Nina knew she wanted to make an impact on healthcare, so she chose to pursue her major in the School of Nursing. As the first in her family to become a nurse and the first in her family to attend college, Nina has thrived in the nursing curriculum, which includes clinical rotations in local hospitals in Philadelphia. In the summer before her senior year, Nina spent time on the oncology floor of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) working with patients both in and out of the hospital, in radiation centers, and in infusion facilities. This real-world experience showed Nina that Oncology Nursing was the area of healthcare where she wanted to specialize.

When she came to Penn, Nina didn’t want to leave her love of writing behind while she pursued her nursing career, so she chose a creative writing minor. She’s developing both her artistic and analytical sides and giving voice to what she experiences when she cares for patients. Poetry written by nurses like Belle Waring inspired Nina to continue writing, which she did in her Independent Study for her creative writing minor. Working directly with the director of the creative writing department, Nina read, wrote, and reproduced response writing to poetry around the topic of trauma.

Nina is involved with several creative and performing arts groups on campus. As a DJ at the student-run campus radio station, WQHS, Nina spends every Sunday playing her favorite music with one of her best friends. From women in hip-hop to folk and rock, Nina’s musical taste is as broad as her academic pursuits. Nina is also a member of Penn Dance Company and Penn Masti, a competitive South Asian fusion dance team, and is a blogger for Penn Admissions.

During her Women and Incarceration: Health Education for Incarcerated Women class, Nina volunteered with a group of students at a Philadelphia correctional facility for women, teaching health-related workshops. Penn gave Nina a glimpse into a part of health care that she had never explored before. Now, her interest in public health has been ignited, and she hopes to use her nursing degree to have a positive impact on at-risk women.