Born and raised in New York City, Maria Rosario moved to the South Coast region 15 years ago, when she became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Today, she is coming up on her 10-year anniversary as a CNA at Tobey Hospital!

As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Maria shared with us how special this time is to her and her family. With her parents and grandparents born and raised in Puerto Rico, Maria and her family are proud to celebrate their heritage.

“In New York City, there was an annual Puerto Rican Parade in Manhattan,” she says. “It was just pure pride and happiness. Being Puerto Rican means having such an enriched heritage, as we have such a diverse ethnic background. I am so proud.”

Continuing to celebrate their heritage, Maria and her sister like to gather the family together to celebrate Hispanic culture with parades, music, dancing, and food.

“We cook a lot,” Maria says. “Some of our favorite things to make are rice and peas, pork shoulder, roasts, and hams. We always cook up a storm of Spanish foods!”

She always looks forward to these family gatherings, and taking care of family members and others has always been a huge part of her life. Maria decided to pursue nursing after caring for her cousin, who passed away from cancer.

Maria has always enjoyed helping people and is glad she can bring this passion to her career. Her goal is to always help others, and she is looking forward to going back to school and earning her nursing degree in the future.

Thank you, Maria!

To learn more about Southcoast Health’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration please click here.