By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director
Class of 2024 Spotlights
BALTIMORE – Neena Rodriguez is set to become the first nurse in her family after graduating from Notre Dame of Maryland University later this month.
Rodriguez was drawn to the profession due to the kindness and compassion demonstrated by nurses during several hospital stints as a child, including one which required an extended stay over Christmas. She will soon have a chance to provide that same type of care to patients at Mercy Medical Center, where she will work in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
A memorable clinical site experience during her final year in Notre Dame’s traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program helped Rodriguez realize that Mercy was where she wanted to begin her career after commencement. Learn more about her time at NDMU below:
What was it that originally drew you to the nursing profession?
I struggled with some health ailments since I was young – I was in and out of the hospital a lot. There was one particular time when I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and I was hospitalized over Christmas time. I was in a very vulnerable state. I was young, and I was sad that I was away from my family. But I remember vividly how amazing the nurses made me feel, and how caring and thoughtful they were.
It was at that point that I was like, ‘I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to take care of somebody and make them feel the way that I did while I was a patient.’ It had always been a passion of mine to be a caretaker, but the stars aligned during that experience. From that point on, I always had nursing on my radar. Later on, I did an advanced healthcare program during my junior year of high school at CAT (Center for Applied Technologies) North. I was able to get some hands-on experience, and it was fully locked in after that. I knew that I loved nursing, and I knew that was what I wanted to do for my career.
Are you the first in your family to become a nurse?
There are no other nurses in my family – nobody has pursued this type of career. Nursing school was something that I had to really push myself for, because there wasn’t anybody that I could reach out to in my familial circle who knew what I was going through or the struggles that I was experiencing. Getting to this point has been the greatest challenge in my life. I had a lot of ups and downs along the way, but experiencing the setbacks makes it that much more rewarding to finally get to this point of crossing the finish line.
I’m really happy to make my family proud. My grandfather, who was a pivotal part of my support system in college, helping push me through tough times, passed away in January. I always wanted to be able to make him proud. Even though he’s not physically here, I know that he’s looking down on me, and he’s immensely proud that I’ve finally made it to this point.
What clinical sites did you work at during your time here? Did any stand out to you in particular?
I had the pleasure of going to clinical sites at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Sinai Hospital and Mercy Medical Center. Mercy was one of my last clinical sites, and that one stood out to me the most. I was in the ICU there, and it was a wonderful environment to work in. Everybody was so hands-on and forthcoming with wanting to pass on all of the knowledge that they’ve learned to the new generation of nurses.
I was so glad to have an experience like that during my senior year. I was in a place where I didn’t know where I was going, or what specialty I wanted to be in. That experience was the blessing of a lifetime, because through that I realized that this is where I want to be when I graduate. I want to come to Mercy, and I’m excited to work in the ICU there after graduation. They say that they’re a teaching hospital, and they truly are. They cater to the new nurses coming in, and they really want to help expand upon all the knowledge that we learned in school.
Are there any professors at Notre Dame who had a particularly strong impact?
There are so many. Jeanie Anastasi has been with me from the very beginning. She’s fostered such an amazing environment for us to work in. She’s shown me that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a nurse, the caring science behind things will always be there if you have the right heart. With who she is as an individual, and what she brings to the nursing profession, it has been extremely valuable to learn from her. She’s always made me feel so comfortable and safe, and she’s allowed me to make mistakes and learn from them.
I’ve felt like that also with Lyndsay Wright. She helped me at first in the Center for Caring with Technology, and I had her as a professor towards the end of the program. I was able to learn so much from her. Katelyn Quarry has been great as well. She brought out a lot in our class – she holds us to a high standard. When we didn’t believe in ourselves, she gave us that push that we needed. There are so many people that I could give thanks to.
Do you have any long-term career goals?
I have always had in my heart that I want to get my master’s, but I never previously knew what I would do with it. This semester, though, it really clicked that I want to be a clinical instructor. I think it’s an extremely valuable role. I’ve learned so much about what it means to be a nurse in the environment fostered by my clinical instructors. Not just learning what to do, but how to embody being a nurse fully.
I want to be able to give back to future nurses one day, and I think the best way I can do that is by teaching people all of the things that I’ve gained over the years. It’s not something that I plan on doing right after I graduate. I want to get a good amount of experience in the hospital, so that I can return back to school with even more knowledge to pass on to the next generation.
Is there any message that you’d like to give to NDMU students who are still working their way through college?
Don’t give up on yourself. There are going to be times where you feel low and incapable of succeeding. Always prioritize your well-being. Remember that this as an investment for your future. No matter what happens, you’re going to be able to get through it. Keep going. Keep taking those leaps of faith. Failing is only a part of the process. You can achieve success out of anything.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
