SJNY NURSING STUDENT HONORED WITH JULIA CUTTINO BENNETT SCHOLARSHIP

July 30, 2025 BK

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – July 30, 2025 – St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) nursing student Damita Smith ‘27 was awarded the Julia Cuttino Bennett Scholarship by The Bennett Foundation, a New York-based non-profit organization that works to empower and uplift the next generation of nursing students. 

The organization was inspired by the life and career of the late Julia Cuttino Bennett ’78, R.N., who served Harlem Hospital Center for nearly four decades across multiple roles.

Smith, a student enrolled at SJNY’s Brooklyn Campus, is the second recipient of the recently created scholarship. Both the charitable foundation and scholarship were established in 2023 after Bennett’s passing.  

“We started the Foundation in her honor and it was really inspired by her life and career,” said Jared Bennett, Julia’s grandson and founder of the organization. “What fueled my grandmother’s passion for work and service was that she really cared for people. She wanted to help society be better and she wanted people to have the things that they needed. She thought about the things she didn’t have growing up, and wanted to provide them — not only for people in her community but for her family as well.” 

Bennett was a healthcare worker who cared for patients at the Harlem Hospital Center for 39 years. Over the span of her career, she worked as a nurses’ aide, licensed practical nurse, staff nurse, assistant head nurse, head nurse and nursing supervisor. 

Bennett will be honored posthumously in October at the 5th annual SJNY Esse Non Videri Gala, receiving the President’s Award for Legacy of Service to Society.

The scholarship in Bennett’s name provides financial assistance and mentorship to students who embody her values of hard work, integrity and dedication to the nursing profession. Recipients must have a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in nursing by being enrolled in or accepted to an accredited nursing program. Scholarship seekers must also reside in New York City or tri-state area and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.2. 

The mission set forth by The Bennett Foundation directly aligns with the University’s pillars of integrity, intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, social responsibility and service.

Smith, who will begin her third year in SJNY’s nursing program this September, was drawn to a career in nursing after witnessing health disparities in her native country of Jamaica. Wanting to make a difference, she moved to the United States on a student visa and enrolled at St. Joseph’s. While pursuing her degree, Smith also works as a nurses’ assistant at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be awarded with this scholarship,” said Smith. “I know that I’ll be able to give back, not only to the United States but also to my community. I know my family back home are proud of me.”

For more information, visit sjny.edu. 

ABOUT ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK
St. Joseph’s University, New York has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the University provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility and service. Through its Brooklyn, Long Island and Online campuses, the University offers degrees in more than 100 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs.