Class of ’26: CHP student finds her fit at Detroit Mercy

Each year, University of Detroit Mercy’s Marketing & Communications department profiles members of the graduating class. Students chosen were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the life of the University. Visit our Commencement webpage for more information about 2026 commencement exercises.   

For Shreen Marini, the path to her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree was not a straight line.   

On May 9, the first-generation Palestinian student born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., completes a tenacious journey driven by self-reflection and a firm belief in the Jesuit value cura personalis (care for the whole person). 

A wife, mother of college-aged children and practicing family nurse practitioner, Marini brings life experience, clarity of purpose and resilience into the classroom.  

She began her advanced practice education at UDM in the College of Health Professions’ Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) program, and while she excelled academically, something was missing.  

“As CRNA students in the hospital, we’d roll patients back to the OR, intubate them, sedate them, make sure they’re stable during surgery, extubate them and roll them back,” she explained. 

But a pivotal conversation with a CRNA preceptor one day helped Marini make one of the hardest decisions of her academic career: to step away from a program she had worked years to enter and transition into the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program.  

“I realized I missed talking to patients,” she said. “I missed the connection and getting to know them on a more personal level.” 

Faculty support made all the difference in her decision.  

“Dr. Mihelich, Dr. Serowoky, Dr. Jacek, every faculty member I spoke with was incredibly supportive,” Marini explained. “They helped me feel confident that I wasn’t giving something up, but moving toward what actually fit who I am.” 

And the sense of fit went beyond the classroom.  

She chose Detroit Mercy for her graduate education after years of seeing the University’s students in action while working as a nurse in the hospital. She noticed how well-prepared, compassionate and confident they were in clinical settings. 

“They were fantastic. They stood out,” she said. “And I really connected with Detroit Mercy’s mission and its dedication to inclusion, service and caring for the whole person.” 

Those values were reflected in Marini’s DNP project, which focused on patient-centered care and comprehensive screening.  

“My project was to develop a template to address all the social determinants of health in addition to acute issues and screening,” she said. 

Drawing from her professional experience and personal life — where cancer has touched multiple family members — Marini embraces an approach that goes beyond treating only the acute issue. 

“It’s easy to take care of something that’s happening medically in the moment, but if things aren’t working properly or at an optimal level within, then it’s kind of like putting a Band-Aid on an open wound,” she noted.  

Marini’s belief in whole-person care mirrors Detroit Mercy’s Mercy and Jesuit  traditions, which emphasize compassion, service and respect for human dignity.   

Those principles guide her daily work in a busy internal medicine practice, where caring for patients is much more than a quick fix with a prescription pad.  

“I once had a patient we thought was being noncompliant because she kept requesting medication refills without coming in, only to learn she lacked reliable transportation,” she recalled. 

That moment proved Marini’s point. 

“Health isn’t just about symptoms, but about the social, financial and personal challenges people face. You never know what someone is going through. Taking care of the whole person is what can make a difference.”  

Her motivation to complete her doctorate was also personal. Encouraged by her mother, a caregiver for family members facing cancer diagnoses, whom she called “the rock of our family,” Marini saw the DNP as both an opportunity and a “glimpse of hope” for her mother. 

“My mom always wanted to see me become a doctor, even when I was a little girl,” she said. Life took me in different directions, but when the opportunity came to use my CRNA program credits to finish my doctorate as a nurse practitioner in two semesters, she pushed me to do it. It was something to celebrate during a really difficult time for our family.” 

On Saturday, she’ll achieve her goal when she crosses the stage at the McNichols Campus and says her diploma is a tribute to her mom. 

For the time being, Marini plans to continue in her role as a nurse practitioner in private practice, but ultimately wants to help prepare the next generation of nurses. 

“I hope to one day teach at Detroit Mercy, where I can remind students to go out there and do what your heart tells you to do,” she said.  

And the legacy is already beginning at home. Her daughter earned acceptance into Detroit Mercy’s Nursing program and will follow in her mother’s footsteps in the fall.  

“Detroit Mercy prepared me to take on complex patients in a holistic way,” she said simply. “Nursing is a calling. If you do it for the right reasons, you can make a difference.”