Patricia Hernandez Torquemada and Daniella Torquemada
Sister Act:
Two Venezuelan sisters start anew, plan to attend medical school
— by Linda Shrieves
From the time they were in elementary school, Patricia and Daniela Hernandez Torquemada loved science. But their determination to become doctors grew out of their fascination with the human body – and personal experience.
“Our grandmother suffered a stroke when we were eight or nine years old. Half of her body was paralyzed; she couldn’t walk. She had a tube in her stomach, so we had to feed her, bathe her,” says Daniela. “My mom showed us all the parts of the body that would have scared most children, but we were interested.”
Today, Daniela and Patricia Torquemada are poised to graduate from Valencia College in May. It’s their first step toward medical school -- a winding, twisted journey that began when their home country of Venezuela experienced political upheaval.
Although Venezuelan citizens have been fleeing the country for years, because of the food shortages, decreased living standards and political repression, the Torquemada family stayed until 2017, when it became nearly impossible to get their grandmother’s medication. Desperate, Daniela and Patricia, then 17, left Venezuela with their mom and moved to Argentina, with plans to send for their grandparents after they got settled.
Once in Buenos Aires, jammed into in two small apartments with their grandparents, their mom, their aunt and their dogs, Patricia and Daniela worked at a pizzeria to help pay the bills. Meanwhile, Patricia and Daniela had completed the basic core cycle required to start medical school and they were about to start their first year when Covid-19 hit.
Inflation had already made life difficult. “We both worked, and it all went to pay bills. We never had money for ourselves,” says Daniela.
Patricia and Daniela worked 50 hours a week while going to medical school. But when Covid hit, the sisters lost their jobs – leaving their mom, who worked online handling insurance claims, as the sole breadwinner for the whole family. Daniela tried to make cakes to make extra money, but the cost of ingredients became so expensive that she couldn’t keep it going.
Meanwhile, they watched friends leaving Argentina to go back to Venezuela. And at that point, they faced a tough decision. Although medical school in Argentina was free, Patricia worried about political and economic stability in South America. She had always dreamed of going to college in the United States. Now, she wondered, if she and her sister completed medical school in Argentina, but later moved to the United States, would they ever get to practice medicine?
Patricia Hernandez Torquemada and Daniella Torquemada show off their graduation caps.
The two sisters debated their options. Patricia was more insistent that the future lay in the United States – and she even took the SAT to prepare.
“It was 2020 and I said, Daniela, do you want to go to the U.S.? She was on the fence,” recalls Patricia. “But when we came here, Temporary Protective Status was issued (to Venezuelans). it was the perfect opportunity.”
That didn’t mean it would be easy.
The girls didn’t have money. Their mom is a single mom supporting elderly parents. So as soon as they were able, they got jobs waiting tables in Kissimmee. They lived with friends of a friend, sleeping on their sofa, until they were able to get an apartment with roommates.
“We had a friend here who said we were welcome to stay. He helped us start,” recalls Daniela. “After two months, we started looking at the college prerequisites. We needed a car, we needed to have a driver’s license. We didn’t have anything.”
The dream, however, began to take shape at Valencia College a year later. “When I came to this campus, I fell in love with it,” says Patricia. “In Argentina, the colleges and universities, they are run-down. This was so beautiful. I fell I love with it.”
Patricia started classes in spring 2022; Daniela started a few months later. Patricia, who’s more outgoing, immediately got involved in campus organizations, joining Student Development as a student leader, and becoming an officer in Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges.
“I decided to volunteer here. I know all the things you need to get into medical school. It’s very competitive. I was already 21 and behind,” says Patricia, now 24. “So, I started volunteering here at Valencia. I started making all these connections and it opened up a lot of opportunities.”
Soon she began volunteering four hours a week at Orlando Health, where she is now shadowing a cardiovascular surgeon. Along the way, she influenced Daniela to volunteer at Orlando Health too.
Now the sisters are preparing to transfer to UCF in fall 2024, with plans for medical school after that.
Patricia wants to become a heart surgeon, while Daniela is more interested in medical research.
“She doesn’t like blood, like I do,” says Patricia, laughing.
As they approach graduation, the Torquemada sisters are excelling together.
“I think the bond between my sister and me, is what has made us successful,” says Patricia. “When she doesn’t feel like she can do something alone, I push her, and
when I don’t feel that I can do something, she does it and encourages me to.”
At Valencia College, we work every day to create a level playing field for college students of all backgrounds, fashioning a college where every student can succeed. And our students continue to amaze and surprise us. Read more of their stories.