The Winner of our Annual DiversityNursing.com $5,000 Education Award is… Suemin “Christy” Chung. Congratulations Suemin!

Suemin graduated with a BS in Psychology and Public Health in May 2020 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She enjoys living in Nashville as there are many neighborhoods, public parks, festivals, craft fairs, and of course, music. “Fun and random music is everywhere”!

In March of 2020, Vanderbilt cancelled school for 1 week due to Covid. She decided to visit her family in NC for the week. As she was driving home, she discovered her school was closing indefinitely so she turned around to retrieve her belongings. She felt lucky she could be home, finish classes online, work remotely doing covid research, and focus on the next steps for her education. Graduation 2 months later was uneventful because no one could be on campus due to Covid.

Suemin always knew she wanted to work in healthcare, but wasn’t exactly sure where that would take her. She stated her “entry into Nursing was not traditional”. During her freshman year, her interest in Nursing started to peak.  She took different classes, did volunteer work with underserved communities, and taught ESL and grammar. While doing her volunteer work, she fielded many healthcare questions such as… Where can I get cheaper meds? Can you help me understand this doctor’s report? Can you help me with the insurance forms?

This experience convinced her she wanted to be in a field where she could speak with and spend time with underserved and vulnerable populations. As her interest in Nursing grew, she joined pre-Nursing groups, shadowed Nurses, and talked to them about their careers.

She is currently enrolled in Vanderbilt’s Accelerated Nursing Program, which is a full-time, 3 semester/year intense Program. This is her 1^st year in the Program studying to be an RN. At the end of this summer, Suemin starts her 2^nd “specialty” year where she will graduate as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in August 2023.

She noted her professors always stress individualizing your patients. Getting to know them in every way possible to better serve them. She likes being part of the community, understanding the community, and wants to know “All” of the patient. What she really likes about Vanderbilt Nursing is they encourage you to take breaks when feeling stressed out.

Her goal is to work in a community health setting. Suemin likes being connected to the community and she plans to continue her education toward a DNP or PhD. Teaching is also an appealing career option.

She heard about our Annual DiversityNursing.com $5,000 Education Award at Vanderbilt’s School of Nursing  and also saw it online while searching for scholarships. Registration is easy on our DiversityNursing.com website as there is No essay requirement.

In summary, Suemin is passionate about working with underserved and vulnerable populations and delighted to be our 2022 $5,000 Education Award Winner! She stated “Nursing is very holistic, especially in Psychiatry”.

Congratulations Suemin and all the Best in your Nursing career!