Jennifer Asante

Jennifer Asante, BSN, RN, is the proud recipient of the Geraldine Labecki Scholarship from Nurses Educational Funds (NEF) for the 2026–2027 academic year. This prestigious scholarship honors graduate nurses who demonstrate strong leadership and a clear commitment to advancing the nursing profession.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a concentration in Public Health from Stony Brook University in New York, followed by a second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mercy University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She is currently in the final year of her Doctor of Nursing Practice in the Family Nurse Practitioner track alongside a Post-Master's Certificate in Nursing Education, both at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Jennifer chose the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing for its strong emphasis on clinical excellence, global health leadership, and rigorous evidence-based research training.

Jennifer's path to nursing began through volunteer work at NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital, where she contributed to clinical research in palliative care, migraine studies, and acute myocardial infarction among diverse patient populations, including the uninsured and those experiencing homelessness. This deepened her commitment to addressing health inequities right from the start.

Jennifer began her nursing career in an Emergency Department Nurse Residency Program at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey, where she gained foundational experience in emergency and acute care nursing.

Jennifer is deeply engaged in community and global health initiatives. She founded Train 4 Life CPR in the Chicago metro area, making CPR and BLS training accessible to parents, healthcare professionals, and community members through partnerships with the Area Development Council and the Rotary Club. As a Rotary Club member, she has supported projects establishing a laboratory technician school in Guatemala and a nutrition initiative providing soy milk to over 4,000 malnourished children. Her DNP project at Johns Hopkins focuses on the impact of structured CPR training using the WHO Basic Emergency Care (BEC) module among community-based healthcare workers in Ghana.

In 2026, Jennifer participated in the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Initiatives Global Service-Learning Program in Ghana, her birth country, where she presented an abstract on maternal mortality interventions and served nearly 1,000 patients at a community health fair in Kumasi. She is also a 2026 NIH TRAIN Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, researching music-based interventions to reduce the biological impact of chronic stress, reduce preterm birth, and improve infant outcomes among pregnant Black women.

Upon completing her DNP, Jennifer aims to become a nurse leader, educator, and clinician-researcher. Her degree will prepare her to provide comprehensive primary care, lead community health initiatives, teach future nurses, and conduct translational research focused on improving health outcomes and advancing equity for underserved communities. Receiving the NEF Scholarship is both an honor and meaningful support, allowing her to remain focused on these goals as she continues her doctoral training.