A junior in Hunter College’s Undergraduate Nursing Program has been elected to a key post at a statewide student group.
Bethany Kim, 21, was elected as the policy and education director of the Nursing Students’ Association of New York State at the group’s convention in late January. She will serve a one-year term.
“We are so proud of Bethany,” said the Joan Hansen Grabe Dean of Nursing, Dr. Ann Marie Mauro. “She exemplifies the highly motivated, engaged students we cultivate at Hunter.”
Kim also serves as the director of professional development on the board of the Hunter-Bellevue Student Nursing Association. She works as a research assistant investigating predictors of Human Papillomavirus vaccine uptake among Asian American college students.
Born and raised in Busan, South Korea, Kim moved to Paramus, N.J., with her family when she was 12. She was inspired and encouraged to pursue nursing by her mother, an oncology nurse.
“As a nurse, I wish to foster meaningful relationships with patients at a bedside level and advocate for patients, especially immigrants and women of color, who face systemic issues in healthcare,” Kim said. “I plan to become a women’s health nurse practitioner specializing in fertility and family planning and pursue a doctorate in nursing practice to help educate the next generation of nursing professionals.”
Founded in 1951, the more than 4,000-member NSANYS is a state chapter of the nonprofit National Student Nurses Association. It seeks to act as a bridge to the profession for undergraduate nursing students and to mold the future of nursing by developing leaders.