2025 Inspiring Graduate | Diana Martinez-Nava

While other 8-year-old kids played at the park with their parents, Diana Martinez-Nava had other responsibilities.

Before fully learning how to read and write herself, she was in charge of interpreting for her father and mother during their medical appointments or trips to the pharmacy. The role required her to brush up on medical terminology ahead of appointments to know how to say various diseases, medications and pain conditions in both English and Spanish.

Her parents, who immigrated from Mexico before Martinez-Nava was born, did not speak English. And often, the clinicians and pharmacists who treated her parents did not speak Spanish.

"I did feel like I had to grow up very fast," Martinez-Nava said. "My childhood came and went very fast. I was using big words in both languages and I felt the pressure on me."

Martinez-Nava, who graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy in May 2025, says she was motivated to pursue a career in health care to ensure none of her future patients apply the kind of pressure on their children that she experienced.

With her drive to serve her community and her mission to ensure other children aren't put in the roles of medical translators, Martinez-Nava is this year's UNM College of Pharmacy Inspiring Graduate. Fluent in both Spanish and English, she wants to have open, free-flowing conversations with her patients about their medications and therapies.

"That was the main reason why I chose this career," she said. "Pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers. If I'm able as a Spanish-speaking pharmacist to take that weight off a child, that look of relief in a child's eyes when I say, 'Buenos días,' is amazing. This is why I went through four years of hard studying and pursuing this degree."

After graduation, Martinez-Naza will train as a pharmacy resident at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She plans to return to New Mexico to specifically serve Latino and immigrant communities, which need more bilingual health professionals to help break down the many barriers that prevent access to care. Speaking to patients in their native language can reduce anxiety and fear and ensure they are receiving the right medications.

Martinez-Nava adds that when patients see a health care provider who looks like them and shares the same culture and skin color, there can be a real sense of relief and a deeper willingness to open up about their health concerns.

"Anywhere I can use my Spanish is where I'm meant to be," she said. "The immigrant community is home to me. If I can use my talents and knowledge that the UNM College of Pharmacy provided to me, I feel like my mission is set."

She added, "Mis pacientes pueden sentirse seguros conmigo (My patients can feel a sense of safety with me)."