Student Spotlight: Pablo Limpias
Class of 2025
Recipient of the Future Nurse Leader Award from the Virginia Nurses Foundation
Degree:
Hometown:
Springfield, Va.
Tell us about your background.
I was born in Buenos Aires but moved to the U.S. when I was two. I am more American than Argentinian, but I still have a strong love for my birth country and cultural traditions. Not only am I a first-generation college student, but I’m the only person on both sides of my family to have graduated from high school. In Argentina, there isn’t as much emphasis on education so many people drop out before completing high school. I was lucky enough to have the chance to go to high school here in America and then come to Marymount to pursue higher education.
What brought you to Marymount?
I started my college career at Northern Virginia Community College. When it came time for me to transfer, a buddy of mine told me about the amazing experience he had at Marymount and how its small class sizes and great opportunities would set me up for success. After looking into it, Marymount checked all the boxes for me and I’ve had no regrets since coming here.
Why did you choose to study nursing?
It sounds cliche, but I chose nursing because I want to help people. Every job I have had relates to helping people. I’ve worked as a physical therapy assistant, health coach, personal trainer and now as a nurse apprentice at VHC Health. I see people come in at their most vulnerable time and it’s so rewarding to know I can help them in that moment, calm them down and make them feel at ease. If I could pick any major and do college all over again, I would choose nursing every time. I absolutely love it.
You started a peer mentoring program for Marymount Nursing students. What is involved?
The nursing mentorship program has been really amazing. I started it last semester by making study guides for certain classes and offering them to those in my class and the classes below me. To date, we have helped about 16 students in the B.S.N. program. It started with just me, which was a lot of work, but now I have other students on board as tutors and professors are referring students to me. So it has grown and transformed into something much bigger than just myself, which is awesome.
What inspired this mentoring program?
It came out of a desire to help fellow students. When I came to Marymount, I was really nervous. In high school, I had coasted by and never learned how to study or organize my time. So coming into college, I faced lots of academic challenges and had a fear of failure. But my professors and classmates helped me become more confident and build my study skills to a point where now I’m in a position to help others who might need academic support. I truly believe everyone in my cohort would make incredible nurses, but it’s easy to get discouraged and want to give up when you fail a class or consistently get bad grades. I don’t want them to think that school or nursing isn’t for them just because they are struggling. The world needs more nurses and I want to make sure everyone in my class has the confidence to graduate and go out into their communities and make a difference as health care professionals.
What are your plans after graduation?
I’d like to work at VHC Health as a full-time nurse in the ER department. I love the people there and they have helped me learn and grow my confidence. As for the mentorship program, I am already working to hand it off to some of the tutors who have helped me this year so they can continue helping students by providing academic, mental and emotional support to Nursing students.
