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In the Pervaiz family, nursing is a bit of a family business. This matriarch and faculty member along with her three children have earned an impressive 11 Mercy degrees so far. Thanks to Mercy’s variety of exceptional nursing programs, they are living their dreams of helping others.

“I’m so grateful for how Mercy has helped my family,” said Sonia Pervaiz ’03, M.S.N. ’08, P.M.C. ’11, M.B.A. ’16, D.N.P., adjunct assistant professor in nursing. “My kids are all nurses, and they’re all working. Mercy made that happen.”

Sonia was always drawn toward nursing, especially caring for the elderly. After earning her associate degree from the Cochran School of Nursing in Yonkers, she was accepted into Mercy’s R.N.-B.S. completion program to pursue her bachelor’s degree.

She felt very supported throughout her time at Mercy. “Professors would always take extra time to make sure I understood the content, and the staff helped me navigate financial aid,” Sonia explained. “I felt like they truly cared about my academic growth and my success.”

After graduation, she worked as a nurse in a community hospital in the Bronx. As her career progressed, she returned to Mercy to earn a master’s degree in nursing education, a postmaster’s certificate in nursing administration and a master’s degree in business administration.

Along the way, she began teaching nursing at local colleges. Eventually, she took a full-time teaching position at the College of New Rochelle (CNR) and then joined Mercy as an assistant professor in 2019 when CNR closed its doors. This year, she moved into an adjunct assistant professor role. “I feel such passion for educating new nurses and growing this beautiful profession,” she said. “I love helping my students move to the next level.”

When her oldest children were planning their college educations, Mercy was the obvious choice. Twins Ashbal Pervaiz, B.S. ’19, M.B.A. ’21, B.S.N. ’22, and Shubael Pervaiz, B.S. ’19, M.B.A. ’21, B.S.N. ’22, both earned their Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2019, followed by a Master of Business Administration in 2021, and a second bachelor’s degree in Nursing in 2022. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing upon graduating from the M.B.A. program, they found it challenging to start their careers in business.

The pandemic gave Shubael a new perspective on his career path, and he convinced Ashbal that they should apply to Mercy’s accelerated second degree in nursing program. “During the pandemic, my mom worked very hard as a nurse,” Shubael explained. “She would suit up in all the protective gear, work long days and nights, do everything to keep herself and her patients safe and then come home to care for our family. Nurses were celebrated as superheroes, and they truly were. My brother and I saw how important and rewarding the career could be.”

Of course, they wanted to return to Mercy. “We never thought about going anywhere else,” Ashbal said.

The accelerated nursing program was everything they imagined and more. “The professors were always looking out for us,” said Shubael. Both he and Ashbal noted how hands-on and practical the program was. “I learned how to talk to patients and families,” said Ashbal. “Those are skills that I use in my work every day now.”

By the time the twins’ younger sister, Bethsheeba Pervaiz ’24, was applying to college, going to Mercy was a foregone conclusion. “My mom went there, and my brothers went there, so I didn’t even apply anywhere else,” she said. As a child, she had felt inspired by her mother’s stories about being a nurse, so she decided to major in nursing, too.

Bethsheeba particularly enjoyed the clinical lab simulations in which students work through different patient scenarios using mannequins. And she often finds herself thinking back on specific knowledge and skills she gained at Mercy, such as the different ways that abnormal heart rhythms present in patients.

Now, all three siblings are working as nurses. Ashbal is a registered nurse case manager in hospice and palliative care. Shubael is a nurse working with an ear, nose and throat doctor. And Bethsheeba is a nurse in the emergency room at St John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers.

Importantly, they are all happy with their decisions to go into nursing. “Being a nurse has exceeded my expectations,” said Ashbal. “You’re really, really helping people. And that feels really good.”

Sonia could not be more pleased. “I have great trust in Mercy,” she said. “I knew that my professors would help me thrive. And then they did the same for my children. I can’t thank Mercy enough.”

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