Sophia Lupton arrived at U-M from New York City with the goal of becoming a nurse. Now, she’s preparing to graduate from the School of Nursing with honors and begin the next chapter of her career in critical care.
Lupton grew up in Harlem and was introduced early on to volunteer work, helping at her church’s food pantry and at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her interest in nursing took shape during high school, when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the depth of need in health care.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call,” she said, adding that she was inspired to become a nurse after watching nurses work tirelessly through the pandemic and seeing their positive impact.
When it came time to choose a college, U-M stood out for several reasons. Lupton was drawn to the School of Nursing’s reputation and to the more than 1,000 clinical hours it offers students. Both of her parents also attended U-M, and she has family ties to Holland, Michigan, which made Ann Arbor feel like familiar ground.
“I was raised on maize and blue,” she said. “Michigan has always felt like a second home.”
On campus, Lupton found both the academic rigor and close-knit community she was looking for. She was selected as one of eight students in her cohort for the School of Nursing Honors Program, which introduced her to more in-depth research and connected her with faculty mentor Laura Saslow, an associate professor of nursing.
Under Saslow’s guidance, Lupton conducted honors thesis research examining dietary interventions and their effects on sleep quality in patients with Type 2 diabetes. She is now working to finish the project and hopes to pursue publication in a medical journal.
Lupton also discovered that her strongest professional interest is in high-acuity patient care. A nurse externship in Michigan Medicine’s Critical Care Medical Unit helped confirm her interest in the ICU, and her senior preceptorship in the Trauma-Burn ICU deepened it. There, she cared for patients with severe burns and complex conditions, learning about wound care, ventilator management, and other advanced clinical skills.
Outside the clinical setting, Lupton has served in the Nursing Student Government, mentored junior students, and participated in community-focused initiatives on and off campus.
Over the past four years, she’s also found lasting friendships through the Michigan Community Scholars Program in West Quad, enjoyed Ann Arbor’s coffee shops, such as Comet Coffee and The Common Cup, and she’s found a passion for running, logging miles with friends through Nichols Arboretum. Last fall, she completed the Detroit Half Marathon, her first.
This summer, she will remain in Ann Arbor to continue working as a patient care technician in Michigan Medicine’s PACU while preparing for the NCLEX. After that, she hopes to begin work as a registered nurse in an ICU setting, hopefully in a major city.
As graduation approaches, Lupton reflects on what she will carry with her.
“I’ll miss the School of Nursing community here at U-M,” she said. “I have built so many meaningful connections with my peers, professors and faculty. That sense of community will be hard to replicate.”
