Of her seven brothers and sisters, Marcia Azevedo is the only one who has gone to college.
Born and raised in Brazil, Marcia was the baby of the family. Her father started his own business, and most of her siblings followed in his entrepreneurial footsteps. Marcia, however, charted her own path. “When I was 12, I became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian,” she says. “My drive to impact lives and my faith led me to the Adventist College of Nursing in São Paulo.”
A BSN and a Life Change
During Marcia‘s first year of college, she met a man who would become her husband two years later. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1989 and gaining one year of nursing experience in a pediatric intensive care unit and a labor and delivery unit in hospitals in São Paulo, the couple moved to the United States to attend graduate school in Michigan.
The move was exciting and adventurous for Marcia and her husband. “I had to learn English, so I enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program and spent all my time studying,” she says. While her husband was studying for a Master of Arts in Theology and Biblical Languages, he encouraged Marcia to enroll in the Master of Science in Nursing program just one year after arriving in Michigan. In 1994, Marcia and her husband graduated with their respective degrees, walking in commencement together while expecting their first child.
A Career Passion
Marcia began working as an obstetrics patient care technician at a local hospital, transitioning to her role as an RN as soon as she passed the NCLEX. She also worked as an outreach nurse and prenatal educator for a rural community health clinic in the summer months. “I’ve worked in obstetrics and labor and delivery my entire career, a passion developed while still in the nursing program,” she says. After welcoming their second child, Marcia and her husband continued their education to pursue doctorates. When her husband finished his doctorate, he received a job offer in Brazil, and they decided to return.
Although Marcia had completed 69 credits for a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, the plans to complete the degree became distant as she enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom, homeschooling and supporting her husband’s ministry as a religion professor. During the next decade, Marcia and her husband lived in four countries, and their family expanded to five children. While working at a Seventh-Day Adventist University in Peru, Marcia took on a project as the chief editor and co-author of a book for pastors’ wives (Without Borders: The Pastor’s Wife and Her Ministry).
From Peru to Texas
In 2013, Marcia’s family moved from Peru as her oldest two reached college age and expressed their desire to attend college in the United States. Looking for a warmer climate, the family settled in Texas, where Marcia’s husband joined a university as a professor in the religion department. In 2014, Marcia joined Texas Health Cleburne Hospital in the obstetrics department.
Called to Teaching
In 2017, Marcia was invited to teach at a university in the nursing program. “I started as a clinical instructor and enjoyed it. When they offered me the maternal-newborn class, it was a game changer—I knew I wanted to continue doing that,” she says.
At the hospital, she was working one shift per week. The university offered Marcia a full sponsorship for her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. The time had finally come to fulfill her doctorate dream, 27 years after completing her master’s. “The doctoral classes I had started so many years before were a blessing to my role as a mother and pastor’s wife. This time, I knew I wanted a nursing education doctorate. I wanted to equip myself and improve my skills as a nursing professor.”
Marcia’s search for the right program led her to Post University’s American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “I liked that Post had a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership Specialization since that’s what I want to focus on for the rest of my career,” she says. Marcia enrolled in December 2021. “The program is very organized and structured. I was challenged in every class, but I was able to stay on track and present my final defense 10 months before graduation. The guidance and support I received from my project chair, Dr. Sandra Wise, was instrumental in my ability to keep the timeline I set to accomplish.” Marcia completed the DNP Educational Leadership Specialization in April 2024.
Walking in Her Daughter’s Graduation Ceremony
In May 2024, Marcia walked alongside her daughter, who earned her Bachelor of Nursing Science at Southwestern Adventist University’s commencement ceremony. Her husband hooded her at the ceremony. “That was an extraordinary moment,” she says.
Now starting her seventh year at Southwestern Adventist University, Marcia recently took on the director position for the online RN to BSN program in addition to teaching physical assessment and maternal newborn nursing classes in the campus-based Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Her next goal is to give back to her students. “I’m excited to put everything I’ve learned into the classroom,” she says. “Earning the DNP while working and being a mother and wife was the most intensive 28 months of my life, but it was an amazing experience. I’m happy I went to Post and pursued this goal.”