Anna Zhuang

UConn School of Nursing, Class of 2019

I was born in New York City and lived there until I was 9 years old. My family then moved to Montville, Connecticut. I am currently working towards my bachelor’s degree in Nursing at UConn.

Since my freshman year, I have been an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Angela Starkweather’s pain research lab at the School of Nursing. Working for Dr. Starkweather has both improved my patient interaction skills and developed my understanding of the impact a nurse can have. I am the treasurer for UConn’s Student Nurses’ Association, which provides guidance to nursing students and organizes community service activities. Outside of school, I work for a charitable clothing company called Ivory Ella, which also works to stop the ivory poaching of elephants.

Growing up in the city, I witnessed many cultural and linguistic barriers imposed on minority communities trying access healthcare, barriers I still observe today. The Urban Service Track interests me as an opportunity to serve communities like these en route to my goal of becoming a registered nurse in New York City. We learned in nursing classes that one of the nurse’s most important functions is to act as her patient’s advocate. However, I believe that advocacy for those who cannot advocate for themselves must extend beyond the clinical setting, and I believe the UST teaches and encourages this breadth of advocacy. The UST will help me explore and embody this philosophy of advocacy while teaching me to be an effective nurse on an interprofessional team; it will allow me explore both my passion for nursing and my desire to serve people beyond the medical practice.