For Brandi Rodriguez, nursing is more than a profession. It’s been a part of her whole life, starting when she was a girl.
Her sister has cystic fibrosis, so growing up, Rodriguez would go to appointments at Children’s Hospital Colorado with her.
“I became immersed in the healthcare world from an early age,” she says. “Then in middle school, my mom had health complications, so she’d be in and out of the hospital, including the ICU.”
Rodriguez was her mom’s primary caregiver, and that experience, combined with her sister’s hospital visits, made Rodriguez want to become a doctor. She was accepted into medical school, but shortly after, her mom passed away.
“My mom's passing made me take a step back and think about what I was trying to accomplish and what I wanted to do,” she says. “So ultimately, I decided nursing was the path for me. I realized I wanted to spend time with patients and provide them with the care that I would have wanted my mom and sister to have.”
Attending Her Hometown School
Rodriguez, who is from Golden and earned her bachelor’s degree from MSU Denver, knew she wanted to attend the University of Colorado Anschutz College of Nursing’s accelerated BSN program.
“I became familiar with the CU System while attending MSU Denver, and I knew CU Anschutz Nursing was the state’s top program,” she says.
The accelerated pace felt overwhelming at first, Rodriguez says, but she found that the speed itself made it manageable.
“I’ve had the best year of my life,” she says. “It was fun to go back to school and study. People shouldn’t stress about the program. It’s accomplishable, and anyone can do it.”
Inspiring Future Nurses
When Rodriguez came to the college, she volunteered at events with the college’s Student Affairs Team, including the campus’s Health Sciences Fair.
“I wanted to connect with these high school students and spread the word about nursing,” she says.
Rodriguez says she didn’t do well in high school but eventually turned things around at MSU Denver and CU Anschutz Nursing.
“I was such a brat in high school, but I turned things around, and I wanted to show other high schoolers that you can make changes in your life,” she says.
Rodriguez also wanted students to know that a nursing degree is accessible regardless of background, even her own.
"Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money, but that didn’t deter me from pursuing nursing,” she says. “Nursing is a stable career, and I don’t want people to be discouraged or think nursing isn’t an option, when in reality, nursing is a path anyone can achieve.”
As for Rodriguez, she hopes her nursing path will lead to a job in critical care at UCHealth or another local hospital system.
“I’m sad my mom won’t see me start my nursing career or see me graduate, but I know she would have been very proud of me.”
