Four sisters celebrate graduation together

Sisters from Naples, Florida, were persistent in pursuit of master’s degrees

IRVING, Texas — Rosio Garcia had an idea: to earn a Master of Science in nursing degree — not by herself but with her sisters.

When Rosio presented the idea, sisters Kathy Claros, Shirley Adan and Nancy Claros thought it was a great idea. They knew obtaining a master’s degree would help advance their careers in health care.

Additional information

• Purdue Global celebrates the accomplishments of nearly 1,200 graduates at commencement ceremonies
• Purdue Global Winter 2024 Commencement Photo Gallery

The four sisters completed the next chapter of their educational journeys by earning and receiving their degrees together on Feb. 17 during Purdue Global’s commencement ceremonies in Irving.

They started their first classes in December 2021 and completed their studies in October 2023.

All four are registered nurses who live and work at various hospitals and clinics in Naples, Florida.

In addition to earning their master’s degrees, they also successfully passed their nursing boards.

Kathy had already been a nurse for a few years, while Rosio, Shirley and Nancy finished nursing school together.

“We were all new grads and had finished three months of our preceptorship in the hospital, and I was like, ‘Let’s all go back to school together,’” Rosio said.

She began researching online nursing schools and discovered Purdue Global. “Purdue Global was the best fit for us. We’re all in Florida, and we have our own separate lives,” she said.

“It was a fast pace, but also at our own pace,” Nancy said. “We wanted to get the degree.”

Purdue Global’s nursing program is designed to serve working adults seeking to earn degrees needed for the workforce, which factored into the sisters’ decision.

While researching, they learned that local nursing schools required applicants to have at least two years of job experience before applying for a master’s program. “We were able to do it all at once,” Shirley said of the Purdue Global program.

“We were all working full time in our preceptorships and rotations. We have to work 36 hours and complete 160 hours of our preceptorship in 10 weeks,” Kathy said. “We helped each other out with scheduling. They helped me out.”

“It was nice in the moments where one of us felt like we couldn’t do it anymore — like going through our own problems and our own life,” Rosio said. “We were all there for each other. When one was down, we had another to pick us back up. That was a good thing about doing it together.”

Nancy is exploring a nursing career in neurology, while Shirley is looking at various nursing specialties. Rosio wants to specialize in dermatology. Kathy has worked in several health care settings, but loves pediatrics.

Rosio, Shirley and Nancy were used to online classes, as they were in college during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is definitely a comeback because it was tough for me. I hadn’t done online schooling before,” Kathy said. “I made it. We made it.”

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. It offers flexible paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, military service and previous college credits, no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University. For more information, visit https://stories.purdue.edu/purdue-global/.

Writer/Media contact: Matthew Oates, oatesw@purdue.edu, 765-496-6160, @mo_oates

Sources: Kathy Claros, Shirley Adan, Rosio Garcia, Nancy Claros