Eva Susana Rios Del Rio’s journey through college has become an inspiration for her siblings, who now see higher education as a possibility. As the first person in her family to attend college, Eva became a mentor, inspiration and role-model for her older and younger siblings. This 2011 Pedrozzi Scholar put herself through Cal State East Bay, financing her education with scholarships, state and federal financial aid, student loans and her own income. Living at home, Eva commuted to Cal State East Bay and worked while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing – graduating Summa Cum Laude in March 2016.
Currently, Eva works as a Registered Nurse for the SDU (step down unit), a critical care floor, at Highland Hospital and is a certified Public Health Nurse.
“It was a tremendous weight off of my shoulders to know I could count on my Pedrozzi scholarship for assistance,” shares Eva. “The Foundation gave me the boost of confidence and can-do mentality to not back out of my dream.”
Eva explains, “My parents immigrated to the US and expected of me what they couldn’t reach – a high school education. During high school, I spent months trying to convince my parents of the importance of me going to college, but they didn’t understand my goal. Now that I graduated top in my class and have a wide range of opportunities before me, their expectations of my three younger siblings is nothing less than what I achieved. Changing my parents’ expectations is by far my greatest accomplishment.”
Eva shares, “I want to thank the foundation once again for the opportunity to prove myself worthy and show you what a great investment indeed I was. The Pedrozzi Foundation was a very important community that I could not let down, and I owe part of my success to the trust and encouragement that was provided to me through the foundation; it helped my self-esteem and gave me the courage to continue forward.”
