Janella Benn, RN

As a Russell Sage College Nursing major, Janella Benn, RN had a great clinical experience on a postpartum unit. She’s excited to return to the same unit later this year as a professional nurse.

“I love the aspect of educating and teaching a new mother,” said Janella. “I love teaching her to care for herself and her newborn and to be healthy.”

She said her new position will also allow her to cross-train on the neonatal intensive care unit, which is why she chose it from two different job offers.  

Janella finished her Nursing bachelor’s degree in December 2022, and passed the NCLEX exam in early 2023. 

“I’m almost there, and I’m gonna make it!” she said in 2022, confiding that when she initially applied to nursing school, she was intimidated. 

“Then I got the acceptance letter from Sage,” she said, “and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness! I’m gonna go for it, I’m gonna go for Nursing!’”

As a first-year student, she made it a priority to identify what support resources were available for Sage students — and then use them. 

One of those resources is the New York State Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program, also known as CSTEP. 

“It really changed my whole college experience,” said Janella of the program which connected her with Academic Advisor Katie Smith.

Smith helped Janella select classes, prioritize assignments and access tutoring for her most difficult courses. 

When professors made themselves available for extra help outside of class, Janella took them up on it, and that made a difference, too. She specifically acknowledged how much she appreciated her Anatomy & Physiology Professor Kelli Tamvada and her Medical-Surgical Nursing Professor Victoria Greenwood, for always being available when she had questions. 

More recently, Janella took Med-Surg II with Anthony Marjean. They met after class to review an exam, but before they began the review, Professor Marjean told her what a great job she had done on a recent class presentation. 

“Throughout nursing school I’ve been battling with confidence,” said Janella. “When we talked, he really instilled in my brain, you got this.”

There’s one more person Janella mentioned who inspired her during her Nursing education: Her mom, who moved to the United States from Guyana in her 20s and became a certified nursing assistant. 

“Her goal was for all of us to get a college education,” Janella said, adding that her older sister also became a nurse. 

“I’ve seen my mom do nothing but work. I get my hard-working characteristics from her and will continue to use that throughout my career.”