Ten-year-old patient advocate becomes today’s nurse practitioner
“La enfermera dice….”
Ten-year-old Tania Lopez sat beside the intensive care unit bed, translating to her aunt what the nurse had just said.
As she switched between English and Spanish, Lopez realized something: Hospitals needed people like her. She could do this someday as an adult.
Two decades later, the San Jacinto College alumna would fulfill that calling as a nurse practitioner helping patients with language and resource barriers.
Expanding horizons
In seventh grade, Lopez took the first step toward that future by signing up for the federal TRIO Educational Talent Search program, which served first-generation and low-income students in Sheldon and Galena Park school districts.
Lopez’s world that had previously revolved around school, the library, and grocery store now expanded far beyond her community.
“The program allowed me to see what else is out there — how big Houston is, how big Texas is, how big the United States is,” she said. “It was a huge part of my upbringing.”
Around ninth grade, Lopez rock-climbed with other TRIO students in the Texas Hill Country as a team-building activity. Despite being afraid of heights, she harnessed up and summited a peak.
“It gave me the confidence that I can do things,” she said.
Confidence was exactly what she needed as she prepared for the next big challenge: nursing school.
Turning obstacles into opportunities
After high school, Lopez enrolled in the one-year vocational nursing program at the North Campus. Her can-do attitude met its match in San Jac’s can-do support.
Since her parents couldn’t help much financially, a grant stepped in to cover tuition and gas expenses. Even though TRIO services end after high school, TRIO advisors still opened their doors — answering questions, helping her navigate challenges, and even lending a laptop for coursework.
Lopez also relied on her professors. As her nursing classes got harder, she questioned her abilities. Former nursing professor Robbie Murphy, listening to the teary-eyed young woman in her office, encouraged her to stay true to her calling.
“If you want to help people, everything else will fall in line,” she said.
Supporting others
Lopez has never veered from her desire to help others. In 2015, she completed San Jac’s transition nursing program.
For years, she worked in critical care as a registered nurse. While she enjoyed the work, witnessing many deaths during COVID pushed her to leave the hospital setting.
“I still wanted to be helpful, to be present, and to feel like I was making a difference,” she said.
In 2026, after earning her nursing bachelor’s and master’s degrees online, Lopez became a nurse practitioner. Today, she works at a nonprofit family practice clinic in east Houston, serving uninsured and low-income patients.
I understand the struggle but also see what happens when you are able to help. I feel like I always had resources. I always had people there on my team who said, 'Now what can we do?'
Her patients often face language, financial, and healthcare barriers like people she witnessed growing up. Just as TRIO advisors and San Jac helped her, she connects them to resources.
Lopez enjoys finding solutions: “You’ve got food insecurity, and you're having trouble getting meds. What programs are out there? Who can we connect you with so you get the help you need?”
In this one-on-one environment, she can educate patients about diseases, medications, and diet. Eventually, she hopes to host health trainings for the community or teach nursing students herself.
Coming full circle
Today, the young girl translating medical updates for her aunt is the healthcare professional advocating for patients with barriers.
“I understand the struggle but also see what happens when you are able to help,” Lopez said. “I feel like I always had resources. I always had people there on my team who said, ‘Now what can we do?’”
Lopez’s journey from first-generation college student to nurse practitioner reflects not only her own determination but also people who believed in her along the way.
“Now I get to be that person,” she said. “That's why this job for me is so fulfilling because it’s coming full circle.”
