Qiana Sonte Woodson

Since the spring of 2010, Qiana Sonte Woodson has been a Black History Maker here at UIC. From the time she was admitted to the College of Nursing’s PhD program, Qiana has made significant contributions to the College, the University, and the nursing profession. She is a natural born leader.

For the College of Nursing, Ms. Woodson has served on the College’s Diversity and Strategic Planning Committee. In the spring of 2011, she and a few other students became immediate advocates for underrepresented minority students, thus she became one of the founding members of the Urban Health Program College of Nursing Student Association (UCONSA) where she served as Vice President and President. She and other students strongly support UHP’s mission of recruiting, retaining, and graduating minority health professionals, and she with the organization’s members have helped to move that mission forward ever since.

Ms. Woodson is also an aspiring scholar and has served as an Instructional Assistant for several of the College’s undergraduate and graduate courses. She has served as a Research Assistant as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar Program; a prestigious honor for doctoral students. She is driven to help improve the health of the African American community and has presented locally and nationally on the health promotion of African American women.

For the University, she has served as a Student Senator for the UIC Faculty Senate; Secretary for the Graduate Student Council; and she is an active member of the Graduate Student Nursing Organization. Ms. Woodson has also served on the Campus Care Student Health Plan Task Force where she advocated for students to receive affordable health care. Having a desire to see more students of color enter the College of Nursing, she helped jump start UIC’s first Pre-Nursing Club, where she and fellow nursing students peer-mentored prospective students for the BSN program. At least two of these students are now alumni of the College.

She is currently a Staff Nurse at Mount Sanai Hospital working the in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She is also a strong champion for public health and often speaks about the importance of immunization and disease prevention. Qiana is also an active member of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) whose mission is “to represent and provide a forum for black nurses to advocate for and implement strategies to ensure access to the highest quality of healthcare for persons of color.” Qiana definitely aligns her own personal mission to that of NBNA.
Ms. Woodson has received many honors and recognitions for her contributions including the Chancellor’s Student Service and Leadership Award, the Dean’s Leadership Fund Scholarship, and the University Fellowship Award. She will undoubtedly continue to make her mark in this world and make great history!