Celebrating SHPEP’s 2026 Cohort

Eighty college students from across the country gathered at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) on July 16 to celebrate the completion of the 2026 Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), marking the final cohort of the nationally recognized initiative. 

Among this year's participants were 10 students exploring nursing careers, who spent six weeks learning from Columbia Nursing faculty, staff, and students through seminars, simulation experiences, and clinical exposure. 

Launched by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 1989, the educational and residential program, hosted by 12 institutions across the U.S., gives rising sophomores and juniors from historically underrepresented and underserved backgrounds the opportunity to explore health careers in depth.  

CUIMC partners with Montefiore Medical Center and Northwell Health to offer clinical rotations to SHPEP participants. Columbia Nursing hosts in-person seminars focused on nursing education and career opportunities, with faculty, staff, and students sharing their experiences and guidance.  

"At its core, the true significance of SHPEP is not just in the numbers of students we've encountered over the years, it's in the young lives we touch,” said Ashley Graham-Perel, EdD, assistant dean, Office of Community Engagement and Global Initiatives, and Columbia Nursing’s lead for the SHPEP program for the past five years.  

“For these scholars, getting an inside look at the nursing profession and speaking directly with leaders doing the work can be completely life changing," she added. “Giving them real guidance on their journey lets them know not only that this path is open to them, but that they truly belong here."  

For students Ellen Antwi and Sandra Schroeder, SHPEP provided a firsthand look at nursing careers that helped clarify their professional goals. "I was able to see what works for me, what doesn't,” said Antwi, a nursing student at Temple University in Philadelphia who is planning to be a midwife.  

"I really loved being able to shadow and go into different departments and know where I would want to be," said Schroeder, a public health student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The experience reinforced her interest in nursing, specifically neonatal nursing or labor and delivery.   

This year's celebration carried special significance. RWJF announced in December 2025 that SHPEP's 2026 cohort will be its last, citing a shift in priorities "to focus more on dismantling structural racism in the health sector at the institutional level." In announcing the program's conclusion, RWJF noted that nearly 80% of SHPEP scholars have gone on to earn advanced degrees and become leaders across the health professions. 

While the program has ended, the connection between Columbia Nursing and the SHPEP graduates will continue, Graham-Perel said. "The Office of Community Engagement stays in touch with many of our SHPEP nursing scholars. Some are currently thriving in nursing programs, while others are diligently working toward their acceptances. Once they walk through our doors, they are forever a part of our Columbia Nursing family." 

Several faculty have participated in SHPEP over the years, including Latisha Hanson, DNP, Rebekah Ruppe, DNP, Maribeth Massie, PhD, Jeanne Churchill, DNP, and Natalie Voigt, PhD '20, along with the simulation team of Merona Hollingsworth, Natalya Pasklinsky, DNP, Juan Gonzales, and Kristy Deyeso. Alesi Lanham and Ashley Bonds of the Office of Admissions and Camille Amantine and Laura Cabrera from the Office of Financial Aid presented to SHPEP students this summer, and MDE students Victoria Nyark and Shadrack Pierrot served as this year's Student Ambassadors. 

Graham-Perel gave a special thanks to Karinne Ovalles for her "incredible commitment and leadership" with SHPEP.  "From managing the application review and scholar selection to seamlessly orchestrating their daily schedules, she is a constant anchor of support and mentorship for these students from their very first day to their last."