WESTMINSTER ALUMNI SUCCESS STORIES

Elizabeth – an advocate for the Latino community!

Elizabeth watched her mother volunteer at Westminster Free Clinic and was astounded to witness the community’s vast needs. As she watched the high school students translate and help the patients being seen, she knew she also wanted to help them in whichever way she could. Her mother always taught her that helping others was a way of life and she couldn’t wait to get started.

Elizabeth began volunteering through Westminster’s Teen Healthcare Training Internship Pathways program in 2011. Her commitment was apparent in her work during the 3 years she participated at WFC. She was involved in all aspects of the clinic, which included patient care and community outreach.  During her senior year at WFC, she and a few other teens started the SALUD (Student Advocates Leading Uplifting Decisions) group. Their first project was to partner with Latino markets to offer healthy food options for those who shopped at the stores. This group of students opened the door for the younger students to address community health disparities by becoming advocates. By this time, Elizabeth knew that her goal in life was to be able to help those less fortunate than herself by doing something in the healthcare field. With the help of WFC, she applied to universities with 4-year nursing programs. Elizabeth’s volunteer experience, leadership skills, and grades helped her get accepted into the University of San Francisco and she was admitted into their 4-year nursing program.

Making the decision to move away from home wasn’t easy for Elizabeth. She is the first of 4 children. With her mother pushing to finish a 4-year degree and with her father, who works as a window washer, being the only breadwinner, Elizabeth was often the one taking care of her sisters and brother, ages 16, 7, and 1. It was a tough choice to make. However, she knew she needed to follow her dreams and with the support of her parents, she moved 6 hours away. Elizabeth had many hardships including traveling 4 hours a day by public transportation to complete her externship. However, nothing stopped Elizabeth. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a BSN in 2018 and since has received her RN license to practice. She has moved  back home and now works at a local hospital.

Elizabeth continues to donate her free time to Westminster Free Clinic. She is grateful for having had the opportunity to be a part of WFC’s teen program. Her experience at WFC provided her with the confidence, leadership, medical skills, and communication skills to help her thrive. She continues to look forward to making a lasting impact on the patients at the clinic and in our community.

Yvette Flores inspires other Latino students to persevere!

Yvette Flores’s story at Westminster Free Clinic (WFC) starts in 2004 when Yvette learned through her HS career center that high school students volunteered at the clinic. This was the beginning of the clinic’s long-term relationship with the Flores family. Yvette volunteered at WFC for 3 years. As a volunteer, she became involved in all aspects of the clinic from patient care to health screenings and community outreach. Yvette completed the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Newbury Park High School. WFC supported her efforts in applying to college, writing her essays, and believing in her future. One thing Yvette said was very helpful was seeing other student volunteers at WFC, with similar backgrounds, accepted into college. “It was great to see other young people who I identified with being successful,” she said. With Yvette’s grades, volunteer experiences and leadership, she not only got into college, she was accepted into the most prestigious schools and decided to attend Stanford University where she received a generous financial aid package. It was a very big step for her parents to let her go away to school. It was a great cultural shift to have their daughter leave the house at such a young age.

Before leaving to college, Yvette decided her younger 14 year-old sister would benefit from WFC’sTeen Healthcare internship, as she had. Her sister was not so sure; she did not have concrete plans about what profession she wanted to pursue at that time. Nonetheless, she ultimately started volunteering as Yvette left for Stanford. Shortly after, Yvette’s parents found themselves benefittingfrom the services of WFC, after the factory they worked for moved away in 2007. Having lost their jobs they became uninsured and they started coming to WFC for their health care. Yvette continued her studies at Stanford and in the summer of 2008, Yvette participated in a program through Stanford called Summer Work Study that paid her to work at a non-profit of her choice for 3 months. Yvette choose to come back and work for WFC. Yvette knew the clinic’s mission, she knew the needs of the patients inside the clinic and in the community, and she was extremely responsible and efficient which benefitted Westminster. Meanwhile, Yvette’s sister became an outstanding volunteer at WFC. She grew to really enjoy it and realized that she wanted to become a nurse. She continued taking the necessary classes to go to college and she ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area at a private college called Dominican University of California where she earned a Bachelors in Nursing Science. Yvette’s sister is now preparing to sit for the state nursing license exam.

Presently, Yvette is completing her Masters in Social Work at UC Berkeley. She continues to volunteer and give back to her community both in California and in Mexico. Most recently Yvette has chosen to give back to her current community in the East Bay as a Board Member for La Familia Counseling Service, a nonprofit which serves Latinos in the Southern Alameda County area. She also recently returned from a 6 week service learning trip where she was able to support a nonprofit in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. In Oaxaca, Yvette was able to learn about the needs of Latino migrants in transit through Mexico, and was able to assist the agency in drafting a grant proposal for additional funding. Yvette is also working at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare as an Admissions Assistant helping prospective graduate students have success applying to school. There is no doubt Yvette and her sister will make a big difference in the lives of many as they pursue careers in the healthcare field. Their parents are so proud and we are all excited to see what they decide to do next!