Nursing’s Retano Has Both Leadership and Caregiving Goals

By Christopher James

Angela “Angie” Retano has always wanted a career where she could help people. For a time, she thought seriously about attending medical school. Then, a few years ago, while volunteering at a hospital in New Jersey, she discovered another option—nursing.

“I had the unique opportunity to work with a nurse practitioner, who one day asked me ‘Why do you want to go to medical school—why not be a nurse?’” says Retano. “I had never considered it. However, after exploring what nursing had to offer, I realized that my focus on helping people was more in line with nursing than medicine.”

While at NYU, Retano became involved in the Nursing Student Association of New York State (NSANYS), a new para-professional organization designed to promote leadership in nursing, and is currently its first vice president. Retano attributes her leadership role to the opportunities and support she received from the nursing faculty.

“From the moment I arrived at NYU, the message I heard was ‘you can make a difference,’” says Retano. “Every nursing faculty member spent a significant amount of quality time not only getting to know me but inspiring me to go beyond my expectations.”

Retano is also a recipient of a NYU President’s Service Award for Leadership for her continued dedication to the best interests of the College of Nursing and its students, and for her enthusiastic mentorship of future nursing student leaders.

“The person that started NYU two years ago is not the person that is graduating in May,” Retano says. “I entered NYU a follower and I emerged a leader.”

Upon graduation, Retano plans to work as a staff nurse at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and to return to the NYU College of Nursing in the fall as a graduate student. Ultimately, she intends to pursue her Ph.D. in nursing and to return to NYU as a professor.