Mega Doctor News
By Selene Rodriguez
McALLEN, Texas – For 55 years, South Texas College faculty member Sylvia Sandoval has dedicated her life to nursing, from championing women’s health and witnessing the miracle of birth to shaping generations of nurses.
After 25 years in the classroom at STC, Sandoval retires, leaving behind a legacy that extends far beyond the college through the nurses she has helped prepare to care for communities across the Rio Grande Valley.
“For the longest time, the hospital was my life. Witnessing the miracle of life was amazing every time,” she said. “But then, education became my life. The impact STC has on our region, and our healthcare is unbelievable.”
A San Juan native, Sandoval, 79, once dreamed of joining the Peace Corps. But shortly after high school, while working for Dr. Ramiro Casso, namesake of STC’s Dr. Ramiro R. Casso Health Science Professions campus, she began assisting with patients and was introduced to the world of obstetrics.
“It was there that I witnessed my first birth. There was just this joy in seeing a baby being born and the love that came with it,” she said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to take care of women and help them through that experience.”
In 1969, determined to become a registered nurse at a time when no nursing program was available close to home, Sandoval began taking classes at the former Pan American College, now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). When a nursing program opened the following year, she became one of its first students.
Through the Rio Grande Medical Association, Sandoval was offered the opportunity to have her nursing education fully funded in exchange for committing to one year at, then, McAllen General Hospital. She became a registered nurse around 1971 and ultimately turned that one-year commitment into a 30-year career at the hospital.
“I signed for one year and ended up being there for 30. I loved it too much,” she said. “Nursing is such an art. The most important thing is loving, caring for people and having that selflessness. If you don’t have that as a nurse, you’re missing something.”
Throughout her career, Sandoval rose from a staff nurse to charge nurse and eventually director of labor and delivery. In1982, she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Corpus Christi State University, now Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Sandoval later considered pursuing midwifery, but ultimately continued her education, earning her master’s degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and becoming a perinatal nurse practitioner.
“I have always loved learning. I wish I were 23 again so I could learn even more,” she said. “Now that I’m retiring, I’m considering taking classes. I want to learn about AI, maybe take an abstract painting class. There’s always something new to learn.”
That love for learning would eventually lead Sandoval to a second career as an educator. In 2001, just one month after retiring from the hospital, Sandoval received a call from STC asking if she would help teach nursing students. Once again, she agreed to stay for just one year. And once again, the story repeated itself.
“I said I was only going to work here for one year, and I stayed 25,” she said. “I loved being a nurse, but I realized I could make a bigger impact through my students. Throughout these years, I’ve been in the hospital and had my former students taking care of me, I’ve experienced firsthand just how capable and excellent our students are.”
As an educator, Sandoval sought to pass along more than the clinical knowledge she had gained throughout her career. She wanted her students to understand the compassion and human connection she believes are just as essential to nursing.
“Can we teach caring? Yes,” she said. “STC does a great job at it. But we must have the right tools, and the student needs to have that passion. Caring has always been the most important part of being a nurse.”
Over the next 25 years, Sandoval would see the results of those lessons come full circle in more ways than one. Former students became nurses throughout the region, and some eventually returned to STC as educators.
Among them is STC Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) faculty member Melinda Tellez, who first met Sandoval as a student in 2011.
Tellez remembers Sandoval bringing lessons to life through stories from her years as an obstetric nurse and demonstrating the importance of advocating for patients. More than a decade later, in 2023, Tellez joined STC as a faculty member.
“From the very beginning, she encouraged me in my new role as an educator,” Tellez said. “She strengthened my confidence as a student, and years later as her colleague. She is the kind of inspiration people look to when they ask, ‘How long can I keep doing this?’ The answer, one would hope, is as long as Ms. Sandoval.”
After 25 years at STC, saying goodbye to the classroom and the people who have become part of Sandoval’s life may be the hardest part of retirement. As she steps away, she hopes the program will continue opening doors for future generations and opportunities she remembers were not always available in the Rio Grande Valley.
“My wish is that this program will continue to evolve and touch lives,” she said. “I want us to educate more people in our community about women’s health and help make life better for the next generation.”
And after 55 years, Sandoval is not entirely convinced she can leave nursing behind. A mother of two and grandmother of one, she is looking forward to spending more time with family, gardening, exploring abstract painting and continuing to learn.
Looking back on a career that began with witnessing her first birth and ultimately led her to teach generations of nurses, Sandoval can sum up those 55 years in just three words.
“Birth. Life. Teaching,” she said. “I’ve had a great career and had fun at the same time.”
For more information on STC’s Nursing programs, visit nah.southtexascollege.edu/.
