CCP Taught Me Everything: Monica Harmon’s Story

Monica Harmon, Community College of Philadelphia Nursing alum, is connected to countless nursing organizations and institutions across the city. She’s been working in the field for more than two decades now, but her journey in the field started here at CCP.

“CCP taught me everything,” she said. “CCP was the foundation for nursing for me. What it means to care for communities, it’s where I fell in love with public health nursing and recognizing that nurses help people...whether they're in the hospital, when they're in the communities, and we help at different levels, whether it's individuals, families, communities, and populations.” Helping people is Monica’s greatest passion, which is why she’s dedicated her career to just that.

Monica chose CCP because of the affordability and high percentages of students passing the comprehensive licensure exam. But when she started, she had little idea how big an impact her time here would have on the trajectory of her career. “Because my foundation is here from CCP and...this place makes you so confident when you go out into the world, and it also prepares you to work as well,” she said. “People were so impressed that I went to CCP, they couldn't believe it...because of how I showed up to work.”

Now, Monica works with several public health and nursing organizations, including the local chapter of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Area Black Nurses Association; a chapter of the National Black Nurses Association; the Pennsylvania Public Health Association, where she is president-elect; and the Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition, where she serves as co-chair of the Nurse Diversity Council. In addition to her associate degree in Nursing from CCP, she also holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Nursing from Thomas Jefferson University, and a master’s degree in Public Health from Drexel University.

Monica is a proud CCP alum and remains as connected to the College as she possibly can. “Community College of Philadelphia is a great place to begin or to begin again and again,” she said. “You will be more than prepared for whatever career path you choose. For those who are funders out there, and you're looking for a way to fund education, this is a great investment into the future. Students that are CCP graduates, most of them stay in the Philadelphia area. So that's an investment in the kind of communities we want to see.”

We are proud to have Monica as part of our community and grateful for the life-changing work she’s spent her career doing since building a foundation with CCP. “I would tell someone that's thinking about attending CCP to do it,” Monica said. Get more information about our Nursing program.