NEW YORK CITY — The Queens woman who died in Sunday's Metro-North collision was a "model nurse" and devout Christian who came to the United States four years ago and worked mostly with children, officials said.
Kisook Ahn, 35, came to the country through Perfect Choice Staffing, a Long Island-based staffing firm that recruits aspiring nurses from outside the United States and was hoping to get her green card, according to the program's director Sheldon Meikle.
After receiving a bachelor's degree from Lehman College in the Bronx she completed her master's degree through the family nurse practitioner program, Meikle said.
Ahn worked at Sunshine Children's Home and Rehab Center in Ossining, N.Y., after college and then transferred to Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn while pursuing her graduate degree to avoid the long commute.
"The Kings County Hospital Center family is very saddened by this tragic loss and we extend our condolences to the family," the spokeswoman said in a statement.
After graduating, she returned to Sunshine, Meikle said.
Ahn boarded a train back to the city from Poughkeepsie Sunday morning after working a 12-hour shift at the facility, which treats patients with severe illnesses, according to Linda Mosiello, the facility's adminstrator.
Staff members held a private ceremony Monday to remember their colleague, Mosiello said.
"She had a real passion for taking care of children, and she's really going to be missed," she said, adding that it was a "tough day" for the nurses.
Ahn's staffing agency had recently sponsored her for a Green Card to become a permanent resident, Meikle said.
"She was an excellent nurse and a great person," he said, adding that she was a "model nurse" and a devout Christian.
She lived in a third-floor apartment in Woodside, Queens, with roommates, but spent a lot of time working, they told the Wall Street Journal.
Meikle said Ahn had a twin sister and a brother back home in South Korea, but didn't have any family in the United States.
They're working with the South Korean consulate on obtaining visas for her brother and brother-in-law to travel to the country and identify her body.
He wasn't sure if there would be funeral services for her in New York or back home in South Korea.
