Alumni Spotlight: Jasmin Whitlow ’21
Growing up in Los Angeles, Jasmin Whitlow ’21 didn’t expect that a university so close to home would shape her future.
A graduate of Washington Preparatory High School, she discovered Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science while studying at Southwest LA College.
“I didn’t know the school existed until the last year of my prerequisites,” Whitlow recalls. “CDU was a hidden gem in my backyard. To be able to do all of my schooling, grade school, community college, and university, within eight minutes of my house was beyond ideal.”
Once on campus, the Biomedical Sciences major immersed herself in the CDU community. She became the University’s mascot, served in student government, including as a senator and vice president, and even started the Women’s Health Interest Group which provided resources to students and activities around wellness and professionalism.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she helped organize student pantries stocked with food, school supplies, clothing, and more for classmates in need. “I was only here for two years, but I feel like I accomplished so much,” she says.
For Whitlow, her time at CDU was also about proving what was possible. A first-generation college student and parent, she balanced academics with raising her daughter. “She was part of my journey the entire time; she motivated me to keep going,” Whitlow says. “As a parent and as a young student, I want others to know that you can do it. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to.”
Whitlow says the biomedical sciences degree opens doors. “It’s a really good starting point for all healthcare careers, whether that’s medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, anything healthcare related, you can achieve with this degree.”
After earning her degree, Whitlow continued her path toward nursing, inspired by her grandmother who worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant for decades.
Following CDU, she entered a nursing program at Azusa Pacific University and is now a registered nurse at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital—just across the street from the CDU campus.
“I pass CDU every day on my way to work, and I’m reminded of how much it shaped me,” she reflects. “Coming to CDU was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The campus, the people, the atmosphere, just everything at CDU, I wish I could do it all over again.”