On a recent weeknight in Storrs,Naadu Adjoka-Nartey \u201916 (CAHNR), \u201924 MSN\u00a0was taking a rare breather from work and studies. A second-year master\u2019s student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at UConn School of Nursing, Adjoka-Nartey also holds down a job as a tier III clinical nurse at busy Yale New Haven Hospital.<\/p>\n
Between overnight hospital shifts, classwork, clinical rotations, and supervising Emergency Department techs and others in Yale New Haven\u2019s teaching program, Adjoka-Nartey has developed a few ways to relax and recharge. One is to hit the bike path near her home in West Hartford for fresh air and exercise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fun thing is I can listen to my lectures while I ride,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cSo I\u2019m able to take care of myself but also not be crippled with the anxiety of not actively learning!\u201d<\/p>\n
Another outlet is Grad_BlackSTEM, a UConn student organization that regularly sponsors meet-ups, lectures, and networking events.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a community of graduate students who identify as Black and are in STEM majors,\u201d Adjoka-Nartey says. \u201cWe try to provide a supportive place to connect academically and professionally. We have people in engineering, health care, earth sciences. We have people in mathematics. I think it creates a positive impact in the Black STEM community, but also at UConn as a whole. We\u2019re better UConn students for learning from one another \u2014 and we\u2019re better people in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strictly speaking, club events are not entirely recreational for Adjoka-Nartey. She serves as the group\u2019s president. On this particular evening, she was helping to put on a cultural exchange night, where members from around the world give brief presentations about their countries, share traditions, and bond over grad school experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s food and everyone is dressed up in their gear,\u201d says Adjoka-Nartey, who was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, before coming to the United States as a teenager. \u201cIt\u2019s one of my favorite events. It\u2019s exciting just to celebrate culture.\u201d<\/p>\n