When Yazmin Moran-Rangel ’25 transferred to St. Ambrose University, she found more than a nursing program - she discovered a community where she felt truly supported and seen. That environment helped her grow into a confident nursing student, ready to bring compassion and empathy to every patient she serves.
Originally from Muscatine, Iowa, Moran-Rangel knew before college that she wanted to become a nurse. Her interest was sparked in high school after taking child development courses that introduced her to lifespan development and how to properly care for others, especially children. That curiosity quickly evolved into a calling.
“I knew that with nursing, there's so many different pathways that you can take. There's just so many opportunities,” Moran-Rangel said.
But the road to Ambrose took time. She began her college career at a larger state university, where she spent three semesters. The campus experience left her feeling disconnected and unsupported.
"When I asked my advisors questions, it was a ‘figure-it-out on your own’ type of thing," Moran-Rangel said.
Feeling isolated and unsure of her next steps, she connected with an advisor in the Presentation Sisters Department of Nursing at St. Ambrose. Even before officially enrolling, Moran-Rangel immediately felt a difference.
"My advisor just made me feel something so amazing,” Moran-Rangel said. “I felt like I had to explore this program because of how comforting they were. I was immediately drawn to it."
After the fall semester of her sophomore year at the larger state university, she completed credits at Muscatine Community College to prepare for her transfer to SAU her junior year. Transitioning to St. Ambrose brought not only academic support but also a new sense of belonging.
"I felt very connected to others who looked like me at Ambrose, which was very reassuring," Moran-Rangel said.
For Moran-Rangel, nursing was a calling rooted deeply in personal experience. When she was 13, her mother was critically injured in a collision. Watching her mother’s long recovery, Moran-Rangel saw firsthand the profound impact nurses could have.
"Just from the time that she was hospitalized, I really got to see what it was like in the nursing scope. And the significant changes you can make in someone's life,” Moran-Rangel said. “That was what drew me in."
As Moran-Rangel prepares to graduate, she said her experience seeing her mother being cared for continues to influence the compassion she brings to her clinical work.
"I see a part of my mom in almost every patient that I have," she said. "Because I have that background with my mom, I more so see that this is someone's family member, and it needs to be taken with all seriousness."
Clinical experiences played a huge role in her growth as a student and a future nurse. From initial skills assessments to real-world rotations at MercyOne and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Moran-Rangel embraced every opportunity to learn.
"Just from my first clinical experience, I fell so in love with my clinical floor that I actually applied there, and now I work there as a patient care tech," she said.
Through a preceptorship at the University of Iowa, Moran-Rangel is now preparing to launch her career, with a particular passion for working with children and in women’s services.
"I have a few different offers already, but I don't want to commit to anything until I know for sure that it has my whole heart," she said. "Whether that's at the university or a health system in the Quad Cities, I'd be happy anywhere."
For Moran-Rangel, becoming a nurse means more than a degree. It means offering the same level of care that once changed her own family’s life.
"I hope to provide someone with the same empathetic approach that was given to my mom," she said. "Just being there and watching them work through that with her was so amazing to me."
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