2007 Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit:
“Portraits of Alumni Achievement”

Gerardo Flores ‘00

“Identify the tools you need to manage life.
Commit to learning, plan to serve, and then execute the plan.”

Gerardo Flores ‘00, BSN
Chief Nursing Officer
South Texas Regional
Medical Center

Gerardo Flores is a believer in second chances. He knows that strong lessons can be learned from defeat and is grateful for the opportunities that come from those lessons.

At 18, Flores chose to drop out of high school to pursue financial independence in a career in the restaurant industry. The economic conditions of the 1970’s in Laredo altered his progress and he found himself at a crossroads in his life. While being treated in the emergency room, it dawned on him that nursing was a career in demand and a job that was secure. He was motivated to obtain his GED and pursue several degrees in nursing, culminating with a Master of Science in Nursing, Health Care Administration. The formal education he so easily dismissed in his youth, he now considers precious.

Flores’ education was strengthened at home where his parents supported him unconditionally.