Meet the 2023-2024 Multicultural Nursing Student Association President

UB School of Nursing has three nursing student organizations: the Undergraduate Nursing Student Organization (NSO), the Multicultural Nursing Student Association (MNSA) and Graduate Nurse Organization (GNO).

MNSA president, Jenna Le, shares her professional goals, including how she plans to lead the organization this academic year.

I am a first-generation, low-income student who originally had no idea what to do in my life. I do not have family members in health care, knew I wanted to escape the cycle of poverty, and always had a passion for inspiring change within people and their communities. I am very fortunate that I had the opportunity to complete an internship during my senior year of high school that exposed me to a variety of specialties, such as the emergency department and operating room. The Youth Apprentice Program, organized by Rochester Regional Health (RRH), recruited students from city schools that currently lack the resources and funding to explore a career in health care. Through this program, I found my love for nursing. I was captivated by the nurses I worked alongside and made a commitment to myself to become just like them. I chose nursing to provide excellent, compassionate patient care and to inspire future generations that a career in health care is possible for someone of my background.

MNSA welcomes all undergraduate nursing students to promote and celebrate diversity among our patient populations and within ourselves. MNSA deeply appreciates the wealth of culture that an individual possesses, from their race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, childhood upbringing, sexual orientation, gender expression, socioeconomic background, nationality, ability and so much more. Incorporating culturally sensitive nursing care into our careers will foster an inclusive, therapeutic hospital stay and ultimately save patient lives. By hosting events, sharing educational content, and centering student voices, MNSA hopes to equip future nurses with the ability to be compassionate, empathetic human beings throughout their careers.

As president, I hope to foster a closer-knit community amongst junior, senior and ABS nursing students by electing a junior and ABS representative to prioritize student voices. Education is limitless in nursing, so I plan to create numerous educational posts on the club Instagram on several patient populations (patients with disabilities, domestic violence survivors, Hispanic/Latinx individuals, and so on) to increase awareness of their needs and individualized care. I would like to create events that help students recognize unconscious biases, such as wound care across different skin tones or the unique difficulties of nursing school as students with diverse backgrounds. Lastly, I hope to collaborate with other diverse organizations at UB to promote club visibility and eventually pass the torch onto the next executive board carrying the club forward.

Enrolled students at the UB School of Nursing are all members of MNSA regardless of background. MNSA is very active on the club Instagram (@ubmnsa). Information regarding events, education, volunteer opportunities, and more can be found there or the UBLinked page. MNSA typically hosts events at least once a month and often in collaboration with the NSO. MNSA is now celebrating our Student Spotlight series through our nomination form, which highlights a nursing student in the program for their exemplary work at promoting diversity. Students can also submit feedback or suggestions for MNSA to improve our goal of amplifying student voices. Every MNSA executive board member and its student representatives are very willing to answer any questions about the club, so please feel free to reach out to any of us!