Elizabeth Osa-Agbontaen, RN
The newly elected UMass Chan Medical School student representative on the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, Elizabeth Osa-Agbontaen, RN, lists community and unity as her biggest priorities. Her goal for her new role is to encourage students’ academic and personal growth. She’s also working to establish partnerships with Worcester-area colleges, enabling undergraduate students to shadow UMass Chan students.
“I decided to run for student trustee because nursing and leadership are both callings of mine,” said Osa-Agbontaen. “I want to ensure that every student finds success, not only in their academic goals but in their personal growth too. I aim to shape students’ experiences so they recognize opportunities to think bigger. Our collective success is my goal, and each individual’s achievements contribute to our shared success.”
Osa-Agbontaen is enrolled in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing Graduate Entry Pathway to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in the Family Nurse Practitioner Track. She works nights at UMass Memorial Medical Center on the orthopedic med-surg floor. The Norwood local studied biology at UMass Amherst on a pre-med track and previously worked as a clinical research coordinator at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Pfizer.
“Becoming a student trustee was meaningful because of the support I felt from all three schools,” said Osa-Agbontaen, who hopes to foster collaborative research opportunities for all UMass Chan students. “I’ve developed interdisciplinary relationships with students and faculty and they’ve been crucial to my personal success.”
As an undergrad, Osa-Agbontaen co-founded the UMass Amherst chapter of the Student National Medical Association Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students to help underrepresented students applying to medical school. She decided to pursue an advanced nursing degree instead of a medical degree so that she could practice holistic care and improve health systems.
“We shouldn’t lose out on great minds with great skills because of societal barriers,” she said. “Advocacy and having an upstream influence, especially in political policy making, is how we make lasting changes beyond our time. A huge part of why I chose the DNP program is because they prepare you for that in so many ways.”
For her DNP scholarly project, Osa-Agbontaen is investigating Black maternal health mortalities in the U.S., conducting surveys with staff who are implementing training and delivery care.
“We have one of the highest rates of maternal mortality with huge populations of Black female patients dying. I’m hyper-focused on exploring implicit bias and how it impacts the treatment of Black women during labor and postpartum,” said Osa-Agbontaen.
Osa-Agbontaen said she is honoring her late father, Solomon O. Agbontaen, who was a pastor, by pursuing education and advocating for others. Her father died during her freshman year of college.
“My father was always so supportive and invested in my education,” she said. “Health is the foundation of life. You can achieve and be anything, but if you’re not well, you’re limited in how much you can do. Contributing to someone’s health benefits us all as a society.”
Osa-Agbontaen is an active member of the African Student Association and the UMass LIGHT (Leadership Institute for Growth, Health and Transformation) mentorship program, and she just completed her term as co-president of the Graduate School of Nursing Organization.
