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Speaking
from experience
Nursing graduate student to reflect
on obstacles during her speech
BY HOLLY WARD
The Shorthorn staff
The nursing education master’s program is
relatively new to UTA and Melissa Sepulveda Tran
is only one of four students to earn this degree this
year. She’ll speak at Graduation Celebration at
7:30 p.m. Friday.
Graduation Celebration is an annual event held
during May commencement weekend in celebration
of the graduating class. The 2012 celebration
at Levitt Pavilion will also include speeches from
award-winning actor James Franco and President
James Spaniolo.
“I am humbled and honored to be selected,”
Tran said. “I just don’t know why I stand out in
the graduate program, there are others qualified
to speak as well.”
Amy Schultz, associate vice president of communications
and community relations, said every
year one college is asked to pick a student to speak
on behalf of his or her perspective college affiliation,
his or her peers and his or her fellow graduates.
“This year, Melissa was chosen by the dean and
faculty of the College of Nursing based upon her
commitment to academic excellence and professional
successes,” said Bridget Lewis, senior media
relations officer.
The 28-year-old graduate student was contacted
in February about speaking at the graduation
event.
“I was overwhelmed and anxious at first. I just
started working on my final speech here recently,
and I felt pretty good about it.” Tran said. “Then I
found out that James Franco would be speaking
too — now I’m really nervous again.”
She said her speech will be about the obstacles
she overcame as she earned her education.
“It is not a commencement speech. It is a
speech for a celebration of graduates,” Tran said.
“I hope to inspire and share with the students that
no matter what comes their way in life, that they
can do it.”
She said she graduated high school early in
2001 because she got married and had a child.
After that she went to El Centro College in 2002
and graduated in 2004.
Tran completed her bachelor’s degree at UTA
and started her master’s studies at UTA in 2009.
“I will never forget that date I started the master’s
program,” Tran said. “It was the very day that
Obama was inaugurated.”
She said after graduation, she will continue
working at Baylor Medical Center at Dallas.
Tran’s mother Susan Gruspe Sepulveda is a
nurse manager at Baylor Medical Center as well.
She said while she had her family as a support
system, her daughter worked very hard to finish
her education.
“I pretty much feel that her success is 90 percent
her drive and the remaining 10 percent is
due to the support of her family; this is just how I
feel and may not necessarily be her point of view,”
Sepulveda said. “I am not surprised to find that
she is speaking. I didn’t tell her, but I knew her
hard work would pay off – I didn’t expect anything
less.”
Michael Sepulveda, Tran’s brother, said he
wasn’t surprised she was chosen to speak at graduation
festivities because she has worked so hard.
“This is just what she does,” he said. “She is
resilient with school, work, family and in keeping
up with her Catholic faith.”
After graduation, Sepulveda decided to follow
her calling in nursing instead of taking other nursing
leadership opportunities offered to her.
“As a full-time nurse in the ICU, I find I am so
fulfilled to be a part of miracles and making a difference
each day,” she said. “Whether it is helping
someone make hard difficult decisions about life
and death for a family member or watch the sickest
people progress to wellness.”
Tran said she didn’t know what the future holds
beyond that, but she was thankful to the support
of her parents, brother, husband and daughter and
UTA faculty in the College of Nursing.
@HOLLYJOWARD
holly.ward@mavs.uta.edu
SPRING 2012 | GRADUATION 2 | www.theshorthorn.com/graduation
Courtesy: Melissa Tran
Melissa Sepulveda Tran poses with her daughter, Lily Tran, and will graduate with a
master’s degree in nursing education. Tran would read her college textbooks to her
daughter while studying, so her daughter learned to read at an early age.