Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Cohort Virtual Wall

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Agnes Bolt

Krakow, Poland; grew up in Philly

Previous degree(s): MFA in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University; BA from NYU

Previous work experience: Media-based artist, freelance photographer; adjunct art professor

Nursing Area of Interest: Healthcare reform, new technology development, psych, neuro

Five-year goal: Develop solid clinical practice, move on to policy

Favorite film: Beau Travail by Claire Denis


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Jillian Brenner. (she/her/hers)

San Diego, CA

Previous degree(s): BA in Art History & French

Previous work experience: I have worked in art galleries, museums, coffee shops, and childcare. Most recently, I worked as a CNA in an SNF.

Nursing Area of Interest: Remaining open to all possibilities: Med-Surg, OR, ED, ICU, L&D, pediatrics

Five-year goal: Pursue NP and serve LGBTQIA+ community

Fun fact: I’m passionate about black & white film photography, although my practice has taken a backseat for now.


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Brandi Cameron

Born in Kansas City, MO; raised in Northern & Southern California

Previous degree(s): Bachelor of Science Kinesiology, Exercise Science

Previous work experience: Massage Therapist; Director of Operations – Restaurant & Catering; Developmental Disabilities Case Manager

Nursing Area of Interest: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, & Queer Women’s Health; Trauma-Informed Healthcare & Forensic Nursing

Five-year goal: Obtain my nurse practitioner’s license; Work toward opening a clinic

Fun fact: I enjoy roller skating at skate parks, roller derby, and karate.


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Courtney Carrino (Social Co-Chair)

Los Angeles, CA

Previous Degree(s): BA Art History, MA Curatorial Practice

Previous Work Experience: Commercial art galleries and non-profit art spaces, Indoor Spin Instructor, Server/Bartender, Assistant Restaurant Manager

Nursing Area of Interest: ED, Wound Care, Surgery

Five-year goal: Find my niche and specialty in my clinical nursing practice, and pursue other degrees or certifications that will benefit my future in that field.

Fun fact: Studied abroad in Italy during my BA and in Japan during my MA.


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Emily Chin (Social Co-Chair)

Santa Clara, CA

Previous degree(s): B.S. in Business Administration, USC

Previous work experience: Social Services (Homelessness & Reentry)

Nursing Area of Interest: MedSurg and Psych, but TBD!

Five-year goal: Family NP... speaking it into existence


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Erin Corson

Altadena, CA

Previous degree(s): B.A. in Psychology, minor in dance and movement studies

Previous work experience: various marketing internships, CNA

Nursing Area of Interest: psych or women's health

Five-year goal: to be working as an NP

Fun fact: My all-time favorite restaurant is Kazunori.


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Breanna Davis

La Mirada, CA

Previous degree: BS in Psychobiology from UCLA

Previous work experience:

Project management at UCLA Health Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UCLA CTSI), where I supported faculty developing healthcare technologies.

Project Management at UCLA Anderson School of Management, where I supported the Marketing and Communications Department.

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatrics

Five-year goal: Gain nursing experience, become a travel nurse, and start applying for NP programs.

Fun fact: I have been a camp counselor more than 16 times.


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Becca Krane

Southern California and Pennsylvania

Previous degree(s): BS in Fashion Industry Management

Previous work experience: Marketing Manager for Wellness and Beauty Brands

Nursing Area of Interest: Women’s Health

Five-year goal: I hope to be in the process of obtaining my MSN in Women’s Health and partnering with a Los Angeles based clinic to realize my purpose of impacting the lives of the women who make up our diverse and beautiful community.

Fun fact: I love to roller skate, and I recently retired from playing 7-years of competitive roller derby.


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Julia Lim

Korea, New Zealand, Los Angeles, CA

Previous degree(s): Integrative Biology at U.C. Berkeley

Previous work experience: Research at a Biotech company

Nursing Area of Interest: Critical Care, ICU, NICU

Five-year goal: Become a clinically more experienced nurse and attend Graduate school.

Fun fact: I used to live in New Zealand and it is still my favorite place to visit.


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Irene Luna (Co-President)

Lynwood, CA

Previous degree(s): Linguistics and Psychology, UCLA

Previous work experience: Administrative/Management Assistant at three major health systems: UCLA Health, Cedars-Sinai, and Providence St. Joseph Health

Nursing Area of Interest: ED, Public Health, Trauma, Policy, Women's Health

Five-year goal: Become an FNP working with a vulnerable population

Fun fact: I can speak fluent Spanish and basic Mandarin. I also love eating potatoes in all their forms.


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Chelsea Meyer

Minneapolis, MN

Previous degree: BSB Marketing, Spanish minor

Previous work experience: forensic accounting (4 years) and CNA in nursing home/hospital (2 years)

Nursing area of interest: ED, Med-Surg, L&D

Five-year goal: Work as an RN who loves her job and hopefully become a mother.

Fun fact: I sprained my wrist attempting a backflip from the monkey bars in kindergarten.


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Hannan Mohammed

Anaheim, CA

Previous Degree: Arabic, Global Health minor

Previous Work Experience: Personal Care Attendant (caregiver)

Nursing Area of Interest: Women's Health/L&D/NICU

Five-year goal: Stability and consistency

Fun Fact: En route to becoming a black belt in Shotokan Karate.


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Anthony Nguyen

Raleigh, NC

Previous degree(s): Biochemistry and Human Biology

Previous work experience: EMT, personal trainer (to be short aha)

Nursing Area of Interest: Psych nursing, med-surg

Five-year goal: Gain experience and knowledge of the psych nursing field to help improve the current healthcare situation of that field.

Fun fact: My favorite trip was doing a road-trip across the US on my way out here. There's so much of the US that we miss out on in flying from place to place.


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Francis Parado

Los Angeles, CA

Previous degree(s): Human Biology and Society, B.S.

Previous work experience: UCLA Early Childcare and Education student-teacher; undergraduate researcher and lab assistant for molecular and medical pharmacology translational research; research associate for biofuel research, cancer therapy; Ronald Reagan Hospital Nursing Volunteer

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatrics

Five-year goal: putting my BSN and creativity to good use in a pediatrics unit/facility

Fun fact: I own over 100 board games.


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Patrick Phillips (Co-President)

Originally from Portland, OR, currently residing in Los Angeles for the past six years.

Previous degree(s): English Literature from Lewis & Clark College

Previous work experience: Touring Musician, Bartender, Server

Nursing Area of Interest: Trauma ICU, Critical Care

Five-year goal: Work at a trauma center in Downtown or East Los Angeles. Start a family. Play more music and become proficient in Spanish in a medical setting.

Fun fact: My favorite vacation was my honeymoon to Thailand with my wife, Jasmine. We ate to our heart's were content in Chiang Mai and went SCUBA diving in Koh Samui.


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Antonio Porras

Redwood City, CA

Previous degree: B.S. in Biology from Loyola Marymount University

Previous work experience: Counselor for three summers at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp - a camp for children with serious illnesses and their families.

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatrics and Health/Biomedical Informatics

Five-year goal: Gain work experience in multiple areas of care and obtain or begin working on a master’s or doctorate.

Fun fact: Favorite authors include Atul Gawande, Malcolm Gladwell, and Fr. Gregory Boyle.


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Nicole Punsalang

Walnut, CA

Previous degree(s): B.S. in Biochemistry

Previous work experience: Emergency Department Scribe

Nursing Area of Interest: Critical Care or Pediatrics

Five-year goal: Become a family nurse practitioner after a few years of bedside nursing & paying off all my student loans.

Fun fact: I have never owned a pet and I've never broken a bone.


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Cassidy Rosso

Encino, CA

Previous degree(s): B.S. Cell and Molecular Biology from CSUN

Previous work experience: Volleyball coach

Nursing Area of Interest: Labor and Delivery

Five-year goal: Become a Nurse Practitioner/Midwife after working as a travel nurse for a little bit

Fun fact: I beat Misty May in a beach volleyball match.


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Rich Ruff

Boston, MA

Previous degree(s): Bachelor of Arts in Psycholinguistics and French, UCLA 2016

Previous work experience: EMT since 2016

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatric oncology

Five-year goal: Get my BSN and make the world a generally better place to live in for everyone!

Fun fact: I am an avid birdwatcher. Sometimes they even watch me back.


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Tiffany Sam

Inland Empire, CA

Previous degree(s): BA in Cognitive Science (UC Berkeley)

Previous work experience: ALT (JET Program), CNA

Nursing area(s) of interest: OB/GYN, Peds, Oncology

Five-year goal: To own a home and work in a nursing specialization I’m passionate about

Fun fact: One of my craziest, most whirlwind trips was zooming through six countries in Europe in just two weeks.


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Linda Samano

San Fernando Valley, CA

Previous degree(s): B.A., Political Science from UC Riverside and M.P.H., Epidemiology from Cal State Northridge

Previous work experience: Infection Preventionist

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatric Nursing, Infectious Diseases, Nursing Research, Quality Improvement

Five-year goal: In five years, I hope to have completed an advanced degree in nursing. I also see myself becoming a certified pediatric nurse.

Fun fact: I love trivia games, crossword puzzles, word searches, anything that gets my mind working.


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Gurleen Sangha

Arcadia, CA

Previous degree(s): BA in Biology, Minor in Neuroscience

Previous work experience: Medical Scribe

Nursing Area of Interest: NICU, ICU, Peds, L&D

Five-year goal: To be in school to become an NP after getting a lot of great work experience as an RN

Fun fact: Fluent in Punjabi


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Christine Selzer

Bethesda, Maryland

Previous degree(s): BA Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz; MPH, University of Southern California

Previous work experience: Epidemiology Analyst, LA County Department of Public Health, Acute Communicable Disease Control

Nursing Area of Interest: ER, MedSurg, Public Health

Five-year goal: ER nurse or infectious disease NP at a community clinic

Fun fact: My favorite Movie is Pretty Woman.


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Alyssa Tang

South Pasadena, CA

Previous degree: BA in Molecular and Cell Biology

Previous work experience: N/A

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatrics

Five-year goal: To be a competent nurse practicing in one of the Children's Hospital branches

Fun fact: My favorite TV show is Friends


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Maya Thompson

Redondo Beach, CA

Previous degree(s): B.A. Psychology from USC with a minor in Health Care Studies from Keck USC

Previous work experience: Floral Designer, Nanny

Nursing Area of Interest: ICU

Five-year goal: To become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Fun fact: In my free time, I love reading thriller novels, hanging out with my two Australian Shepherds, cooking, and playing video games.


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Kevin Tran

Long Beach, CA

Previous degree(s): B.S. Public Health Science

Previous work experience: Nursing home CNA, Home Health Aide, PACU Patient care assistant

Nursing Area of Interest: ICU nursing, CRNA

Five-year goal: Become a CRNA, purchase my first home, get at least one dog

Fun fact: Love traveling to places like Tulum, Mexico, and New York City. Enjoy watching thriller movies like Gone Girl and Shutter Island. I speak Cantonese and Tew-Chew.


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Alexandra Yamada

San Ramon, CA

Previous degree(s): BS in Human Developmental Sciences from UCSD

Previous work experience: CNA

Nursing Area of Interest: L&D, NICU

Five-year goal: Find a job & location that makes me love my job!

Fun fact: I talk in my sleep a lot. (One time I gave a sleep lecture on saturated vs. unsaturated fats)


Linda Pan Yee

Los Angeles, CA

Previous degree(s): BA in History

Previous work experience: Marketing

Nursing Area of Interest: Cardiac care

Five-year goal: Complete MSN

Fun fact: Went ziplining in Costa Rica.


Ryan Jirapong

Los Angeles, CA

Previous degree(s): B.S., Aerospace Engineering

Previous work experience: System engineer at Boeing and Northrop Grumman

Nursing Area of Interest: ED, ICU

Five-year goal: To be working in a level 1 trauma ED and hopefully have a kid or two by then

Fun fact: I lived in Thailand for over ten years, and I speak fluent Thai.


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Emily Cornmesser

Walnut, CA

Previous Degree: BS Kinesiology/Health Science

Previous Work Experience: Medical Assistant, High School Medical Academy Instructor

Nursing Area of Interest: Pediatrics

5 Year Goal: Become a NICU nurse and/or Nurse Practitioner

Fun Fact: I danced competitively in high school and college.