Sonia Caballero

Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing student Sonia Caballero was inspired to pursue nursing by her mother, a certified nursing assistant.

“She inspired me to enter the world of health care and be someone that serves others and helps them live a better life,” Sonia said.

Scheduled to graduate in December 2025, Sonia is part of the Davie campus cohort of the accelerated track, which is designed for students who already hold a baccalaureate degree in another field and are seeking to become registered nurses.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Education and Behavior from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of the Cumberlands.

Seeing her mother work left a lasting impression on Sonia. “She wasn’t just helping people as a nurse,” Sonia said. “She talked to them, fed them, changed them, and bathed them — all on her own.” Many of her mother’s patients primarily spoke English, while her mother was a Spanish speaker, yet she consistently transcended language barriers and formed meaningful connections. She met patients’ most basic needs and, at times, their final wishes, caring for individuals who were critically ill with remarkable kindness and compassion.

Sonia recalls accompanying her mother on visits when she was just five or six years old. Because she was well-behaved, her mother trusted her to come along, and patients welcomed her warmly. One woman who was dying of ovarian cancer gifted Sonia her Barbie doll collection after meeting her once. “That was my first real experience of seeing someone give out of kindness,” Sonia said.

Her mother never complained about her job, which stood out to Sonia even at a young age.

“In my child’s mind, work was something you were supposed to hate or not enjoy,” she said. Watching her mother’s independence as a single parent providing in-home care inspired Sonia to be just as compassionate and supportive to people during their most vulnerable moments.

Sonia struggled with self-doubt when she first considered pursuing nursing as a career.

Her path instead led her to psychology and mental health, a field she believes plays a significant role in how people are able to care for themselves. Although she loved working as a therapist, a deeply personal experience reshaped her goals. “Two years ago, I almost lost my mother due to complications from deep vein thrombosis,” Sonia said. Spending months visiting her daily in the hospital and later in a skilled nursing facility reignited her dream of becoming a nurse.

Sonia credits faculty mentorship as an important part of her academic journey at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.

Dr. Michelle Broadbent, assistant dean for undergraduate programs and Sonia’s pharmacotherapeutics professor, has been a meaningful source of encouragement and inspiration to her.

“As someone who has also worked with the mental health population, I aspire to gain knowledge and experience from Dr. Broadbent about caring for these individuals,” she said.

A Lamplighter Scholarship recipient, Sonia also served as the student speaker at the 2026 Lamplighter Ceremony and was on the Fall 2025 Dean’s List.

“Earning my Bachelor of Science in Nursing will expand my skill set as a person-centered therapist and help me provide more integrative, holistic care as a nurse,” she said. “It’s allowing me to become more well-rounded and deepen my understanding of how the body works and how disease affects overall health.”

After graduation, Sonia plans to work as a bedside nurse before potentially pursuing a psychiatric nurse practitioner path.