Meet Pre-College Institute (PCI) alumna Yaniris Patton-Cintron, a 2016 graduate from The Department of Health and Exercise Science. She is from Mullica Hill, NJ (Gloucester County) and works for Inspira. Today, she will share with us how PCI helped shape her Rowan experience.
What inspired you to choose your major? “I have always been in health care, so I came to Rowan wanting to do Physical Therapy (PT), but Rowan did not have the program. So, I switched and stayed with Psychology. After my first semester, I went into Athletic Training. Then I was like ‘No, I don’t want do just [work with] athletes, I want [to work with] special populations, so then — health and wellness.”
What do you do at Inspira?
“I’m a patient engagement specialist for Population Health, where I facilitate transition care from emergency room visit follow-ups to preventative care outreach. Inspira likes to make sure that our patients are not left behind or alone with their next steps in health care.”
How did the PCI program help you prepare for the Rowan experience? “They do a lot of outreach with their students. I’m almost considered a first-generation college student, and I still wanted to do something that was not too broad. I wanted to work with special populations. Health care in my family was a little bit different, so I felt, well, ‘What special populations can I reach out to?’ And that is what Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) did.”
How did EOF help you? “I’m a William Myers scholarship recipient through EOF, [which] had a lot of specialized things. They had a lot of workshops that were tailored to what you wanted to do and honed in on what your skills are. EOF allowed you to be your own person. A lot of programs have a set thing they want you to follow and they mold you into something, while EOF allowed you to mold yourself with their resources.”
What advice would you give for today’s future freshmen? Keep going. I’m actually still in college, I’m in nursing school. I finished my bachelor of science and now I’m tackling [my nursing degree] at Rowan College of South Jersey. One good thing is that Rowan is diverse, so there are a lot of things you can do. You’re not [restricted] to one major or one program.”
Like what you see, come visit us!
Story by:
Iridian Gonzalez, senior journalism major
