Helping hands

Listen to this article

Elia Angelina Cupo created a charity when she was in middle school by creating spoons, selling them at her family’s restaurants and giving the proceeds to the Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind in Jersey City. In high school, she ran a toy drive to benefit children in her hometown of Summit. And in college, she served as community service chairperson of her sorority. “I was able to get all the girls in my chapter to be involved with the State College community in various ways whether it was the local animal shelter, the food pantry, even the Penn State Arboretum,” Cupo said.

Hurricane Maria struck Dominica, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in September 2017, killing thousands of residents in Puerto Rico. Cupo helped coordinate among the Penn State sororities sending care packages to storm victims. She chose to enroll in the College of Saint Elizabeth’s inaugural physician assistant program because it aligns with her values.

“In college it is people who felt an impact from natural disasters. I try to serve all walks of life and I noticed the school does as well,” Cupo said.

After she graduated from Penn State University in spring 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in bio behavioral health and a minor in human development and family studies, Cupo was looking for a field that would prepare her for the kind of work she has been doing throughout her young adulthood – helping people in need.

She chose the new physician assistant program at the College of Saint Elizabeth.

“The College of Saint Elizabeth has an amazing mission, vision, and values,” said Cupo, a native of Summit. “They closely align with my own values, particularly their strong commitment to servant leadership and their commitment to social justice strongly appeal to me. That is something I practice and uphold in my daily life.”

Dr. Medea Valdez is the founder and director of the physician assistant program at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown. She earned a doctorate degree in health education and is also a physician assistant.

Valdez founded the graduate program in 2017, secured accreditation, designed courses and hired faculty members. The first cohort of students is enrolling in October 2019. Valdez expects about 35 students to comprise the first class and she envisions a maximum of 50 students for future cohorts. The program takes 27 months to complete. The inaugural class of physician assistants at the College of Saint Elizabeth includes people from many nations, many faiths, and various ages. Prospective students apply through the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants.

“The mission and vision of this college is social justice, servant leadership, and the underserved,” Valdez said. “It aligns very well with what physician assistants are all about.”

Newly renovated space in the College’s Henderson Hall houses the new program and it was funded through a $5 million bequest from the estate of 1951 graduate Antoinette Anastasia. The facility offers students real-life clinical experiences with state-of-the-art classrooms and a 12-bed clinical assessment lab, as well as a simulation center with interactive mannequins and task-trainers, six standardized patient evaluation rooms, virtual dissection tables and a video-capture system to provide students with immediate feedback on their patient interaction skills.

The College of Saint Elizabeth is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth and is a community of learning in the Catholic liberal arts tradition for students of diverse ages, backgrounds and cultures.

“It is a blessing in that we had the financial support and the institutional support to make this happen,” Valdez said. “What drew me here was the mission of the college and the Sisters of Charity. It really fits with the profession of physician assistants.”

Physician assistants deliver babies, assist surgeons, administer IVs and draw blood.

“The launch of the PA program is a significant achievement, especially for the size of a school such as the College of Saint Elizabeth,” College of Saint Elizabeth President Helen Streubert said in a statement. “We are proud that this new program not only continues CSE’s longstanding tradition in the area of health care education, but also underscores the College’s mission to provide leadership through service to others started by the Sisters of Charity nearly 120 years ago.”

Cupo is already serving her profession by getting involved with the New Jersey State Society of Physician Assistants.

“I feel ready for it,” Cupo said. “From the first time I came to this school, everyone has been so welcoming.”