By Chelsea Zhao
Staff Writer
The 2021 Lincoln Laureate Awardee, bio-chemistry student Nathaly Valdiva Oberto-Besso endures with inspiring confidence in her academic pursuit of health sciences.
When she received the voicemail congratulating her being selected as the Lincoln Laureate, Oberto-Besso was close to tears.
“It’s just something I’d never pictured for myself,” Oberto-Besso said. “I feel like I’ve been on this journey for so long and it just baffled me that people saw I would be worth even being nominated for something like this. It was really emotional for me.”
A first-generation student, Oberto-Besso transferred to Dominican University from City Colleges of Chicago in 2020. To finance her education, she worked full-time while taking care of her 12-year-old son.
Even though her educational journey has not been a smooth sail, she had to take time off from school to meet family demands, but nonetheless Oberto-Besso persevered through these challenges with stellar academic records.
Oberto-Besso had the intention of pursuing lab work post-graduate, but after she took an online Latino/a Theology course with professor Luz Alvarez as a junior, her perspective changed. While reflecting on the class, she decided to follow her calling for public health.
“I’m not sure how to explain it, but [the class] made me realize that my place is not somewhere directly in a lab, isolated,” Oberto-Besso said.
“I feel like all my life I’ve been isolated in a way. I very much keep to myself. But it wasn’t until taking that theology class that I realize that, in order to make a real difference, [I need to] be out there with the community and learn from them through their lived experiences. And that’s how I can help and make a change in the future in the health field.”
During the previous summer, Oberto-Besso was a vaccine ambassador who campaigned against misinformation of vaccines and provided vaccine access for underserving neighborhoods in Chicago. The Faith in Vaccines program, spearheaded by University Ministry, brings Oberto-Besso in contact with community partner Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership (CSPL). Oberto-Besso now continues her work through the fellowship with Ministry en lo Cotidiano. She said her work and faith have empowered her to strive for her dream.
“I tell my mom: I can’t believe somebody would like nominate me for this or that. I’m just, you know, a mom. A mom and I’m a student,” Oberto-Besso said. “But being here and working with ministry and everything, it made me realize that I am more than that.”
As a DREAMER, Oberto-Besso said that she feels safer to continue her studies in Chicago. She said that being at Dominican University also made her no longer afraid to state her status as an undocumented student.
“Coming to Dominican and being here, all this safe space– like right now I’m at the CCL [Center for Cultural Liberation] and just being here, I feel so secure, it’s just like a big security blanket over me,” Oberto-Besso said.
As she approaches graduation next May, Oberto-Besso plans to continue a M.S. in public health with a concentration in epidemiology. Even though finance remains a hurdle, she is determined to continue her goal of health equity.
“I worked really hard to get where I am and I’m still working really hard to get to where I want to be one day, even if it’s just little step at a time,” Oberto-Besso said. “I know that one day, I’m going to look back, and it’s going to be like a complete 360, huge change. And that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Photo credits: Lincoln Laureate
