Beatrice practicing her nursing skills in the ASU SIM Lab.

Beatrice Perez’s passion for helping people led her to Angelo State.

A United States Air Force veteran, Beatrice didn’t initially see herself coming to ASU.

“I was from San Angelo and wanted to go somewhere else,” she explained. “But after experiencing other universities and being everywhere else, I had the best experiences here.”

One of her best experiences came through ASU’s Veterans Educational and Transitional Services (VETS) Center.

“You know how everyone has a talent? Well, I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I’m not good at art. But what am I good at? I care about people.”

“I had applied to another school, and had actually reached out to their veterans center,” Beatrice said. “I could not get a hold of anyone at that university. The reason I ended up coming to ASU was because the VETS Center answered their phone.”

“My benefits were done immediately; they processed my paperwork – our VETS Center is awesome.”

Beatrice fills a syringe.

A senior nursing student set to graduate in the fall, Beatrice worked as a radar technician in the Air Force. So how did a radar technician come to choose nursing school, you ask?

“I really like people,” Beatrice said. “You know how everyone has a talent? Well, I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I’m not good at art. But what am I good at? I care about people. I have worked in so many different things, and this is the one thing I’m passionate about.”

Beatrice practicing her nursing skills in the ASU skills lab.

Beatrice is also in one of the first groups to get to use the new Health and Human Services Building, filled with state-of-the-art simulation and skills labs designed to give students practical experience.

“You’re put in a simulation lab and you have to handle that pressure of knowing they’re watching and evaluating you,” she explained. “You go in there, you’re thrown into a situation, and things change. It’s really good critical-thinking training, to see where you lack and where your strong points are. And, it helps you get over that fear.”

Beatrice practicing her nursing skills in the ASU SIM Lab.

In addition to being a full-time student, Beatrice works as an emergency room technician at Shannon Hospital.

“Hopefully, I’ll become an emergency room nurse,” she said. “I’m still in the Air National Guard, stationed out of Lackland AFB. I plan to commission as an officer, as a nurse through that, and stay here.”

Beatrice Perez

When she walks the stage in December, Beatrice will be the first in her family to graduate from college.

“I’m a first-generation college student,” she said. “No one’s made it to college in my family. For me, there was a lot of confusion at the beginning. But at ASU, I was able to find the resources and the people to help answer my questions. If it weren’t for the staff we have, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now.”

Share your “I Am Angelo” moment with us on social media by using the hashtag #iamangelo.