped me for the better and I feel like I’ll be able to relate
to my patients in ways that other nurses can’t. Not only will I be able to give safe
and effective nursing care, but also advice on where patients can get help, as I’ve
been there, too.”
“The nursing instructors at NPC have gone above and beyond, not only for me, but for
every one of their students. They teach with so much heart and so much compassion
and I’m so thankful to be raised by them. They’ve been an outstanding source of knowledge
and information and they’re always rooting for us. That means a lot.”
