In July 2020, Gabi Rampazi was presented the DAISY Award at her graduation from Carrington College’s Registered Nursing program at the Reno, NV campus. When I asked her what it meant for her to receive the DAISY Award four years ago, she said, “I didn’t expect it … I had no idea the woman who sponsored me was someone I had simply helped when she was two semesters behind me. I’ve tried most of my life to help others and be the kind of person I want others to be to me.”
When asked how being honored with the DAISY Award has had an impact on her in the last four years, you can imagine someone like Gabi does not toot her own horn. But this July 2024, Gabi will travel with her family to Chicago, Illinois to receive her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Nurse Practitioner degree (Family Nurse Practitioner Specialty Track) from Chamberlain University. Then, she and her Brazilian-born husband and two daughters will fly to Brazil and take a well-deserved vacation.
What kind of life did Gabi have that steered her toward so successfully to reach her dream of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner? She says it was a life decision to care for her parents, who both suffered early deaths. “You do what you do for family,” she says. Not everyone approaches life with that kind of devotion. But she is a perfect model of what the DAISY Award stands for, not only in her level of compassion for anyone in need, but also the building of great character and integrity along with it. That is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Tell me about yourself.
I grew up in Southern California. My father got cancer before I was born; he was diagnosed with melanoma and treated at Loma Linda in the early ‘70’s. He was one of the first patients ever to go through chemotherapy and radiation. The chemo he took was cutting edge but it was rough on him. It gave him an extra 20 years and the opportunity to start a family; but the treatment for that cancer caused him to be in poor health. In 2003 he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and subsequently leukemia. He received a bone marrow transplant in 2005 but died of complications from it.
I’m so sorry. I guess exposure to illness in your family had something to do with your interest in medicine?
It changed my life. At first, I was going to be a medical doctor; I wanted to stay at school but I also wanted to take care of the family. You do what you do. When Dad was first diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, I had been in paramedic school. I fell in love with emergency medicine. When Dad died, I was 23 years old. That’s when my Mom moved in with me. And within three years of his death, she wanted to leave Southern California. So we moved to Reno in 2007.
What did you do in Reno?
I got off the ambulance and became a 911 dispatcher.
And how did your Mom do after your father’s passing?
She lived with me and was fine until 2013. Unfortunately, three months before I married my husband, she died in a car accident.
Wow, I’m so sorry. That must have been hard. But fortunately, you had your husband. How did you meet him?
I met him when I really wanted to learn Medical Spanish for my job; it’s an invaluable asset to have in emergency medicine. I was paired with him in class. But he’s from Brazil, so his Spanish was not as conversational as I needed!
Well, I guess you didn’t get the conversational Spanish you wanted to learn, but you gained a partner!
Yes! Learning Spanish well is still on my TO DO list, but I’m happily married. We have two daughters, 8 years old and 1 year old.
How did you decide to attend Carrington College’s Registered Nursing program?
I still wanted to pursue a nursing career, but there’s never a perfect time to. So we decided I would go to school and keep working full time as a dispatcher. He supported us too. I switched my schedule to nights, twelve-hour shifts, and I studied in between 911 calls.
Wow. How long did you do that?
Another four years. I’m working parttime now for Carrington College as a clinical instructor in the Associate Degree in Nursing program for the 6th semester.
You never gave up.
Nope, I never gave up. Now I’m full circle. I’ll finish my classes this month, graduate, and begin my career as a Nurse Practitioner.
What a moment to celebrate!
Yes – I’ve never walked in a graduation for any of my other degrees. So that’s why we’re headed to Chicago in July. And then we go to Brazil for a vacation.
What does winning the DAISY Award mean to you now?
The DAISY Award helped me remember to never give up on my dreams. To believe that I will find a way. It also epitomizes the compassion and selflessness that comes with being a nurse. Being there for people in their darkest times still represents for me what we should aspire to in becoming nurses.
A hearty congratulations for an amazing achievement and the best to you and your family!
Thank you.
