TTUHSC of El Paso’s youngest nursing graduate is only 19-years-old

EL PASO, Texas-- Angela Lopez graduated in December as a nurse from the Hunt School of Nursing while still a teen and now works as a surgical nurse at El Paso Children's Hospital; all before turning 20.

Lopez attended Valle Verde Early College, where she graduated high school along with an associate degree. She then went into the accelerated bachelor's nursing program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center of El Paso, which lasts four semesters.

"And that's basically the trick," Lopez chuckled as she explained. "A lot of accelerated programs led me to graduate at 19-years-old."

Lopez has been at her new job for three month. She helps make sure surgeries are done safely while maintaining a quality. She takes part in different surgical procedures including neurology, plastic surgery and craniofacial surgery.

TTUHSC of El Paso's youngest nursing graduate said she feels grateful to have found the way to study the career she wanted to pursue here at home, and now she is able to provide medical services here in the city where families previously had to travel long distances.