Nursing alumna heads to Harvard
One San Jacinto College alumna has transformed barriers into steppingstones.
While at the zoo with her daughter, Erica Fernandez Benavidez decided to check her email.
“She was getting her face painted when I got the notification about getting into Harvard,” Benavidez said. “I started crying and announced it out loud, and strangers began cheering for me.”
Benavidez will start a distance learning master’s degree program in bioethics at Harvard University this fall. The Pasadena-born Texan credits her family as her driving force.
As a child of immigrants who don’t speak English, she found the path to being a first-generation college student daunting as she had to be her own advocate.
Why nursing?
Benavidez developed a sensitivity for medical ethics from childhood.
At 16, she observed the lack of compassion her grandpa received while hospitalized. When her sister was in the intensive care unit with a brain injury, Benavidez was there every day as her advocate. Another time, her father was in the ICU with kidney failure, and she realized he wasn’t getting things he needed because of the language barrier.
This compelled her to do something to ensure non-English speakers get the same care as everyone else. Her employer encouraged her to pursue nursing as a good starting point toward studying ethics.
Inspiration came from many sources
With English as her second language, Benavidez always struggled in school and wondered if she had what it took to earn a degree.
Her father managed to achieve his goals in a demanding job without English fluency, and Benavidez found his strength and determination contagious.
In her second semester of the vocational nursing program at the South Campus, Benavidez failed a required course, which necessitated repeating the semester. Feeling defeated, she was ready to give up on her dreams.
The second time around, Benavidez passed and became a licensed vocational nurse. She graduated from the associate degree nursing program at the Central Campus in 2008 and became a registered nurse, followed by a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2017 from the University of Texas Health Science Center.
As a pediatric oncology nurse for 16 years at Texas Children’s Hospital, she has noticed the disparities among different cultures within the patient population.
“The non-English speakers are not getting the same health care,” she said. “Hispanic patients often don’t ask questions. I know this because I’m part of that demographic. I’ve noticed resources not being offered to patients because they are unable to communicate their needs. Most just go along with whatever the doctors say, even when they don’t understand what is happening.”
Journey to Harvard
San Jac nursing professor Dr. Laurene Matthews gave Benavidez unforgettable advice.
“Dr. Matthews taught me, ‘When you’re in the nursing field, you treat patients like you want to be treated.’ Those words stuck with me my whole career,” Benavidez said. “She taught me the value of asking patients the right questions, viewing them as a whole and not just a diagnosis.”
When Benavidez found the bioethics program at Harvard, she thought — why not. The acceptance was a testament to her lifelong commitment to serving others.
The future looks bright
Benavidez will graduate from Harvard in 2026 and already plans to pursue a Ph.D. in public health afterward.
She also started a home infusion business, Amigos Healthcare Services, that focuses on Spanish speakers who need IV medications prescribed by doctors for conditions like lupus, multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
“I want to focus on quality health care for all individuals,” she said. “My biggest goal in life is to help people. My business does a lot of patient advocacy, representing the underserved community.”
She has advice for others who are seeking a fulfilling career.
“Focus on your passion. When you find your passion, that’s when you find satisfaction in your job, and you’ll be a better person for it,” Benavidez said.
