Three Students Awarded NEF Scholarships

Columbia Nursing students Lizzet Carmona, Sergine Delma, and Marie Toupou  have received scholarships from Nurses Educational Funds (NEF), Inc., for 2025-2026.   

Founded in 1912, NEF promotes leadership and health equality through annual scholarships to nurses seeking master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing education, advanced clinical practice, research, health policy, and administration. To date, NEF has awarded more than 1,460 scholarships for advanced nursing degrees. 

Carmona, a second-year doctoral student in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program at Columbia Nursing, received the Charles Hamlin Scholarship. She works in a Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit providing high-quality care, patient education, and emotional support to critically ill patients and their families.   

Delma is in her final year of the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program. She received the Columbia University – Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association Inc./J. Margaret Ada Mutch Scholarship. She is currently conducting research on reducing stigmatizing language in nursing documentation using artificial intelligence tools.   

Toupou, who is also in the FNP program, received the Liesel M. Hiemenz Scholarship. After graduation, she plans to work in a Federally Qualified Health Center, providing primary care to underserved and diverse populations. She also hopes to contribute to nursing education, whether in the classroom or through clinical preceptorship and mentorship.