For Sanaa Desper, attending CCP is much more than just showing up in the classroom. She’s taken full advantage of the boundless opportunities that exist here for students. Sanaa, a Photography major, works as a student social media content creator in the College’s Strategic Communications office, participated in a summer study abroad trip to Ghana and worked in an internship role at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She’s accomplished all of this before even starting her second year at CCP.

All of these opportunities, and coming to CCP in general, have affected Sanaa’s perspective on life and the world. She sees the connection between each of these experiences and how they all add to her education, helping her learn and grow into the next version of herself. “When I think of studying abroad and taking a leap for the content position,” Sanaa said, “I think it really helped me grow into that sense where I am starting to discover what I'm passionate about and the things that I enjoy and what I want to try.”

Sanaa is also starting to realize the impact she has on others and how these experiences allow her to make a difference for her peers and the rest of the campus community. “It's really opening a lot of doors and allowing me to think about what I want to do just in general, but also the ways in which I can impact people on any level,” Sanaa said. Since her role as a student content creator on campus is so forward-facing, students frequently recognize her from the videos she creates, and she loves that she can connect with her peers in this way.

Sanaa also enjoyed forming new connections on the Ghana trip. “I had an amazing experience,” Sanaa said. “A lot of us were so sad [to leave]. We're like, ‘we wish we could stay!’ We're already plotting our five-year reunion.” Sanaa said that one of her favorite parts of the trip was communing over dinner with her peers and their professors at the end of each day. Their group even started their own routine of writing and sharing haiku poems with each other each evening. She said it was a beautiful way to reflect on the day, what they learned and the emotional impact of the study abroad experience. “The best way I could explain it was just like I feel like a different person. Like it was just transformative in so many ways,” Sanaa said about her experience studying abroad. “Just in the way that I think and the way that I now want to learn.”

Once returning from Ghana, Sanaa immediately began working as an intern at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “I worked specifically with the editorial graphic design team, and the majority of the work that I did was with editorial projects,” she said. Sanaa noted how exciting it was to see all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into opening an exhibition and all the people it takes to make it happen. She also made great connections with other people at the museum. “I had the opportunity to meet with the PMA's content team, and they were asking how I got to my [student content creator] role at CCP,” Sanaa said.

Through all of her hard work, Sanaa is setting herself up for success and finding exactly what it is she wants to pour her passion into.  

Keep an eye out for Sanaa on our social media pages this fall! 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2025

Contact:
Antwon R. Martin
armartin [at] ccp.edu (armartin[at]ccp[dot]edu)
267.666.7881

Contact 
Michelle Aliprantis, MBA 
Regional Director of Marketing and Communications 
MAliprantis [at] primehealthcare.com (MAliprantis[at]primehealthcare[dot]com) 
215.785.9817

Community College of Philadelphia and Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region announce new health care education partnership
First-of-its-kind partnership will provide field experience and pathways to careers for health care students at CCP

PHILADELPHIA — Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) and Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region have announced a first-of-its-kind partnership that will enhance education and career opportunities for health care students at the College. The announcement was made during a partnership signing ceremony today on CCP’s Main Campus.

Through the new partnership, CCP students enrolled in various health care degree programs will have the opportunity to participate in field educational experience rotations at Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania facilities, including Roxborough Memorial Hospital and Lower Bucks Hospital. To recruit students, the hospitals will collaborate with CCP’s Career Connections department, which supports students as they work to achieve their career goals.

"This partnership represents a pivotal moment for the College as we join forces with a leading health system like Prime Healthcare,” said Dr. Alycia Marshall, interim president of the College. “Our health care education programs have long been recognized for their academic excellence and industry relevance. This collaboration will provide our students with unprecedented access to hands-on clinical experiences which will prepare them to meet the demands of today’s healthcare environment with skill, confidence, and compassion.”

Eligible credit and non-credit health care programs at CCP include Medical Laboratory Technology, Phlebotomy, Respiratory Care Technology, Diagnostic Medical Imaging, Nursing, Medical Assistant, Nurse Aide Training, and Pharmacy Technicians.

"This partnership with Community College of Philadelphia represents a significant advancement in fostering the next generation of healthcare professionals,” remarked Shawn Parekh, CEO of Roxborough Memorial Hospital. “By offering students experiential learning opportunities within our facilities, we are enhancing their educational experience while simultaneously addressing the urgent need for qualified healthcare workers in our communities."

Parekh further emphasized, “At Roxborough Memorial Hospital, we prioritize the cultivation of strong educational partnerships that pave the way for meaningful career opportunities. We are eager to collaborate with CCP to help students acquire the practical experience and training essential for success in an ever-evolving healthcare environment.”

Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region is a division of Prime Healthcare, an award-winning health system based in Ontario, California. The organization operates 51 hospitals and over 360 outpatient locations across 14 states, facilitating more than 2.5 million patient visits annually.

Under the terms of the new agreement, students will have the opportunity to participate in supervised field experiences at Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania facilities.

In addition to remarks by Dr. Marshall and Dr. Parekh, attendees at the signing ceremony heard from Dr. Vishal Shah, dean for the Division of Math, Science and Health Careers at CCP, and Beth Leahey, chief nursing officer at Roxborough Memorial Hospital.

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About Community College of Philadelphia

Community College of Philadelphia is the largest public institution of higher education in the City of Philadelphia. With an open admissions policy, the College serves all who may benefit – regardless of age, income, or ability. For more than 50 years, the College has lived up to its mission and goals by providing educational access for over 700,000 Philadelphians, setting families, businesses and neighborhoods on the path of shared prosperity and opportunity. For information on the College's degree and certificate programs, workforce development strategies, and community engagement initiatives, visit ccp.edu and follow us on social media @CCPedu.

About Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region
Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region is part of Prime Healthcare, an award-winning health system operating 51 hospitals and more than 360 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.5 million patient visits annually. Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region includes Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia and Lower Bucks Hospital in Bucks County.

Prime’s hospitals in Pennsylvania are certified by The Joint Commission as Primary Stroke Centers and have won multiple awards through Healthgrades and the Get With The Guidelines Quality Achievement Awards though the American Heart Association.

Our hospitals offer medical, surgical, and emergency care, which includes diagnostic radiology, lab services, behavior health, heart care, rehabilitation, family medicine, wound care, and residency programs.

Through high quality medical care, educational programs, and community outreach services, our hospitals treat all members of our communities with respect and compassion. To learn more about Prime Healthcare, please visit primehealthcare.com.

Community College of Philadelphia’s PBAD program allows students to move quickly through their Nursing curriculum, setting them up for success in just 15 months. This program is designed for students who already have bachelor’s degrees, or higher, in non-nursing majors, giving students an opportunity to make a career change quickly and affordably. This year, the College celebrated the fifth graduating PBAD class with an evening of joy, pride, networking and communing around our 2024 graduates, the largest class the program has seen so far, along with the incoming Class of 2025, who will graduate in August of this year.

Taking place during National Nurses Week, this celebration brought together current students, graduates, and faculty and staff to network and hear about each other’s successes in the program and post-graduation. Over the last five years, the PBAD program has graduated 149 students and continues to grow, with alum now working at places like Holy Redeemer, University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital, Pottstown Hospital, Virtua Hospital and Kindred Hospital. Graduates work in several areas, such as mental health, med-surg telemetry, innovation unit, intensive care unit, emergency room, interventional radiology, ultrasound iv team, community settings and postpartum/mother/baby.

At the event, attendees were delighted with a presentation of photos and news updates submitted by students and graduates, demonstrating the impact and importance of their work, and their reach across greater Philadelphia. “Philadelphia is a city of ‘eds and meds,’ but there is still a lot of stigma around associate degree nursing and what students are capable of,” said Dr. Lisa Johnson, professor and Nursing department head. “But through this option, we've been able to break down some of those barriers, including with one of our graduates from the first cohort receiving best evidence-based practice project during their nurse residency program.”

Not only are students breaking barriers around their capabilities and performance, but around larger, socio-economic stigmas, too. Dr. Johnson spoke of a student who originally wanted to go into Nursing but thought he wouldn’t be capable because of his ADHD diagnosis. After meeting with the student, Dr. Johnson encouraged him to apply to the program anyway, showing him that those barriers were only there if he let them be. “He said his whole goal of becoming a nurse was that in the Black community, there's stigma with mental health,” she said. “He said that he thought he would have done better if his ADHD had been treated as a kid.” Now, that student is a nurse, helping to give others the chance he had.

Lisa also spoke of another student, Damian Padilla, who opened his own clinic after graduating from the program. “The PBAD Nursing program at CCP laid a strong foundation for my career by providing me with the skills, support and real-world experience I needed to thrive in the health care field,” Damian said. “Their dedicated faculty and rigorous training not only prepared me for advanced nursing practice but also gave me the confidence to open my own clinic.”

Dr. Johnson also appreciates the community that students have built together, even when some share different viewpoints. Reflecting on a time when several students were struggling as the final exam was approaching, she recalled, “When I tell you how amazing it was to watch the entire class come together and say, ‘not one of us will fail,’ and not one did.”

CCP and the Nursing department look forward to growing this program even more and providing the region with high quality, empathetic, and inspiring nurses.

For Community College of Philadelphia Architecture student Enisa Nazaj, art has always been an interest and a hobby that she’s kept close. In fact, it’s what inspired her to choose her major and challenge her drawing skills further. It’s also what inspired her to apply for a Parx Gender Activism Micro Grant earlier this year—to create artistic postcard designs celebrating Women’s History Month.

Enisa is an international student, new to Philadelphia and to the United States. She is originally from Albania and came here at the suggestion of her cousin to affordably pursue an education. “Ever since I came here, I thought that the best way to get settled and get involved was to look at the College’s engagement opportunities,” Enisa said. While browsing the organizations and clubs that she could join, Enisa signed up to get emails from the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. This is how she learned about the Parx Gender Activism Micro Grant. “I got an email, and I just applied. I didn't know I would actually get it.”

Enisa’s project consisted of creating artistic postcards that incorporated historic female figures and inspirational quotes. Some of them even included images of inspiring CCP alumni. “I remember that always in my home country, we would do postcards, me and my cousins. It was like a tradition,” Enisa said. She wanted to take this personal tradition and turn it into a way to share women’s strengths and celebrate women around the world during Women’s History Month.

After being awarded the grant, Enisa took the next few months to create five different postcard designs by hand that would then be copied and printed to distribute at CCP events celebrating Women’s History Month. “It was about their character and the story of each of these women, what they had been through and what they had achieved,” Enisa said about her artistic vision. “Some of the quotes were about strength. Some of them were about inspiration.” All of them celebrated women and their achievements.

Enisa is so glad that she pursued this opportunity and feels like it helped her get more connected to people in her community at CCP. “I really enjoyed it. I met some very cool people at the [Gender and Sexuality Resource] Center, some very pleasant women, and it was fun to do the postcards,” Enisa said. “It was a good way to pass my free time, like to be productive, actually. And I would love to do it again or do similar things.” Enisa was awarded $500 for her work on this project, and additional funds to print and produce the postcards.

Congratulations to Enisa for being awarded and successfully completing this Parx Gender Activism Micro Grant project.

At this year’s Alumni Reception event, Community College of Philadelphia welcomed 2002 graduate, Yamilet del Carmen, back to campus as a guest speaker to share some of her incredible experiences since graduating from the College. Yamilet has always seen education as the key to progress on both an individual and global level, which is what’s led her to build the Del Carmen Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at helping disadvantaged youth gain access to education in Venezuela and the United States, the two places Yamilet considers her own. And this year, she’s working with the CCP Foundation to establish a scholarship program for CCP students.

Yamilet is originally from Venezuela and came to the United States in 1999 to continue her education. “My parents had very few resources, but through dignified and honest work, they were able to give me the valuable opportunity to study,” Yamilet said. She explored various colleges and universities before finding her way to CCP. “For me, CCP was my second home here,” Yamilet said. “I never felt different or segregated, only supported and included.”

She quickly became involved on campus, serving as a Student Ambassador, Spanish tutor, chair of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Scholarship Committee and secretary of the International Students Association. Yamilet was also part of the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team of Phi Theta Kappa, which secured her a scholarship. After graduating from West Chester with a bachelor's degree in Business, Yamilet and her husband opened a restaurant together. Impacted by her time at CCP, she was committed to maintaining a strong relationship with the College. This connection led her to hire fellow CCP alums as waitstaff and kitchen employees.

Yamilet has carried on this tradition of connection with CCP and bringing her trusted community members into the fold. A CCP professor that was particularly impactful for Yamilet, Dr. Francie Woodford, now serves as the Del Carmen Foundation’s director of Education. “She encouraged me to be involved in many activities,” Yamilet said. This involvement at CCP is what Yamilet sees as the building blocks for her passions and successes over the years.

In 2022, Yamilet decided to turn her focus to uplifting her communities and give her own life a stronger sense of purpose. This is how the Del Carmen Foundation was born. Yamilet states, “I said ‘I want to have a life with purpose, something that makes me happy.’ Through all my years, I helped here and there. But I wanted to have something more a formal.”

Since 2022, the Del Carmen Foundation has helped thousands of children in Venezuela. “We have helped nearly 4,000 children. We collect backpacks, food supplies, sports equipment, etc.,” Yamilet said. Additionally, when the foundation expanded its mission to include support for Philadelphians too, they were able to award six local students with scholarship support. And this year, they are aiming even higher.

“This year, we are going to support 12 students in Philadelphia, two of whom are going to be right here from CCP,” Yamilet said about the expanded efforts. “All of this will be possible thanks to our next fundraiser that will be in mid-September. We are going to do Zumba for Education!”

CCP is proud to remain connected to Yamilet and work with her to help change the lives of students right here on our campus, in addition to those she serves in Venezuela. It is clear that Yamilet lives her life with her dreams in focus, where she can give back to the communities that brought her to where she is today. “CCP provided the positive environment and support to pursue [my] dreams and to continue looking to the future,” Yamilet said. “Together, we can build a future full of hope, action, and success with persistence and optimism.”

You can learn more about the Del Carmen Foundation here.