A Dream and a Prayer: Alum Spotlight on Dr. Elizabeth Garcia ’26

There was a time when TLU Professor of Nursing Dr. Elizabeth Garcia was afraid she might fail-and the stakes at the time were very high.

This story begins with the dream that Garcia had held since she was a teenager: to become a nurse. It was a dream she shared with her mom, who couldn't pursue that goal for herself due to financial hardship. So Garcia was dreaming for two, and the fact that she found herself struggling in nursing school must've felt like something incredibly important was slipping from her grasp.

Back in high school, the idea of pursuing a degree in nursing butted up against the harsh realities of the cost of higher education-and the cycle that Garcia's mother had dealt with threatened to repeat itself. "We knew that we couldn't afford it for me either, so it was not something we discussed at home," Garcia says, looking back.

But then, things changed. "During my high school years, two teachers came into my life who believed in me, invested their time in me, and helped me find a way." Those teachers must've seen the potential in young Garcia. For one thing, she was an A student. For another, she was a hard worker. "Before I knew it, I had earned enough money in scholarships to help pay for nursing school. I believe God sent them to me. These two educators taught me many things, but most importantly, they taught me what faculty support should look like."

So she entered nursing school, ready to break the cycle and pursue the dream, but the difficulty faced by anyone aspiring to become a nurse was compounded, ironically, by some of her professors. "I was always a 4.0 student in high school, so I thought nursing school would be a breeze," she says. "It was not. I really struggled and most of my nursing professors were not supportive or encouraging. One professor regularly reminded me how close I was to failing each semester."

Yet instead of giving up, Garcia decided to turn that struggle into a promise. "I prayed constantly, asking God to help me graduate. I promised Him that if He carried me through, I would one day devote myself to helping struggling nursing students like I had been. I wanted students to have a positive nursing school experience, rather than the one I experienced."

Putting the Promise into Play

You've probably already figured out that Garcia persevered. She successfully weathered nursing school-but she didn't stop there. After earning her associate's degree, she went on to pursue her bachelor's as a registered nurse, and then her master's in nursing education.

In 2020, after years in the field, she came to TLU, true to her promise, and began offering a hand up to aspiring nurses. "So here I am, having come full circle, and God has me in a position to do just that."

She became to her students the kind of teacher she herself had needed back in nursing school. Clearly, she takes great joy in that. "I love watching students succeed, especially those who have the odds stacked against them," she says. "Seeing them overcome challenges and realize they are capable of becoming excellent nurses is incredibly rewarding."

Garcia is humbled by her role. "I believe God allows me to be part of those moments, and it is an honor to encourage students as they discover that they are capable of far more than they imagined. Completing a nursing degree can change the trajectory of not only their lives, but the lives of their families for generations. Being part of that journey is one of my greatest blessings and one of my personal ministries."

A New Challenge

So there Garcia was, not only a registered nurse herself, but a teacher to other nurses; not only the bearer of the dream she shared with her mother, but a person in a position to help others rise to meet their own goals.

But there was still room to grow-and there were still hurdles to clear.

"I dreamed of obtaining a doctorate but didn't feel it was financially possible," Garcia says. "My husband and I prayed about this for years. In January of 2023 we got serious about making a decision and started looking at schools and comparing prices. Again, I felt defeated looking at the costs."

But all of that was about to change. TLU was launching its first doctoral program-a doctor of education degree-and looking for a few outstanding individuals to join the first cohort. "God came through once again," Garcia says. "He laid this opportunity in my lap. In February 2023, I received an email that notified me that TLU would be covering my tuition at 100 percent. I cried. Getting my doctorate was the missing puzzle piece that was going to allow me to continue doing the work I promised God that I would do. I saw it as God equipping me with the knowledge and credentials to continue the work He had called me to do."

In May, Garcia, in the presence of her family, professors, fellow students, and colleagues, made yet another dream come true-and saw yet another prayer answered.

She says the TLU EdD is set apart from other such programs by its emphasis on personalized attention. "My professors began as instructors but became trusted mentors. They genuinely cared about me as a person, not simply as another student on the roster. Dr. Peñaranda's leadership, along with Dr. Bollinger and the rest of the faculty, set the tone for an exceptional program. They created a culture where students were challenged academically while also being supported personally."

So this spring-a lifetime away from those years of struggle in nursing school-a triumphant Garcia earned her doctorate. And as it worked out, her own young son donned cap and gown right along with her-in his case because he had just completed kindergarten. He will grow up within a new cycle, one forged by his mother, and by her mother . . . And he will carry that legacy and, no doubt, have dreams of his own-along with the courage to make them come true.