We caught up with 2025 Mount nursing alumna Bianca Cogoni recently and discussed her life after college. Her time at the Mount, she said, has helped her to become a successful professional in her field.
What have you been doing since you graduated in May 2025?
I passed my NCLEX in June and I accepted a position at the Anderson Center for Autism in Staatsburg in August. I work with people with intellectual disabilities, ranging from autism to Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. I mainly manage their care, their medical appointments, and if I feel like anything’s wrong with them, do an assessment.
I ended up here and I think it happened for a reason. It’s where God wanted me. I love my job. I really do. I get to advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves and that's just the best part of the job.
How did your time at the Mount help you to become the professional you are today?
The Mount has a very rigorous nursing program. There’s no time for slacking, so it really helped me build my time management skills. I worked in Disability Services [at the college] for three-ish years with Maggie [Kemp, Director of Disability Services]. That’s why I said I think my current job was meant to be, because I worked in Disability Services in college too.
How are you using what you learned at the Mount in your day-to-day life?
A lot of stuff will come back for me. It’s almost like a light bulb goes off. Sometimes I’ll have to do an assessment, and I feel like I’m right back in clinical. My professor, Catherine Kingsley, she really changed my whole perspective on nursing. She was just so passionate about her job, and she really made me fall in love with nursing. Just seeing how she cared for her patients, and how she connected the dots from lecture to clinical, she really bridged the gap there for me. I’ll forever be grateful for that.
Who at the Mount made a big impact on you?
I really gotta give it to Fr. Greg [Fluet, Vice President for Mission and Ministry and Campus Chaplain]. For a lot of nursing students, he was really our rock. He really goes out of the way to make sure the students are okay. He takes care of your mental and spiritual well-being. I called him the night before my NCLEX and he calmed me down. I know that it’s been the same for other students as well. He helps anyone, anytime, doesn’t matter what it is. He’s just always there for the students.
As far as professors, Carol Wanyo really bends over backwards for her students, and she goes out of her way to make sure that we understand what's going on, and she just wants everyone to succeed.
What were you thankful for as a student?
Really good faith, because if it wasn’t for my faith, I would not have gotten through. My faith in God has carried me through it all. I was raised Catholic, but as I got deeper into my studies and I met with Fr. Greg, I decided to get Confirmed. Whenever I was worried, or anxious, or sad, I just gave it all to God. I prayed.
While I was a student, my mom got mauled by a dog very badly. I had to pull the dog off of her, then I ended up getting bit myself. That was a pretty traumatic experience, but I just put my faith in God and was resilient, and I got through it. I’m just so grateful that I did.
The professors were great with accommodating me. There was a lecture I had to miss, because I was just so sore, and I was so worried about my mom. But my professors said “take the day, just rest.”
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your freshman self?
Just don’t give up. One small little moment can seem like so much, but when you look back at it, it was just like a little bump in the road. You’ll get through it. Nursing school is all about resilience.