2020 Creative Writing Awards
2020 Honored Students
One of our students’ assignments during their first clinical experience is to begin a journal. Through their journal they can watch their own transformations. Through their writing we can understand contemporary nursing and midwifery through the eyes, hands, and feelings of these remarkable students and soon-to-be advanced practice registered nurses and certified nurse midwives.
YSN’s annual Creative Writing Awards are enlivened by the inspirational presence of YSN Professor Linda Honan. Yale nursing students submit their narratives, journal entries, and other creative writing for consideration of one of three significant student awards.
The 2020 Creative Writing Award winners are Amy Isabelle, Josh Kwan, and Camila Soto Espinoza.
Amy Isabelle
Amy Isabelle is a family nurse practitioner student in her final year. Prior to YSN, she completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology at Wellesley College, with a focus on health disparities. After graduation, she is hoping to practice at a community health center. In her free time, she enjoys making baked goods for her classmates and walking in East Rock Park.
Read Amy’s essay, “Med Math for a World on Fire,” here.
Josh Kwan
Josh Kwan graduated magna cum laude from West Coast University with BSN in 2012. He obtained his FNP and DNP from Western University of Health Sciences. His doctoral project focused on improving educational programs related to nurses’ knowledge and competency skills. His work will potentially reduce medication errors and mortality rate related to adverse drug events. Before enrolling in the acute care nurse practitioner at YSN, he worked as a hospitalist in two hospitals providing care for vulnerable and underserved populations. He is eager to find better solutions to address current healthcare issues through integration of higher education and research into clinical practice.
Read Josh’s essay, “I See Me,” here.
Camila Soto Espinoza
Camila Soto Espinoza is the proud daughter of Ruben and Alicia, the proud sister of Priscilla, and proud aunt of Diego. She is also a Chilean Midwife who graduated with high honors from the University of Concepcion in 2015. She is a first-year Midwifery and Women’s Health student, and a Yale Global Health Fellow at UNICEF. She also has 4 student jobs and gets involved in as many research studies and global health opportunities as she can. Needless to say, Camila is also perennially tired and always late. She can often be found in some meeting talking about equity, diversity, and inclusion of first-generation, low-income students, just like her.
Read Camila’s essay, “Focus,” here.
Top Talents:
The preliminary judges would like to recognize the students who made it to the final round of consideration:
Claudia Lamparzyk, Christina Stoler, Alexandra Edmonson, Aimee Nelson, Diane Kim, Paula Constantine, Olivia Romansky, Marcus Sheppard, Sara Culver, Jill Langan, and Meghan Casey
Honorable Mentions
The following students are being saluted as honorable mentions:
Sydney Greenberg, Dana Loo, Katherine Melton, Jenna Sheppard, Anna Smith, Eden Katz, Clara Lengacher, Aimee Jakeman, Genevieve Lipari, Sebastian Beshk, Alex Ulin, and Mariah Baril-Dore
We wish to extend our thanks to our judges:
Preliminary Judges:
Nina Adams, Deb Fahs, Betsy Groth, Lorence Gutterman, Dawn Hubbard, Katie Pellico, Mary Pierson, and Shel Swanson
Distinguished Judges:
Theresa Brown, Anne Fadiman, Echo Heron, Anna Quindlen, and Lee Woodruff