Diablo Valley College Nursing Student Turned Duke Doctoral Candidate

Adrienne Navarro is currently a full-time student at Duke University completing her doctorate of nursing but the road to North Carolina wasn’t always smooth.

Before she made her way to Duke, she was an allied health major at Diablo Valley College (DVC), struggling to return to school as a busy working mother with a four-month-old. But her drive to return to school came from a need and desire to create a better quality of life for her family.

As a military veteran, she decided to use her GI Bill to advance her career from a licensed practical nurse (LVN) to an registered nurse (RN) and pursue her passion to have a career in woman’s healthcare.

She credits her DVC instructors for helping her face mental barriers to success and for sticking with her every step of the way. She also could not have completed her degree at DVC without the support of the Early Childhood Education program, which provided childcare so she could complete her studies.

Although the road back to school had its challenges, Adrienne persevered and is now working in an OBGYN office seeing patients while attending Duke University with a goal of completing her doctorate of nursing.

“I had been an LVN for almost 10 years and knew someday I wanted to become an RN. Now as a board certified woman’s health nurse practitioner, I am able to take care of my patients the way I would treat my family.”