Students and Recent Graduates

• Jasmin Modi ’10
• Bernadette Denis ’07, ’11 M.S.A.
• Marc Hill ’06 M.B.A., ’13
• Nargis Jordan ’11
• Iman Newsome ’12
• Moraima Zaida ’12

Jasmin Modi ’10

by Ann Pauley

Jasmin Modi ’10

Jasmin Modi ’10 recently completed her first semester of medical school and she loves it. “Nothing can really prepare you for just how challenging medical school is,” she says, “but it is very rewarding and very stimulating. I enjoy the camaraderie among the students. We are all working towards the same goal – to become excellent physicians.”

Modi was accepted at several medical schools; she chose the University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts, because of the small classes and the open door policy of the faculty. “Even the professors I have not had yet know my name and they are available to help me learn the material.”

She had a similar experience at Trinity. “My professors were so accessible and really prepared me for medical school,” she says. “They were invested in my academic success.” She valued the women’s college experience, and was particularly inspired and motivated by her female science professors who were positive role models for her.

Modi majored in biology and was in the Trinity honors program. She appreciated Trinity’s emphasis on the liberal arts and especially enjoyed her history and political science courses.

For Modi, the appeal of becoming a doctor is the “combination of science and service to humanity.” She says that “becoming a doctor is an important and humbling journey that I am passionate about.”

Modi’s father is a doctor, specializing in nephrology, so she has always been interested in medicine. “There’s a photo of me in kindergarten on career day, and I am wearing a stethoscope,” she recalls. “There were times that I wanted to go into dentistry or forensics, but I always came back to wanting to become a doctor.”

Modi is keeping her options open: she may specialize in nephrology, neurology, emergency medicine or family medicine. She expects her medical school and clinical experiences to guide her career choices.

Whichever path she chooses, her medical career will always be grounded in her Trinity education. “My Trinity experience was very empowering, and it taught me the importance of being an independent individual contributing to society.”

Bernadette Denis ’07, ’11 M.S.A.

by Katie Wanschura

Bernadette Denis ’07, ’11 M.S.A.

Growing up with a chronically ill father, Bernadette Denis ’07, ’11 M.S.A., witnessed many health care workers helping him live a full life. “I told myself,” Denis shared, “when I grow up, I can be of help to other people!” Now she is doing just that – helping people as a nurse in the urology oncology ward of the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.

Denis chose Trinity so she could continue to provide for her family while being a student. A mother of three, Trinity’s evening and weekend classes were incredibly convenient. She completed her bachelor of science in nursing degree and is now earning her master of science in administration degree with a concentration in public and community health management.

Denis found the coursework eye opening. In addition to classes that take students into the community, Denis focused her master’s thesis on the reduction of teenage pregnancy. As a mother and a nurse, she was alarmed to see so many young women with children. She was also spurred on by a newspaper article noting a rise in teenage pregnancy for the first time in a decade. She hopes the knowledge she gains from her thesis will help her connect with, and take even better care of, her patients. “Nursing is a rewarding profession. You are rewarded every day. But you have to like it. You have to put yourself in the patients’ shoes to be able to help them. You have to see yourself in that position and then you understand how they feel and then you can help them.”

Denis graduates from the master’s program this May. However, she is leaving the possibility open for still another degree. She simply said, “The more knowledge you get as a nurse, the more people you can reach and help.”

Marc Hill ’06 M.B.A., ’13

by Brandy Jackson

Marc Hill ’06 M.B.A., ’13

After completing his M.B.A. in Trinity’s School of Professional Studies in 2006, Marc Hill of Seat Pleasant, Maryland, has returned to the Trinity classroom to pursue a B.S.N. – a bachelor of science in nursing. When not spending time with family, friends and participating in the D.C. networking scene, Hill is steadily following his passion as a trained health care professional. Hill’s inspiration springs from a combination of an “innate gravitation towards helping people,” and the influence of his mother who worked as a nurse as he grew up. “The compassion she had for her family and her patients has rubbed off on me greatly.”

Since 2009, Hill has worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a financial management specialist. He previously worked for Unity Health Care, Inc. (UHC), a health care agency that provides primary care services to the homeless and families that live in emergency shelters in D.C. While working for UHC, his eyes were opened to the realities of how many communities depend on a health care provider’s expertise and guidance regarding treatment and healthy daily living. As a health care professional, he sees himself as “a small piece to the bigger picture” toward aiding the development and improvement of the health care system in America. This includes providing patients with the highest level of customer service, which he finds is key.

The Trinity experience for Hill has been great thus far. He enjoys the nursing program because of the caliber of experienced professors, and the students are terrific to work with as well. He said, “Everyone here has the same mission for success and is eager to help you. It is important as working adults to have a support network, as life for us tends to be more complicated than it was as traditional undergraduate students.”

As his graduation approaches in 2013, Hill is focused on starting a nursing career immediately after. With certainty, he will return to school to pursue a master’s degree in nursing with plans to start a career within clinical administration.

Nargis Jordan ’11

by Paige Blache

Nargis Jordan ’11

Biology major Nargis Jordan has always wanted to be a doctor. As young as 5 years old, she remembers becoming a doctor being the only thing she has ever wanted to do. When meeting and talking to Jordan, it is immediately clear that this demure young woman has a very caring personality and a natural “bed-side manner,” well-fitting characteristics for a physician.

Jordan’s desire for a career in medicine matured over time. Her exploration alerted her to the areas of health care that she describes as “gray,” those areas where understanding should be increased so that health care outcomes can be improved. As a result of this broadened understanding, Jordan’s career goal is the integration of both research and clinical care, and her academic pursuits clearly attest to this.

Jordan has been a very focused and determined student as evidenced by her extracurricular activities. Part of her academic and career exploration has included volunteering for almost one year in the ambulatory care unit at the Washington Hospital Center. There, she witnessed the dynamics of the doctor-patient relationship in a clinical setting.

To satisfy her growing thirst for research experience, Jordan looked at the highly competitive National Institutes of Health (NIH). Students with ambitions to participate in research at NIH must do a tremendous amount of groundwork to obtain a spot in the program. Her excellent academic credentials and persistence resulted in a summer research fellowship with the National Cancer Institute in 2010 in which she participated in a research study on pancreatic cancer to identify biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. Jordan’s interest in “gray areas” of health care was a perfect fit for cancer research and helped her to further explore her career aspirations. As Jordan says, “the experience solidified my goal.”

While earning an undergraduate research position is a very competitive process, acceptance into medical school is even more so. Jordan is building an impressive resume to increase her profile as a medical school applicant. Her recurring role on the Dean’s List as well as her research experiences will surely attract attention. Tutoring her peers in biology, math and physics will also attest to her strong character, a very good mark of a budding doctor.

Iman Newsome ’12

by Brandy Jackson

Iman Newsome ’12

Iman Newsome ’12, a nursing major and member of the Black Nurses Association of Greater Washington, found her calling to the health profession through volunteering. Newsome, a proud native of D.C. with deep family roots in North Carolina, has always felt the need to serve others. During her high school summer break, while her friends may have been at the mall or just hanging out, Newsome chose to participate in the Children’s National Medical Center volunteer program. Newsome, an avid volunteer through high school and freshman year of college, saw firsthand the invaluable contributions nurses provide to people daily.

Newsome feels strongly that her volunteer experience was the key inspiration that piqued her interest to seek a career as a pediatric nurse practitioner. By having a combination of compassion for others and the desire to actively change children’s lives for the better, she knew enrolling in Trinity’s bachelor of science in nursing program would be a good fit for her future. Currently she is enjoying her experience as a student, and said, “teachers are willing to help you succeed when they see that a student takes time and effort to help themselves.” Having this partnership makes Newsome feel she is not just a number within the crowd. It is the care and attention of her professors that makes her confident and comfortable to approach them about course material.

Even as the nursing program grows each year, Newsome describes the department as a very close-knit networking system. She and her classmates are dedicated to seeing each other succeed, from engaging in study groups to helping critique each other’s presentations. She notes the environment is a place where “students help each other achieve their goal of pursuing their careers.” Newsome looks to the future excited to start nursing clinicals this fall, taking her closer to her goal as nurse. Not surprisingly, after graduation she hopes to intern at the Children’s National Medical Center with hopes of furthering her education by specializing in neuroscience.

“This profession is not for the weak-hearted,” said Newsome, “only go into nursing if it’s your passion.” Though some people think nursing is an easy job, at the same time as being medical professionals they have to be “perfectionists, intense critical thinkers, counselors, psychologists, and spiritual uplifters.” When asked to give advice to prospective nursing majors, Newsome said “We are strong people that are in the first line of care for this city, nation, and the world, so if you’re prepared to take that challenge, then nursing is the perfect career.”

Moraima Zaida ’12

by Paige Blache

Moraima Zaida ’12

Moraima Zaida ’12 was introduced to the Trinity community in fall of 2009 as one of the first Sr. Ann Kendrick ’66 scholars. She is majoring in biochemistry with plans to go to dental school. Today Zaida has much more science experience under her belt and a deeper thirst for scientific understanding.

Although dentistry is her primary interest, she would like to leave her options open for the possibility of a career in research. She thoroughly enjoys her labs and the research aspect of her studies and she has applied for two research internships this summer, one at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Zaida’s interest in dentistry is deeply rooted. Her mother’s good friend is a dentist and she learned early on not to fear dentists. She also received a lot of first-hand information on the field. Zaida envisions herself running her own dental clinic and also making room in her clinic to help people who are in need. She sees herself as a natural leader, so owning and leading a dental clinic is a very realistic vision for her future.

In preparation for a possible career in dentistry, Zaida is seeking ways to study for the Dental Admission Test that she plans to take in fall 2011. She has also narrowed her choices of dental schools to four – two in her home state of Florida and two in the Washington area. Her own research and the guidance of helpful Trinity faculty were key in this decision-making process. Moraima Zaida, with the full support of her family, is taking full strides to a long and rewarding career in the health sciences.