By the time she was in college, Natasha Crooks knew she wanted to be a nurse at Planned Parenthood. She was eager to offer comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care to young women, particularly those of color like herself.
But when she was a year into nursing school in Wisconsin, her career trajectory changed.
As one of the few students of color, she was upset by the microaggressions she encountered. Crooks started interviewing other students of color to learn about their experiences and presented her findings on how to improve the culture to the school’s leadership. Her mentor pulled her aside and pointed out that she was doing research and encouraged Crooks to apply for an early entrance Ph.D. program, which would allow her to take graduate courses while she was still an undergraduate, to prepare for a career as a nurse researcher…
Read the full article here.
