The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is pleased to announce the winning essays of the 2025 Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest, open to medical and nursing students.
First place for medical students is awarded to Nezienwa Ezenwa of University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine School of Medicine, and first place for nursing students is awarded to Roz Agheli of Loma Linda University School of Nursing.
Second place is awarded to Maria Jose Gomez of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and Christine Dianne Mendoza Nepomuceno of California State University, Sacramento, School of Nursing. Third place goes to Ziad Saade of Harvard Medical School and Vonnie Parramore-Cesar of Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.
The annual Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest prompts medical and nursing students to reflect on when they or a team member worked to ensure humanistic care and share that real-life experience in an essay of 1,000 words or fewer.
This year, students were prompted to share stories inspired by a quote from Dr. Arnold P. Gold, Co-Founder of the Gold Foundation: “Of all the tools in my medical bag, the most important of all is not in the bag itself – it’s my ears, to listen to the patient.”
“Each winning essay vividly shows how listening can strengthen the patient-clinician connection and improve healthcare,” said Louisa Tvito, Vice President of Programs. “Congratulations to the winning writers, and thank you to every one of the students who took time to reflect and write about specific moments in their journey so far. Through stories, we reinforce the importance of humanism in healthcare and improve care for the future.”
The six essays will be published in two journals: Academic Medicine, across the October, November, and December issues, and Journal of Professional Nursing, in the September/October, November/December, and January/February issues. Academic Medicine is published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Journal of Professional Nursing is published by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Both organizations are key supporters of the annual essay contest and partners of the Gold Foundation.
The essay contest is named in memory of Hope Babette Tang, MD, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and the Pediatric Medical Director of the hospital’s HIV clinic until her death in 1998 at age 36. Dr. Tang’s patients were often facing numerous obstacles on top of their devastating medical challenges, which made healing even more difficult. Her mantra in caring for her patients was “Whatever it takes.” Her approach meant she saw the person in front of her, not just their medical situation. Many of her acts of caring only came to be known after her death. She treated the whole patient, a hallmark of humanistic care.
“Receiving the Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Award is an incredibly meaningful honor, as it affirms my belief that compassion, empathy, and genuine human connection are essential to healing,” said nursing student and first-place winner Roz Agheli. “Throughout my nursing journey, I have been profoundly shaped by the stories and strength of my patients, and this recognition reminds me that how we care for others emotionally, spiritually, and holistically is just as important as the clinical care we provide.”
Medical student and first-place winner Nezienwa Ezenwa reflected on how this award “honors my journey. Journaling has helped me keep my passion alive and remember that every patient teaches me something beyond their diagnosis, and I’m grateful to share those stories with others.”
The winning essays are chosen by an expert panel that includes healthcare professionals, writers, journalists, and educators. Nearly 400 entries were submitted this year from students at over 30 nursing schools and over 100 medical schools.
The Gold Foundation congratulates this year’s winners and honorable mentions:
2025 Medical/Nursing Student Winners
First Place
“The Severance of a Thread”
Nezienwa Ezenwa
University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine
Nezienwa Ezenwa
Nezienwa Ezenwa is a first-year medical student at UTMB Sealy School of Medicine with a deep dedication to serving underserved communities and creating meaningful change. She is inspired by the reflective power of writing, using words to reveal the beauty and humanity woven through patient care. Outside medicine, Ms. Ezenwa stays active through volleyball, pickleball, and weightlifting, finding balance and energy in movement. Writing helps her pause and honor each person behind the diagnosis, reminding her that medicine is more than a profession. Her commitment is rooted in empathy, service, and the belief that human connection is at the heart of healing.
“The Heart of Hope”
Roz Agheli
Loma Linda University School of Nursing
Roz Agheli
Roz Agheli recently graduated from Doctor of Nursing Practice and Family Nurse Practitioner training at Loma Linda University, with clinical experience spanning both primary and cardiovascular care. She has been a cardiac nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for over four years, where she discovered her passion for cardiology and the profound connections formed through patient care. Her passion is rooted in patient education, clinical research, and evidence-based practice, but more than anything, in truly seeing and hearing the people she cares for. What she loves most about being a nurse is the deep human connection. She’s had the privilege of walking with patients through some of their most vulnerable moments, and while she’s been told she’s made a difference in their lives, it’s her patients’ strength and stories that have forever shaped her own.
Second Place
“No Estás Sola”
Maria Jose Gomez
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Maria Jose Gomez
Maria Jose Gomez is a first-year medical student at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Originally from Colombia, she moved to the United States after high school to pursue higher education and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. During her gap years, she worked as a patient support technician and Spanish interpreter in the pediatric cardiac ICU, where she discovered her passion for advocacy, mentorship, and compassionate care. A proud immigrant, Ms. Gomez is deeply committed to serving and uplifting communities. Outside of medicine, she finds joy in baking for her small cake business and cherishes traveling to visit her family across the globe.
“More Than a Stethoscope”
Christine Dianne Mendoza Nepomuceno
California State University, Sacramento, School of Nursing
Christine Dianne Mendoza Nepomuceno
Christine Dianne Mendoza Nepomuceno is a recent magna cum laude graduate of Sacramento State’s nursing program and a newly licensed Registered Nurse in California. Inspired by her mother, a nurse and advocate within their family who has supported family members through various health challenges, Ms. Nepomuceno developed a passion for nursing. During nursing school, she discovered a love for tutoring and supporting her peers as a mental health nursing tutor, fueling her goal to continue mentoring others as she advances in her nursing career. Ms. Nepomuceno aspires to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. Outside of nursing, she enjoys traveling to experience diverse cultures, playing video games, and reading historical fiction. She lives in California with her parents.
Third Place
“Between Silence and Speech: The Power of Listening in Psychiatric Care”
Ziad Saade
Harvard Medical School
Ziad Saade
Ziad Saade is a member of the Harvard Medical School Class of 2025 and a new resident physician in psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, he worked as a medical interpreter in Spanish, Arabic, and French before medical school. Dr. Saade is interested in interventional psychiatry, and neuromodulation research to expand therapeutic options for patients with treatment-resistant psychiatric illnesses. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, surfing, and learning new languages.
“Listening Beyond the Monitors: A Lesson from Joe”
Vonnie Parramore-Cesar
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University
Vonnie Parramore-Cesar
Vonnie Parramore-Cesar is pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice at Emory University. She is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and clinical instructor with over 30 years of nursing experience spanning NICU, emergency medicine, and primary care. She is deeply committed to advancing health equity through culturally responsive, trauma-informed care. Her doctoral project focuses on implementing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) screening in primary care to improve outcomes for women with chronic health conditions. She serves as a clinical instructor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, where she mentors future nurse practitioners in simulation, telehealth, and community health settings.
Honorable mentions:
- Maleeha Ahmad, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, “The Silence Between Us”
- Alana Bierman, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, “The Healing Power of Listening”
- Abdullah Hashsham, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, “The Right Words”
- Rebecca Lapides, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, “The Intangible Instrument — Listening as the Heartbeat of Healing”
- Alik Manoogian, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, “To Cure or To Care”
- Deborah Oyeniran, Emory & Henry University School of Health Sciences, “The Most Important Tool: Listening Beyond Words”
- Gabriella Saad, Southern Connecticut State University School of Nursing, “The Fridge”
- Mahima Silas, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, “Tacrolimus, Tutorials, and a Tall Iced Refresher”
- Ravneet Sran, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, “Peeling back the Layers”
- Steven Watson, Loma Linda University School of Nursing, “Goosey and Frank”
Learn more about the Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest.
