{"id":521,"date":"2019-08-19T06:50:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T06:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/?p=521"},"modified":"2019-08-19T06:50:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T06:50:11","slug":"wanda-rosario-it-is-never-too-late-to-fulfill-your-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wanda-rosario-it-is-never-too-late-to-fulfill-your-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanda Rosario: It Is Never Too Late To Fulfill Your Dream!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wanda Rosario first enrolled at the University of the Virgin Islands in 1994 where she took skills classes up until 1995. In time she learnt that the demands of her job as a CAT Scan technologist, at the Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix, which sometimes included 12-hour days would mean that completing her degree would not be possible at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an act of pure love upon her retirement, Wanda\u2019s son Michael registered her at UVI in 2015, bought her textbooks and told her it was time to get her degree. Wanda accepted the challenge and was very excited to become a UVI student. According to Wanda, her freshman year was difficult, but she overcame it with the help of her professors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wanda Rosario<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted the full college experience as a full-time student,\u201d Rosario says. \u201cMath was my hardest subject, I didn\u2019t do math for 30 plus years, but thankfully I had good professors who made sure I understood the material. I was very fortunate that my professors really cared.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Wanda although it was her dream to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree, her ultimate goal was to help the mentally ill in the Virgin Islands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing on the island and seeing how many mentally ill\npersons we have here, I wanted to be a part of the solution and go into the health\nprofession,\u201d Rosario says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Wanda progressed through her years at UVI she\nquickly overcame the challenges of being a mature student. Often Wanda became\nenveloped in self-doubt, she worried that her age would be a major deterrent\nfrom excelling in her degree. With the encouragement of her peers and\nprofessors, and sheer determination, Wanda was able to maintain a 3.5 GPA while\ncompleting her studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is never too late to go back to school and fulfill your dream.”<\/p>Wanda ROSARIO<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In reflecting on the four-year journey, Wanda\nreminisces on her first psychology classes where she felt as though she was in\na foreign country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very challenging, I almost changed my major to English,\u201d Rosario says.  \u201cLearning theories, and about the founding fathers of psychology was challenging; however, I stuck it out. My advisors and professors were a great source of motivation for me, by the end of my sophomore year I knew I was in the right place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Wanda became settled into UVI she spread her\nwings and she became an academic coach at the Center for Student Success where\nshe helped other students and referred them to resources on campus that would\nimprove their college experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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