We spoke with five outstanding soon-to-be-graduates about how their Columbia education prepared them for the pandemic and allowed them to follow their passions in nursing.
Columbia Nursing is home to an array of student groups with a variety of missions, but these groups have one goal in common: cultivating a sense of community and supporting students.
Students Kelsey Baffour-Addo, MS ’22, Danica Dorlette, MPH, and Keisha S. Paul, MS ’23, have received scholarships from Nurses Educational Funds (NEF), Inc., for 2024-2025.
From a young age, Brenda Janotha ’08, DNP, knew she wanted to help people. She pitched in to care for two of her cousins, who had neurological conditions, and later volunteered at a local hospital.
Lisa Iannacci-Manasia ’77 ’89, MS, knew that when she saw a child first being born, pediatrics was what she wanted to practice — and that doing so involved striving to be at her best.
The inspiration for wanting to be a nurse began for Meghan Reading’18, PhD in her New Jersey high school, where she first read about nurses working in underserved regions of the world.
Interest in scientific research propelled Shazia Mitha ‘16 ’18 from her home in Tampa, Florida, and from the University of South Florida, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical science.
Linda Armstrong ’16 ’18 has been passionate about helping patients living with cancer and their families, ever since losing her mother to the disease at a young age.
Born and raised in Queens, New York, pediatric primary care nurse practitioner Jonathan Ringer ’16 ’18, earned his Masters of Science from Columbia Nursing.