Columbia Nursing Forms First Student Council in Two Decades

Having recently formed, Columbia Nursing’s first student council in two decades will forge ahead with its mission to enrich students’ experience, serving as a liaison between them, the school’s community, and Columbia University as a whole. Known as CUSON-SC, the governing body will collaborate with Columbia Nursing’s administration, faculty, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders to help deepen relationships between students and the school, establishing a formal channel for student representation and enhancing the cohesiveness of the school community.            

Composition of the Council  

CUSON-SC will consist of an executive board, made up of the President, Shanelly Singh, DNP/FNP ’21; the Vice President, Ashley Belfort, DNP/FNP ’21; the Secretary, Victoria Scigliano, MDE ’19; the Treasurer, Shazia Mitha, PhD ’25; and the University Senator, Julie Yoshimachi, DNP/FNP ’20. The board will be the primary interface with Columbia Nursing’s leadership.

“The academic dynamism at Columbia Nursing is reflected in a vibrant, thoughtful, and engaged student body,” said Singh. “The council will act as a collective voice for that energy, bringing closer the communities at our school and providing greater visibility to the efforts of students in making Columbia Nursing the exceptional institution it is.”

Yoshimachi seconded Singh’s thoughts, adding: “Service to the community is a widely held tenet of the profession of nursing and an especially strongly held one at our school. The council, by centralizing leadership opportunities for students, allows us to extend the philosophy of service to one of stewardship of our education, where we are not only learners but leaders as well.”  

In addition to the board, the council will have 10 committee chairs, two for each in the areas of academics, alumni relations, diversity, interschool relations, and student life. The chairs include:

• Veronia Hanna, MDE ’19, and Sumiyah Syed, MDE ’19, on the academic committee;
• Erin Pratt, MDE ’19, and Vaneh Hovsepian, PhD ’24, on the alumni relations committee;
• Angel Guan, MDE ’19, and Jennifer Werner, MDE ’19, on the diversity committee;
• Haylee Schwartz, MDE ’19, and Qian Kun Tan, MDE ’19, on the interschool relations committee; and
• April Ancheta, PhD ’25, and Madeleine Hamer, MDE ’19, on the student life committee.   

The chairs will collaborate with relevant Offices and administrators at the School of Nursing to help promote student interests in their respective areas. This will include partnering with the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, among others, and the University Senator to help strategize and develop action plans and coordinate events.