Education

• AAS, BS, Wenatchee Valley College
• MS, Gonzaga University

Bio

WVC Nursing Professor Carolina Martinez Calderon was drawn to healthcare by witnessing the profound impact that compassionate, patient-centered care can have. The empathy and dedication she observed in nurses early on helped shape her education and career path.  

She graduated with an associate degree in nursing (ADN) from WVC Omak in 2018. The ADN program “was an incredibly positive experience,” Carolina said. With between ten to twelve students in her cohort, she described the program as having a family-like atmosphere. “It made my whole experience memorable,” she said.  

She returned to WVC to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science in Nursing degree (RN to BSN) in 2019 and then Gonzaga’s Family Nurse Practitioner program in 2022. Her return to WVC as a nursing faculty member began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she was working at Lake Chelan Hospital. Then-faculty member Meleah Butruille asked Carolina to serve as a preceptor, mentoring and supervising nursing students at vaccine clinics. Carolina said she appreciated having a bond with Professor Butruille that enabled her to mentor and guide Carolina as a student and then support her as a fellow faculty member. Excited by the work, Carolina applied for and received a full-time faculty position.  

She now works with first- and second-year students in the ADN program, teaching labs, supervising clinical rotations, and delivering theory. “I really like working with first-year students because they are so eager to learn,” she said. “[I] can really guide them into being compassionate individuals. I’m just one step of their journey; they do the rest of the work.” 

She has also found that being a WVC alum gives her a unique perspective: “I understand the challenges that [the students] face. My experience as a former student allows me to empathize with them in their journey and help and support and guide them.”   

Carolina's role as a Hispanic faculty member has also inspired some of her students, who have told her, “It’s nice to see someone like me working here as a nurse; it lets me know I can reach my goal."