Born in Elsa, Texas, she was the second child in a family of 11 children. Parents were very hardworking and very humble. Education was very important to her parents.
"Learning has always been very important to my parents. I enjoy learning languages and have studied Spanish, German, Greek, Latin, French and of course English. I enjoy philosophy and truly believe that each person has a significant gift to offer society. The patient is a person to me, not a number or a disease. I want to help the patient through good times and bad times."