TAMPA, Fla. -- It's graduation day for students at Ana G. Mendez University System in Tampa.
- 118 students received degrees
- Largest graduating class for the Tampa campus.
On Tuesday, 118 students received their degrees and celebrated at the Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina.
This year's class is the largest for the Tampa campus. The students come from 13 Latin American countries.
And for some the of the older students, it's been a challenge to get to graduation.
"I began 20 something years ago and I didn't finish my career, and I became a mom and did other things," said graduate Diana Cepeda. "But one day I was working in a hospital and that dream, that spark came back again."
Cepeda said it was tough to balance being a single mom, working and going to school. But now, after graduating, she hopes others see that they can do it too.
"It's amazing," Cepeda said. "It's amazing. I'm really happy."
Cepeda graduated with a nursing degree and university administrators believe she'll find lots of opportunities in that field. Administrators said the health care industry is really in need of workers, particularly bilingual workers.
And that's the focus at Ana G. Mendez University System.
The private non-profit university teaches students in English and Spanish to prepare them for a bilingual workplace.