In all her roles — student, wife, mother, daughter and employee — Nidia Cuevas is a BOSS. At age 21, she’s already accomplished several goals that she hadn’t thought she would like owning a home, pursuing a nursing degree and having a marriage and family.
Nidia and her husband Alberto Cuevas met sophomore year at Pike High School. Nidia went on to graduate, but Alberto left school to work and help his family through some challenges. In spring 2014, when Nidia was 19, the couple found out they were expecting their son Oliver in October and decided to move forward with getting married.“It’s been a fun ride, even if some of it wasn’t exactly planned,” Nidia said. “At first, my parents were a little upset that I was getting married and starting a family at a young age and as a freshman in college. They left Mexico to give my brother and me a better life. But now, they adore Oliver and see that I’m happy and making and meeting my goals with my husband.”
Although she had the support of her husband and their families, Nidia was overwhelmed when she thought about going to school, working and caring for a baby. As she began to gather information about her pregnancy and prepare for her baby, Nidia learned about NFP at a St. Vincent Hospital OB day, thinking it sounded like a good, helpful program. She was paired with bilingual nurse-home visitor Katherine Harkov, RN, BSN, CLC.
“Katherine is like my encyclopedia,” Nidia said. “Any question I have had or resource I needed, if she didn’t know the answer, she’d find out. We’ve talked about so many things. She helped me look at career paths and work. We talked about breastfeeding, potty training, teething, how to deal with tantrums and toddler moments. When my husband was ready to get his high school diploma, she told us about The Excel Center.”
Nidia says she wasn’t organized or a planner until she began working with Katherine. She remembers how in the beginning of their marriage, they had little money and were living with Alberto’s mom.
“At our second visit, Katherine brought me a little pocket calendar for keeping track of appointments and our visits,” Nidia says. “I started doing that, and now I can’t go anywhere without my planner. She brought organization and planning into my life.”
Now the Cuevas family lives in their own home, which Nidia wants to try to pay off in the next five years by cutting out all unnecessary expenses. Then, possibly they’ll renovate it, rent it and get another house. Alberto earns his high school diploma from The Excel Center, Goodwill’s adult high school, in December 2016 then wants to attend Ivy Tech and become a mechanic. Nidia wants to complete her bachelor’s degree to become a nurse and work for NFP.
“NFP helped me become a better mother, student and person,” Nidia said. “I would enjoy helping others become good parents and have healthy babies.”
