TSTC Nursing graduate devoted to patient care following daughter’s hospital experience

(HARLINGEN, Texas) - Recent Texas State Technical College graduate Soyre Rangel will never forget when her young daughter was being treated for an eye infection at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville in 2018.

"The infection (she) had can cause blindness," Rangel said. "I admired how compassionate the nurses were with my then-2-year-old daughter. After that experience, I wanted to give back."

At TSTC, Rangel earned a certificate of completion in Vocational Nursing in 2023 and an Associate of Applied Science degree in the LVN to RN Transition Nursing Program one year later.

After receiving her certificate, the Los Fresnos resident went to work as a full-time vocational nurse at Tri-County Healthcare Nursing and Therapy Services in Harlingen.

"I first met representatives of Tri-County Healthcare when I visited TSTC's Industry Job Fair," she said. "Since then, I've been employed for more than a year."

With the addition of her associate degree, Rangel was recently offered a full-time job as a registered nurse at the same medical company.

"I plan to accept the new job opportunity after I pass my examination," she said, referring to taking the national certifying exam through the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Bryan Fernandez, director at Tri-County Healthcare, said Rangel has taken on special responsibility for a patient who requires extra care and monitoring.

"My job is to take care of a pediatric patient for around 12 hours," Rangel said. "I provide the patient with medication, feeding, transporting since they are in a wheelchair, and other duties."

"Soyre's work ethic has made a profound impact at our facility," Fernandez said.

Christina Alvear was one of Rangel's instructors at TSTC.

"Soyre was determined to research ways to fully understand the lessons," she said. "I believe her determination was a deciding factor that developed her into a successful nurse."

Rangel said she is a first-generation college graduate in her immediate family.

"I plan to use that example to inspire my children to consider college when they get older," she said.

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Nursing at its Harlingen and Sweetwater campuses. A Vocational Nursing certificate of completion is offered at the Breckenridge, Harlingen and Sweetwater campuses.

To learn more about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.