Southwestern Adventist University has always been a part of my life. My grandfather brought his family over from New Mexico to help build the Findley Hall and Scales Hall in the early 1960s, allowing his children and grandchildren the opportunity to use it's campus in many ways throughout their academic lives. Throughout my childhood I saw Southwestern as more than just a college campus. Its impact reaches out far into the surrounding community. 

I looked at other options for college but decided on Southwestern because of the scholarship offers. I gained a great, low cost nursing degree. I got to see some of the world through two Southwestern-sponsored mission trips. And I laid the groundwork to go on and complete my Masters in Anesthesia with Texas Wesleyan University.  I am now a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at USAP Anesthesia Services.

This school brought so much to my life outside of academics. My family attended here. I met my husband here. Its presence is noted throughout almost every stage of my life. I don't think its staff realizes how far their reach extends outside the classroom, but I am so blessed by all the not so obvious services Southwestern offers. 

Heather Laue Rodriguez, Nursing, 2003