June 4
At first, it didn’t look like Elizabeth Quezada ‘26 was going to college. A first-generation American, she dropped out of high school and worked retail for many years, advancing to a managerial position. Then, the birth of her daughter changed everything.
"I was always very comfortable with where I was, and then I decided that I can do better: I can go back to school, I can get my HiSET [high school equivalency], I can do things that I've always wanted to do,” she said.
From High School Equivalency to an Associate Degree
In 2022, Quezada learned about the Adult Learning Center (ALC) at North Shore Community College (NSCC). The ALC offers free college and career readiness programs for adults who have not completed high school, preparing them for high school equivalency exams and further career and educational opportunities.
“The ALC team of teachers and advisors helps students realize that they can achieve their high school equivalency, they can absolutely have goals and dreams and do not have to live in the past, and they can move forward into the future they choose,” explained ALC College and Career Advisor Alisha Beltramini, who worked closely with Quezada.
Quezada soon earned her high school equivalency and enrolled as a full-time student at NSCC.
Inspired by her aunt, an anesthesiologist in the Dominican Republic who also balances her career with motherhood, Quezada began following her dream of becoming a nurse.
As part of the nurse education program at NSCC, Quezada took a variety of classes that both challenged her and fueled her love of learning. She faced many challenges as she juggled her coursework, clinicals, working full time, and being a mother, but she also found strong support through her professors, the Tutoring Center, and the TRIO program.
“I absolutely love being a student. All of my professors have been super supportive of me since day one, and I feel that the community there is a tight-knit community. They want to see you succeed—I feel like the professors here have given me the tools and opportunity to do my best,” she said.
In less than four years, Quezada progressed from earning her high school equivalency through NSCC's Adult Learning Center to completing the College's rigorous nurse education program.
Quezada at the 2026 Nurse Education Pinning Ceremony.
Never Stop Learning
It’s Quezada’s goal to become a labor and delivery nurse so she can help advocate for the women in her community.
“I love helping women. I feel like women are so important, and in medicine, they're
sometimes overlooked—specifically women of color. They need someone who can represent
them as well. That's part of why I wanted to go into labor and delivery, to use my
ability to speak Spanish and to communicate clearly,” she said.
Immediately after graduating from NSCC, Quezada landed a job working as a psychiatric nurse, and she plans on pursuing her bachelor’s in nursing in the fall. In the future, she is considering getting her masters degree and pursuing a career as a nurse practitioner.
Quezada’s daughter, now nine years old, continues to inspire her.
“She really looks up to me, and she wants to know everything I'm doing. She asks me, ‘How's school, how's clinical, how's the hospital? Did you help anyone have babies?’ I want to do this, to get an education, so she feels she can do anything—and to prove to myself that I can always do more. We don't have to stop.”