MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 From when she was a little girl, Rima Avellan always wanted to be a doctor.<\/p>\n
Now, at 52 years old, the Miami-Dade mother of three is about to graduate from medical school and begin her path to becoming a physician.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never too late,\u201d Avellan said. \u201cI don\u2019t care how old I am, I\u2019m just gonna do it. You know you live once.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Canadian immigrant born to Lebanese parents, Avellan began her career as a physical therapist and later an instructor at a women-only boot camp in southwest Miami-Dade, where she still owns a fitness studio today.<\/p>\n
Signs inside her studio reading \u201cYour only limit is you\u201d and \u201cWillpower knows no limits\u201d reflect her determination to achieve her goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was in my head. And I thought about it every single day for many years,\u201d she said, referring to encouragement from her father-in-law to become a doctor.<\/p>\n
Avellan went back to college in her 40s at Florida International University, becoming the first in her family to earn a degree. She was later accepted into FIU\u2019s medical school.<\/p>\n
Next week, she is set to graduate, becoming one of the few students to complete medical school after age 50. She will begin a pathology residency at the University of Miami\u2019s Miller School of Medicine in July.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know that you\u2019re going to be a doctor, how does that make you feel?\u201d she was asked by Local 10\u2019s Byron Tollefson. <\/p>\n
\u201cI get goosebumps thinking about it,\u201d she replied. <\/p>\n
Avellan said she could not have done it without her support system, especially her husband, Marcos.<\/p>\n
As she prepares to walk across the stage, she hopes her journey inspires others to pursue their dreams at any age.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you\u2019re not satisfied where you are in life and you just settle because you think you\u2019re too old to do anything else,\u201d she said. \u201cHopefully I can be that inspiration for people to say, \u2018You know what, life\u2019s too short, it\u2019s never too late.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
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