Feature Stories 2020: Claricela Carranza ’22

Claricela Carranza has wanted to be a nurse since she was a child. It was even her favorite Halloween costume growing up. As the first in her family to attend college, earning her degree in nursing at UMass Dartmouth is important to making her family proud and setting an example for her younger siblings. She started out with a solid background from her work as a CNA and her high school education in nursing. And now, she is eager to take her experience to the next level so she can help people in her community through a career in nursing.

I knew I wanted to be a nurse when: “I understood at a very young age that nurses were special. I’ll never forget the nurses who cared for me when I was hospitalized at age seven with a high fever. Then, when my grandmother in El Salvador died, the nurse who called us with the news delivered in it the most caring and compassionate way. That sealed it for me: I would become a nurse.”

Why I chose UMassD: “Keeping the cost of staying close to home was my original reason for choosing UMass Dartmouth, but now, it’s become much more than that. It’s helping me fulfill my dream.”

I’m looking forward to: “My clinical rotation in psychiatric nursing. I worked as a medical assistant in a mental health clinic in New Bedford and became interested in this field. I can’t wait to learn more about psychiatry.”

What I love about UMassD: “I love meeting new people and learning about each other. In the College of Nursing & Health Sciences, I feel supported by my professors and my classmates. In the Diversity in Nursing Program, I learned even more about how I can make a difference in my community as a health professional.”

I am grateful for: “The support I receive from the entire UMassD community, especially this year when the University is trying so hard to create more aid and scholarships that bring my dream of a career in nursing that much closer to reality.”