By Mark Muckenfuss

Maria Elena Garcia wanted to be a nurse when she graduated junior high school in Mexico. But that dream was unattainable for her in her home country. It remained out of reach when she came to the United States as well, and she spent many years as a farm worker.

“One day, I thought, this is too hard, there is no future here,” Garcia said. “I thought, I need to go back to my dream.”

She took night classes to learn English before attending community college, eventually earning  her associate nursing degree.

She wanted to continue her education to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing at CSU Monterey Bay. But she couldn’t afford it.

That changed when she received a scholarship through the Community Foundation for Monterey County. The organization has dispensed more than $800,000 to support students in CSUMB’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program over the past six years. The funds were donated by the Gambord family. 

A lunchtime reception at the Otter Student Union on Friday, May 12, honored the Gambords and some of the 66 nursing students who have benefited from the scholarships they have made possible. 

“With your scholarship,” Garcia told the Gambords, “I was able to make my dream a reality.” 

She now works locally as a home health nurse. 

“You are helping not only the nurses, you are helping a lot of families,” she added. “You are helping the community. You are helping the nation.”

Foundation representatives and school administrators were on hand, including President Vanya Quiñones. The event coincided with International Nurses Day.

“We can see how committed you are to our students and we appreciate everything you do for us,” Quiñones said, addressing the Gambord family and a crowd of about 50 people. “Your generosity is making a difference for many, many families.”

The president said the impact of such a commitment is not always immediately apparent.

“Everything you do creates a ripple,” she said. In the grand scheme of things, she added, “Sixty-six students may look like a ripple. But I think it’s a tsunami for our community.”

Each of the graduates, she said, will go on to impact many other people and will help improve the overall healthcare in the region.

Garcia was one of several students who delivered sometimes emotional testimonials about their journeys and how the scholarships had helped them. 

Like many of her colleagues, Ly Nguyen was already working as a nurse when she thought about going back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She had a bachelor’s in marketing.

“If it wasn’t for the scholarship, I probably wouldn’t have done another bachelor’s,” said Nguyen, who graduated from the nursing program last year and now works as a hospice nurse in Monterey and San Benito counties.

Getting the degree has changed her career path, she said. 

“I applied for a lead charge [nurse] position,” she said, noting that she now supervises 25 other nurses. “If it wasn’t for the program, I never would have done something like that. It really affected the things I aspired to. The next step is getting my master’s. I’m seriously considering that.”

Doing so, she said, would allow her to go into education or management, where she could have even more of an impact.

Nursing Department Chair Alyssa Erikson, said such stories show how important such support can be..

“The scholarship program has impacted the region,” she said. “From Santa Cruz down to Santa Barbara County, in almost every hospital, we have a scholarship recipient working.”

With expected continued support, she said, that influence will grow.

“I feel we’re just at the beginning of being able to do great things,” she said.

If you would like to donate to the nursing program, please click here.