CVS Health Scholarship supports commitment to underserved communities

A $10,000 scholarship from CVS Health is helping Anjiya Ali, BSN, RN, focus on her graduate education and goal of improving healthcare access for underserved communities. 

After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston in 2023, Ali returned in August 2025 to the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program as a family nurse practitioner (FNP) student. She expects to graduate in May 2027. 

The CVS Health scholarship recognizes students committed to helping underserved populations. Ali believes her volunteer work and academic performance, including her 4.0 GPA, helped strengthen her application. 

Ali works part time as an aesthetic nurse and makes time for community services while pursuing her MSN. She helps eighth-grade students prepare for high school by guiding them in choosing classes and planning for their future. She has volunteered with young children, teaching skills such as kindness and sharing, and participated in community health events that offer blood pressure and blood sugar screenings. 

The scholarship is helping ease the financial demands of graduate school and allowing Ali to focus on her education. She said the support gives her greater peace of mind as she works toward becoming an FNP.

“I’m able to focus on my clinicals, be present, and learn actively without being tired,” she said. “I can still enjoy my part-time job while being fully present in school and my education.” 

Ali’s interest in nursing began with her mother, who was a nurse in Pakistan. Hearing her mother’s stories inspired her to pursue the profession, but she knew she eventually wanted to take on a provider role. 

“Before even going to nursing school, I knew my end goal was to be a nurse practitioner,” she said. 

After graduation, Ali spent two years working in emergency departments including HCA Healthcare and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. These experiences strengthened her interest in emergency care and reinforced her decision to become an FNP. 

Her undergraduate experience also brought her back to Cizik School of Nursing for graduate school. She valued the program’s rigorous curriculum and the preparation it provided for real-world nursing practice. 

After graduation, Ali hopes to work as an FNP in an emergency department, ideally at a Level I trauma center. She also plans to continue pursuing her interest in aesthetic medicine. 

Her long-term goal is to establish urgent care centers or similar clinics in underserved communities. She wants to make health care more convenient and affordable for people who might otherwise struggle to access it. 

“I would like to eventually bring some sort of health care to those underserved areas,” she said. “Something where everyone has access and it’s financially accessible as well.” 

Merve Erten