Just weeks after giving birth to twins, Elvia Vargas was back studying at Rutgers School of Nursing in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Vargas learned last summer that she was pregnant with twins while preparing for the final stretch of her degree program, according to Rutgers University. Her daughters, Victoria and Valentina, were born on Feb. 12, and she returned to her studies just weeks after having a C-section.

Vargas, who turns 40 around commencement time, said she feels “incredibly proud” of earning her degree because it “reflects the strength, patience, and determination it took to never give up. As I always say, ‘El que persevera, alcanza’ those who persevere, succeed.”

Her instructor, Vanessa Lugo, praised her decision to continue.

“What impressed me most was her thoughtful decision to continue, fully aware of the physical challenges,” Lugo said.

She added: “No matter what was happening, she showed up focused and ready to care for her patients. That consistency makes a strong nurse.”

Vargas started her path at 20, when she worked as an au pair in Berlin, New Jersey. She said the host mother helped her learn English.

“She did a great job teaching me how to read and write,” Vargas said.

She later stayed in New Jersey and raised her son, Amir, as a single mother. After receiving U.S. citizenship, she started a cleaning business to support her family. She also worked helping care for elderly people.

“I really loved working with them,” she said. “I wanted to care for them the way I would want someone to care for my parents, who are in Colombia and aging.”

Vargas began studying at Camden County College in 2019. Soon after, she met Luis Martinez, and the two became partners.

Martinez grew up in Puerto Rico and worked as a custodian in a surgical center before a physician encouraged him to grow in health care. The couple later welcomed their daughter, Amaia, and both enrolled in the nursing program at Rutgers.

Because they had children, Martinez started the degree first so they could manage different schedules, and Vargas joined the program the following year. Martinez graduated last year, served as the nursing school’s student senate president and now works as a nurse in the gastroenterology ICU at Cooper University Health Care.

“The program prepared us well,” Martinez said. “The clinical experience makes you feel like a nurse. You’ve already seen a lot before you start the job.”

Vargas said her own life experience has helped her connect with patients.

“When patients talk to you, they can sense if you understand what they’re going through,” she said. “I know I have the heart for this.”

She hopes to take the NCLEX exam to become a registered nurse, but plans to wait until the twins are a year old before starting hospital work.

“I always believed I could do more,” she said. “Even when it was hard, I kept going.”

Martinez used paternity leave to help care for the children so Vargas could finish the rest of her degree.

“Everything she handled at once, school, pregnancy, the kids, it’s a lot,” Martinez said. “And she did it.”

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