Ali Sevilla de Cocco began her Vanderbilt journey in 2004, and thanks to the generosity of others and her passion for learning, she’s still here today. Along the way she earned her bachelor’s degree from Peabody College and a master’s from the Divinity School. She is currently a nurse-midwifery and family nurse practitioner student at the School of Nursing.
It all started with a research project looking at the human rights of women and how they are often marginalized in ways that do not allow them to live to their fullest potential.
“I interned with a local nonprofit and was mentored by an Episcopal priest as an undergraduate,” Sevilla de Cocco says. “That led me to the Divinity School where I discovered my true passion was caring for women.”
As a Triple ’Dore, Sevilla de Cocco fully sees the value of a transinstitutional education.
“I’ve worked with students from all of the professional schools,” she says. “We brainstormed on ways to improve health care. At the time, I wasn’t a nursing student, and it didn’t seem all that relevant to me. Now, when I look back, it was actually foundational to what I was about to do.”
Sevilla de Cocco’s entire Vanderbilt career—including her initial visit—has been made possible through the generosity of others.
“I think about my own parents struggling in pursing higher education as Mexican Americans,” she says. “Now I understand that knowledge is power and with that knowledge I am charged to go out and make a difference in the world. With scholarship funding I am more grateful. I owe my professional endeavors to the people who helped pave the road for me as a student. I think about that every day.”
“When I think about giving back, I just want people to know that it will pay back. It will pay back in ways that you can see and also in ways that you will never see. But it will pay back.”