Meet Yazmin Valdes

Whitworth Cadre Two
'08 Graduate (B.S. Nursing)
Henry Foss High School '04

Change of plans

"We were just supposed to stay here for a couple of years, learn English, and then go back to Mexico," said Yazmin Valdes, remembering her family's emigration to the United States in 1997, when she was just 12 years old. Somewhere along the way the plan changed. "I was doing so well in school, teachers said to go to college first," Yazmin recalls.

the road to college

At Foss High School in Tacoma, Yazmin worked hard to keep her options open by earning good grades and being involved in extracurricular activities such as ROTC, the Drama Club and the National Honor Society. While in ROTC, she took advantage of the opportunity to develop her leadership potential as the flight commander of her class. In the National Honor Society, she was further motivated by peers who saw education as a priority as well. Outside of school, Yazmin spent most of her time at home with family or at church, where she was also very involved and committed to strengthening her personal relationship with God.

Accepting the challenge

As a student at Whitworth, Yazmin continues to rely on her family and spirituality as a guide. "My parents, through prayer, helped me to realize I should start out in nursing," she said. Even with the support of family and God, studying nursing has been hard, but Yazmin has met the challenge head on. She has even gone above and beyond by participating in leadership as the Director at Large for the Whitworth Nursing School program.

The power of her presence

An additional challenge for Yazmin has come socially, as one of the few Latin Americans on campus. "It would be nice to speak Spanish [to others], and have that [Latin] community here," she said. In the face of this challenge, Yazmin believes that she has been able to remain committed to her Mexican culture while building relationships with people of other backgrounds, saying, "By me being me, they learn a lot about my culture." She also sees the benefits she has reaped from the experience. "[At Whitworth] I have built an even stronger pride in who I am," she says.

Act Six friends

In the midst of the social challenges of her campus environment, Yazmin says that many Act Six students, even those of a different ethnic background, have provided a support network for her. "I have developed a lot of close friendships within Act Six," Yazmin says, "If we didn't have that, we wouldn't be here."

More work, more school, more Mexico

As Yazmin prepares to graduate and return to Tacoma, where she will work for Tacoma General Hospital for 3 years and make preparations for entering medical school, she has not forgotten about Mexico. In fact, the family's original plan to return has now become her personal mission as she looks forward to returning and giving back to her community there. Whether helping to build a healthy community in Mexico, or nursing people back to health here in the States, Yazmin will continue to proudly represent her culture and be a willing leader for ALL people.

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