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Colorado State University System
12/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/11/2024 16:39
Sprinting into a nursing career: CSU Pueblo alumna embodies first-generation success
Sprinting into a nursing career: CSU Pueblo alumna embodies first-generation success
Video by Brian Buss | Photography by Jeremiah Coca Gallegos
You won't often find a college student-athlete who earns two national track-and-field titles and graduates at the very top of their class - with three degrees.
But you can put Yasmine Hernandez in that camp. Hernandez is a standout student-athlete from CSU Pueblo who is on a fast track in her early nursing career while competing in national middle-distance races as a post-collegiate runner.
Adding to her accomplishments in academics and athletics, Hernandez is a first-generation college student - the first in her family to earn a college degree. Or, in her case, three degrees.
"I was really excited to be the first person in my family to go to college and set a new precedent, encouraging other family members to go," Hernandez said. "My family is so proud of me - it's sweet. They're so proud of the work I've put in and the determination it took to do it, and I'm proud of myself for what I've accomplished."
Yasmine Hernandez, a first-generation student from Johnstown, was a standout nursing student and athlete at CSU Pueblo and represented the university on billboards and in other promotional spaces.
Hernandez is featured in a new CSU System documentary film series called First Degree, which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation college students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education. First Degree demonstrates that college is possible and that it opens doorways to career opportunities, financial stability, and quality of life for students and their families - boosting entire communities in the process.
First-gen students - the pioneers of higher education - reflect the mission of land-grant universities, including Colorado State University. These universities were established by the Morrill Act of 1862 to educate the children of working-class families, thus increasing the nation's scientific prowess and growing the professional workforce during the Industrial Revolution and beyond.
At Colorado State University in Fort Collins, first-generation students make up about 25% of the undergraduate population, or about 5,600 students this academic year. That number is 40% at CSU Pueblo, or about 1,300 students.
With their special interest in the success of first-generation students, CSU and CSU Pueblo were recently named First Generation-Serving Institutions by the Colorado Department of Higher Education. The schools are among 13 four-year public institutions in Colorado to earn the new designation, which underscores the support first-gen students need to graduate and succeed.
"First-generation students are part of CSU Pueblo's identity," Armando Valdez, president of CSU Pueblo, said. "When nearly half our students are the first in their families to attend college, it shapes our entire campus culture. These students bring valuable life experiences and perspectives to our classrooms."
Among them is Hernandez, who grew up in Johnstown, in Northern Colorado, and sought a university that equally supported her desire to become a nurse and to excel as a collegiate middle-distance runner. A high-school coach recommended CSU Pueblo; she filled out an online questionnaire, and three minutes later got a call from Coach Matt Morris, who would soon become one of the key figures inspiring her college career.
"It makes such a difference having people behind you who believe in you," said Hernandez, who attended CSU Pueblo with an athletics scholarship.
Hernandez won the national title in the 2022 NCAA Division II women's 1,500.
She earned a bachelor's degree in nursing in 2021, followed the next year by an MBA and a master's degree in nursing management and leadership. Hernandez graduated with highest honors - summa cum laude - in all three cases.
Meantime, she broke records and amassed championships running 800-meter and 1,500-meter races. Hernandez won the national title in the 2022 NCAA Division II women's 1,500 and anchored CSU Pueblo's national championship distance medley relay team.
Since graduating in 2022, she has worked as a nurse in both hospital and home-health settings - and, last summer, trained with the running organization Idaho Afoot to race in the Olympic Trials. Injuries prevented her from competing in the Trials, yet Hernandez continues to train and assess next steps in her running career.
Now, she's working as a medical-surgical nurse at Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, helping patients with a wide range of medical conditions and with recovery from surgery. With her education in nursing practice, business, and nursing administration, she aims to some day work as a hospital CEO.
"I really enjoy getting to play a big part in helping someone get better and helping make their experience as positive as possible," Hernandez said. "It's super rewarding to see your patients make progress, and I'm loving learning more about the world of nursing."
As a student-athlete, Hernandez sought a school that would fully support both her academic and athletic aspirations.
As she advances in her early career, Hernandez is gratified that she can serve as a role model for younger family members considering college.
"It's something that is possible, even though it might look and sound impossible and hasn't been done by people around you," she said. "College is possible if it's something you want."
Fast facts
- Definition: First-generation students are those whose parents have not attained bachelor's degrees.
- At Colorado State University in Fort Collins, first-generation students make up about 25% of the undergraduate population. That's about 5,600 students this academic year.
- That number is 40% at CSU Pueblo, or about 1,300 students.
- Nationwide, first-gen students form more than 50% of the total undergraduate population, according to FirstGen Forward, an initiative of NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.
- CSU in Fort Collins was the first university in the country to offer scholarships for first-generation students; the First Generation Award program is 40 years old this year.
- Land-grant universities, including CSU, were founded to educate the children of working-class families - the students we now call "first gen." In fact, the three students in CSU's first graduating class were first-generation scholars.
Resources
- Learn more about CSU's First Generation Award.
- Donors may contribute to CSU scholarships for first-generation students.
- Check out all First Degree videos and stories. As part of the project, the CSU System is releasing one video per month through May 2025.
- Read CSU System Chancellor Tony Frank's thoughts about first-generation students.
- Read CSU President Amy Parson's reflections on first-gen students.