Meet Alyssa Hinojosa -Student, Supermom, Future Pharmacist

Alyssa Hinojosa keeps pushing for greatness as she pursues a Doctorate of Pharmacy and a Master of Arts in Health Administration, all while raising three boys as a single mother

“我是那种, 当我被告知不能或不愿做某事时, 我尽一切可能完成它.”

Alyssa Hinojosa is a fourth-year Pharmacy student at the 菲克药学院 and is concurrently working on a Master of Arts in Healthcare Administration. But she is also a single mother of three boys and her journey to this point has been anything but a straight path.

伊诺霍萨在希伯伦维尔长大, 德州, 一个小, 服务水平低下的, predominantly Hispanic South 德州 border town of about 4,500. She had a passion for healthcare from a young age and wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but becoming a teen mother during her final year of high school made those dreams appear to be out of reach.

决心抚养她年幼的儿子, Hinojosa found a job as a cashier at County Pharmacy in her hometown. It was here that she fell in love with the Pharmacy profession.

“I woke up every day looking forward to go into work, 学习新东西, 帮助治疗另一个病人, 或者只是简单地与另一个客户交谈,伊诺霍萨说. “I remember looking at the clock and not wanting the day to end because I truly loved my job. 那时我才意识到, my calling was not only in the medical field, but more specifically in the pharmacy as a pharmacist.”

Intent on pursuing this dream, Hinojosa started classes at 德州 A&拉雷多国际大学. After missing class after class to care for her son, she ultimately dropped out during the first semester, 回到药房全职工作.

But her boss and her co-workers encouraged her to return to school and pursue her dream. Six years after graduating high school and now with two young sons enrolled in public school, 伊诺霍萨回到了课堂, graduating with a Bachelor of Science from 德州 A&M-Kingsville, 2015年12月.

“I took approximately 18 to 21 hour semesters, 每天上下班, 工作和做全职妈妈,” 说Hinojosa. “但是三年后我以优异的成绩毕业了.”

不过，挑战还没有结束. A few months after graduation, she gave birth to her third son. She put her pharmacy school dreams on hold and taught seventh grade science while working part-time as a pharmacy technician at H-E-B for two years.

Her dream of becoming a pharmacist never diminished. 在部分完成申请后, but feeling that her entrance scores were too low, Hinojosa received an unexpected email from Elizabeth Hernandez, a counselor/advisor with the UIW 菲克药学院. Hernendez reached out and asked Hinojosa if she needed assistance with the application.

“This personalized email sent from someone I had never met expressing interest in me and offering her guidance is what encouraged me to submit my application,伊诺霍萨说. “I 虽然t to myself, what other schools do this? Feeling that sense of ‘I’m not just a number, 我是个活生生的人, 菲克真诚地关心,' is why I only submitted my application to the 菲克药学院.”

The single application to UIW’s 菲克药学院 was enough. While going through the interview process and feeling support from everyone she met, Hinojosa认为, ' 这是我的家.'

The journey is still challenging, but Hinojosa has the support of her friends and teachers at Feik. 更重要的是, 虽然, she says she has support from the three people who mean the most to her – sons Hector (16), 乔内森(14岁)和亚历克西斯(5岁).

“I couldn’t have asked for better children,伊诺霍萨说. “My boys are very understanding and supportive of my education and my pursuit to become a pharmacist. They understand the sacrifices our family will have to persevere through for this period of time in order to flourish in our futures.”

Hinojosa has continued to work at a busy pharmacy, which has helped her learn leadership skills, organizational skills and the importance of delegating, 所有这些都对她的学习有帮助. She has come to understand that time management is key, 但她也明白这一点, 而错误和失败将会到来, what matters is that she continues the journey.

“I have learned to give myself some grace,伊诺霍萨说. “I just have to keep going and consistently attempt to do my best. I have to remind myself that my best is all I can give in every situation and the rest is giving myself enough grace to remember that I am not perfect.”

伊诺霍萨不得不适应一个新的项目, a new pace and new learning styles during her time at Feik. Some ask her if she’s “supermom,” but to Hinojosa, she is just doing what she needs to do.

“我不去想它. I don’t think about how much I have on my plate, 这有多难, 或者我有多不知所措,伊诺霍萨说. “I take whatever obstacle I’m faced with, and I push through it like a bulldozer through a wall. 我对自己说, ‘I’m going to get through this one way or another, but I’m not going to let it bring me down or defeat me.’

“There is no expiration date on your journey to success.”