Fabio and Natalia Avendano

When New Fairfield resident Natalia Avendano receives her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a minor in Psychology at Western Connecticut State University’s Commencement ceremony on May 18, 2026, she will be fulfilling a goal that began many years ago as a young girl growing up in Medellin, Colombia. From an early age, Avendano knew she wanted a career in medicine; she even aspired to become a pediatrician one day. What she didn’t know at the time was that plans often take the long way around, goals don’t always get accomplished in predetermined timeframes, and sometimes feeling uncomfortable provides the best possible outcome.

Because of life’s unavoidable detours, Avendano will receive her degree this month at the age of 40. Cheering her on at Bridgeport’s Total Mortgage Arena will be a large crew of supporters, including her high school sweetheart, now husband, Fabio; her daughters Tatiana and Sofia; her parents; her best friend; and aunts and uncles who are coming all the way from Colombia. She also was acknowledged by her classmates — who are closer in age to her eldest daughter — and who voted her a peer leader last semester.

Avendano has a lot to celebrate. In addition to receiving her degree as the fulfillment of her childhood dream — she is reveling in her husband’s remission from leukemia, which was diagnosed last summer, and through which she steadfastly stayed by his side while simultaneously supporting her daughters and completing her degree program.

Looking back, Avendano recalled how, at the age of 16, she persuaded her parents to allow her to move from Medellin to New Jersey to live with her grandparents so she would be well-situated to attend high school and college in the U.S. — the necessary first steps toward her dream of a medical career.

She ended up living with her aunt in Mt. Kisco, and graduated from Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York. Avendano worked at Staples to save money for college, with the expectation of enrolling at Westchester Community College. When the tuition was higher than anticipated, she decided to keep working to save enough money. Plans were put on hold by the birth of her first child, and by the time she was 23, she had welcomed both of her daughters and was focused on raising her family with Fabio. She found work as a technician/aide at Northern Westchester Hospital, which at least got her close to the medical career she sought.

Tatiana, Natalia, and Sofia Avendano

In 2015, Avendano faced the devastating loss of her grandmother, who was like a mother to her. She wanted to honor her by finally pursuing the degree that had eluded her thus far. So, she enrolled at Naugatuck Valley Community College when her oldest daughter was 11, and she and Fabio had to tag-team childcare so she could attend one class per semester, and he could continue running his audio-visual/smart home technology company.

Then the pandemic arrived, and in the midst of microbiology classes, Avendano’s degree aspirations were put on hold once again. When things started to open up, she decided to transfer to WestConn to attain her degree.

“In hindsight, it was a big blessing for me to bite the bullet and come to WestConn,” she said. “It was my first time at a university, which is so much bigger than a community college. I was just so happy to get in, even though I did not get in for nursing or even pre-nursing because I had to take chemistry and microbiology.”

It took her three tries to pass chemistry, and she said her last attempt was pretty much “now or never.” She explained, “My professor was Dr. Forest Robertson, and he’s smart, knows what he’s talking about, and won’t accept mediocrity. There I was, a grown woman, going to his office hours every single time he was available, asking him to keep explaining things until I ‘got it.’ He pushed me hard to get a better grade, and his class, more than anything, prepared me for nursing classes. I ended up with a B in Chemistry!”

Small victories are sometimes short-lived, however, and by spring 2025, Fabio started having health problems that required Emergency Room visits, doctors’ appointments, and ultimately a referral to New York Presbyterian for a bone marrow biopsy that revealed leukemia. “He was admitted that day and spent a month in New York City,” Avendano said. “I was his crutches and his ears; every medical call came to me. My daughters stayed with their grandparents at home, and I stayed with him as he went through lumbar punctures and aggressive chemotherapy.

Tatiana, Fabio, Natalia, and Sofia Avendano

“I wasn’t going to finish my degree, but everyone — including my husband — insisted that I absolutely had to finish,” she said. “Family is very important to me; my husband and my children are my life, and I felt guilty about continuing. But the village that wrapped their arms around me and my family — from my nursing school friends to my family — they lifted me up so I could hold him up.”

Avendano added, “My classmates were texting me every day to see if I was eating and taking care of myself. I didn’t want my professors to know what was going on because I didn’t want to take a leave of absence, but my classmates approached Professor of Nursing Dr. Eileen Campbell to see what my options were at the time. She paved the way with compassion, empathy, and words of encouragement that enabled me to complete my program. Dr. Campbell is an angel on earth. You only need one ray of light sometimes, and she was it.”

With Commencement around the corner, Avendano said she is looking forward to passing the NCLEX exam on the first try, and getting her feet wet applying to several different hospitals. “My passion is 100 percent the ICU,” she said. “Covid fascinated me with the one-to-one, critical thinking that was required to care for these patients. I like that type of nursing, and that’s how it works in the ICU. You develop a relationship with your patients and their families.”

Avendano said her practicum rotations were in ICU, Labor and Delivery, Telemetry, and the Emergency Department. “I spent some time in the Emergency Room at Danbury Hospital for my practicum, and was fascinated by the chaotic, disorganized feeling you get there, but I’m so grateful I got the ER experience, because I learned flexibility and I absolutely loved it,” she said. “That, and Covid taught me that it’s okay to be uncomfortable. You learn more about yourself when you’re uncomfortable.”

It’s been quite the journey to get to her degree, and Avendano is grateful for those who helped her get to this point. “I’m not sure who’s more excited about me not being in school any more — me, or my kids and my husband,” she said. “They’re looking forward to having me back full-time instead of studying for 13 hours at a time. My children are amazing, and they pushed me not to give up when it felt impossible to be there for my husband when he needed me the most, as well as for my beautiful daughters.”

Fortunately, Fabio is now in remission and feeling much better, so the entire family has much to celebrate as Avendano finally fulfills her dream.

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals, and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.