After graduation, I went to Hunter College. I remember that in my fist semester at college I was a complete wreck. I was constantly worrying about doing well in my classes and trying to get accustomed to my new surroundings. With time, I started to like college life, in particular the independence and the different types of people that I met there. It was great to meet people of different religions and backgrounds. It helped me to get out of my bubble and have an open mind. My desire to become a doctor was more of a natural calling since I was surrounded by medicine since I was a child. At Hunter I majored in Biology and started to fulfill my pre-med requirements. Simultaneously, I volunteered at Coney Island Hospital and in the summer 2003 I was fortunate to get accepted into a summer internship program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I spent two months doing research with a distinguished professor from California. MBL is a wonderful place, where well known scientists, some of whom are Nobel Prize winners, come for the summer to do research. In my last year of college I learned of an accelerated program that allows you to graduate with a combined Bachelors/Masters degree by completing an extra year of college and passing a comprehensive exam at the end of the final semester. In the spring of 2005, I was doing an internship at the NY Blood Center and this past summer I graduated from Hunter with a BA/MA in Biology.
LIFE AFTER HUNTER
Currently I’m working as a research assistant in a lab of the chair of the Biology department at Hunter and G-d willing, will be applying to Medical school this summer.
My advice to the new graduating class is to not be afraid to step in to the “real world”. There are a lot of things out there to be learned and discovered and college will turn out to be a better experience than you anticipated. To those that are interested in a career in science, my advice is to not get discouraged. It is very important to do what you love so be wise in your career choices.
FAMILY
Not much has changed in terms of my family life. I am still single and still searching for that perfect guy for me. But good things come to those who wait…
FONDEST BHI MEMORY
My fondest BHI memory would have to be the Israel trip during our senior year. It was an out of this world experience and I’m glad that I got to experience it with my friends. The opportunity to be within five minutes walking distance from the Kotel and daven Shacharis at sunrise was unbelievable. In general, every day spent in Be’er Hagolah with my classmates was a memorable experience. I miss you all very much! I can’t wait for us to have a class reunion. So much has changed in all of our lives in the past few years - it would be great to catch up.
ON A FINAL NOTE
Thank you to the organizer of this site for giving me an opportunity to be profiled this month. You are doing a great job on the website! Keep it up!
If anyone has any questions about a career in science or applying to medical school or just wants to say hello, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at vic2121@hotmail.com. I would love to hear from all of you! I wish you all the best of luck, love and happiness…with G-d’s help you will have it all!
