Kimberly Korn

Nursing Major
Transferred from Hofstra University

“We prepare the leaders of tomorrow,” College of Nursing and Public Health Dean Patrick R. Coonan, Ed.D., R.N., has long said. So it’s not surprising that nursing students like Kimberly Korn have taken on leadership roles in nursing student associations.

Prior to transferring from Hofstra University in 2011, Korn, now a senior, had also considered the Molloy College Division of Nursing and two State University of New York schools—Stony Brook University and Farmingdale State College.

“I chose Adelphi because…Adelphi was the only B.S.N. program that would accept me as a nursing student even though I still needed to complete prerequisites,” she said. “It was very important to me to be a student in a nursing program, rather than simply taking prerequisite classes.”

At Stony Brook, for example, she said she could not apply to the nursing program until she had completed all nursing prerequisites.

Since last year, Korn has served in a leadership capacity with several nursing student associations. In April 2014, she was elected to the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) board of directors and will serve as the editor of Imprint, its magazine, for the next five issues.

She’s also actively involved in the process of having Adelphi form an on-campus NSNA chapter.

In addition, Korn is a member of Student Nurses Advancing for Progress (SNAP) at Adelphi and is a peer mentor for freshman and sophomore nursing students.

“What I learned from my own transfer experience,” Korn said, “is the importance of getting outside of my comfort zone and showing up to club or association meetings because you never know how much you can learn and what opportunities are out there for you.”

Korn cited two College faculty members as especially helpful to her. Helen Ballestas, Ph.D., assistant professor and course coordinator for Nursing Care of the Adult I, whom she met during her first semester after transferring, was the one who “suggested that I become more involved in nursing associations and leadership opportunities,” Korn recalled. “I would not have known about the National Association for Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), NSNA or the essential importance of leadership in nursing without her encouragement and guidance.” Last spring, Korn was chosen to give a podium presentation about mental health at the July 2014 NAHN conference. She also presented at two workshops, one at NSNA’s Summer Leadership Conference.

Deborah Murphy, her academic adviser, who is also clinical assistant professor and coordinator of clinical and community affairs at the College, was “very helpful with my transition to the nursing program,” Korn said. “It was very reassuring that I was being advised on academic courses by a nurse and member of the nursing faculty.”

Slated to graduate in May 2015, Korn wants to advance in higher education, although she is not yet certain what form that will take. After pursuing a master’s degree, she said, she may seek a Ph.D. or a D.N.P.

“I would certainly like to continue my roles in leadership and membership in nursing associations and organizations as a registered nurse,” Korn added. “The beauty of a nursing career is having many options to choose from and the ability to pursue different types of clinical practice and leadership opportunities.”

This piece appeared in the Fall 2014 Issue of the Transfer Student Newsletter.