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New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1167
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Jilly Matje, '23
Home Base:
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Arts and Sciences
Coolest Thing She Did at Rutgers: For her Honors College Capstone, Jilly created and recorded an album of 12 pop rock songs, which has since been released! What makes her album so beautiful is that it tells a cohesive story about love and relationships, with each song exploring a unique event or emotion.
Over the past years, Jilly was tremendously involved at the Honors College, serving as a changemaking mentor, student advisory board member, HC undergraduate intern, and traditions committee member. She was also part of several creative organizations at Rutgers, including marching band and student theater. One important responsibility at the Honors College that allowed her to bring together her passion for music and her love for the Honors College was through planning and coordinating HC Coffeehouses each semester, often performing her own music too. If there is one piece of advice she has for underclassmen, it's to make the most of the invaluable resources and support at the Honors College. She says that even a simple conversation with a faculty member can go a long way in building great connections and planning future goals. Jilly is pursuing a career in the entertainment industry and continuing to perform.
Peri Vikatos, '23
Home Base:
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Arts and Sciences
Coolest Thing She Did at Rutgers: She went to Greece with her roommates whom she met in the Honors College, and two friends from home, and shared her Grecian roots with her friends, with her family's help.
As a first-year student, Peri studied environmental policy and institutional planning. After conversations with an advisor, she realized her path was as an English major where she pursued comparative critical race and ethnic studies and a Rutgers Institute for Women's Leadership certificate. From there, Peri created with intentionality an educational experience that was truly hers. She also inspired other students through her dedication to the Honors College, from being a Changemaking Mentor, an Affinity Group Lead, and an Undergraduate Intern. Each week, Peri spent her time in classes, working at the Honors College, and tutoring at the Writing Center. Allocating her time to successfully work and also build in time to relax required expert planning in her Hello Kitty planner; which motivated her to stay organized. Peri is pursuing her master's degree in education at Rutgers to become a high school English teacher.
Taqiya Ehsan, '23
Home Base:
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Engineering
Coolest Thing She Did at Rutgers: Taqiya presented her senior Capstone project at an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Conference as a first author. She also had the honor of being selected as one of two student speakers at the Honors College Convocation.
As an international student from Bangladesh, Taqiya found a home at the Honors College, where she dipped her toes into a new environment in America. She met several people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, which expanded her awareness while not being overwhelmed by cultural shock. Among her activities, she was a learning assistant for the Honors College mission course, the Forum; a learning assistant for Data Structures; and a Residence Assistant for the Honors College section at the Sojourner Truth Apartments. These activities helped her break out of her shell, help others, and most important, make deep connections with others. As the Honors College motto goes, Curiosity, Knowledge, and Purpose, and Taqiya found purpose in making meaningful those connections. Taqiya is currently pursuing her PhD in Machine Learning at Rutgers where she is a Eugene V. DuBois Fellow. She is also continuing her work as an Assistant Residence Life Coordinator for the Honors College and Brett Hall.
Anastasia Codjebas, '23
Home Base:
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: Mason Gross School of the Arts
Coolest Thing She Did at Rutgers: Anastasia's senior year was packed with fantastic opportunities, from participating in the Undergraduate Annual Show and presenting her design thesis project in a gallery to her photography being in a photo show. Throughout the year, she learned what went into producing and planning art shows and the related design identity work.
Within the Honors College, Anastasia found her time with the Media Team to be the highlight of her HC experience, connecting with other people in the HC with similar creative interests. As the design lead, she had fun developing shirt designs and social media campaigns. In her senior year, she found herself reaping the rewards of her hard work and getting the confirmation she needed to know that she was ready for life after graduation. She learned that people will have different opinions about what kind of college experience and life you should build for yourself, but no one knows what's best for you more than you do. Since graduation, Anastasia is traveling in Europe and building her independence and intrinsic trust. She has even returned to her childhood home to live with her extended family again in Moldova, where her roots lie.
Zoë Gold, '23
Home Base:
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Coolest Thing She Did at Rutgers: For her Honors College Capstone, Zoë investigated the impact of climate change on moss, for which she took an interdisciplinary approach, combining her studies in biological sciences and her interest in music. She created music as a way to make her findings more accessible to more people.
A true "Renaissance woman," Zoë learned not to choose between her passions for science and art. She expressed her creativity in many ways at Rutgers, from creating videos as the Lead Videographer for the HC Media Team, painting, and playing her instruments, to doing bioengineering and botany research. During her first year, Zoë took a formative trip as a member of the Honors College Douglass Residential College cohort-she participated in a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) experience, visiting museums that applied art to STEM. While at Rutgers, she reignited her passion for German and minored in it. She advises "go for it!" Without taking risks and making the most of Rutgers' opportunities, she may have never seen the possibility of a career at the intersection of science and art. Zoe will take this advice while pursuing a PhD in geological sciences at Cornell.
Jorden Xavier, '21
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Engineering
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: As a first-year student, he co-founded Rutgers E-NABLE, an organization focused on creating affordable prosthetics for children with specific themes, colors, and activities in mind such as kayaking or baseball. Through this organization, Jorden was able to apply his engineering skills around modeling, 3D printing, and assembly to give back to these children.
Jorden, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering and minoring in biology, has served in countless ways during his time at Rutgers, from his co-founding of Rutgers E-NABLE mentioned above and of HC Speaks, an organization dedicated to civil discourse around crucial conversations, to serving as a residential mentor to younger HC students since his sophomore year (virtually this year as an Honors College Changemaking Community Facilitator). He also serves as a counselor for the National Crisis Text Line on a weekly basis and as a member of the Honors College Alumni Society helping fellow seniors begin the transition into their future status as Honors College alumni and bringing his experience full circle from mentoring incoming students to transitioning with his fellow seniors. Jorden is also a member of Phi Delta Epsilon, an international medical fraternity, and has conducted research at the Orthopedic Surgery Department at RWJUH. His senior thesis, entitled “Biomechanical Evaluation of 4-Strand vs. 5-Strand Hamstring Autografts for ACL Reconstruction” has afforded him the opportunity to work with orthopedic surgeons and help develop new effective methods of patient treatment. With all of his service and academics, he is headed to medical school in the fall and is currently weighing his acceptances to-date.
Sarah Williams, '21
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: Rutgers Business School & School of Arts and Sciences
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: Served as the Campus Director for the international Hult Prize Competition and helped fellow Honors College students take their team to the top 10 among approximately 25,000 worldwide.
From her interdisciplinary studies double majoring in finance and art history; to her work mentoring high school students through the business school, working with the Honors College dean for professional development on life design and socially responsible leadership, and serving as an IDEA Innovation Fellow; to her research, Sarah is laying the groundwork to marry her two passions—business and art. As a painter herself, she has been curious about how identity impacts the valuation of artists’ work—her senior capstone research project is called “The Commodification of Art Identities in Contemporary Visual Culture.” Her next stop is Citi, where she will begin her career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Global Power and Renewables, to understand the significance of investing in sustainable ways. Through her studies in business and art, work experiences, and research, Sarah has created a path to pursue another dream of hers: to build access to and spread awareness about the work of underrepresented artists.
Haralambos Nicolaou, '19
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Arts and Sciences
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: Participated in the annual Rutgers Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropic event in New Jersey, throughout and especially in his senior year when all of his Honors College mentees from the past three years were with him having fun and letting loose on the dance floor together.
When Harry arrived at Rutgers in 2015 as a member of the first Honors College class, he felt like every where he turned, he saw more opportunities. After his first year, he decided he wanted to share with new students just entering college all that is possible at Rutgers and became an Honors College mentor-in-residence for the next three years. He was the only student to live in the building all four years and was affectionately known as “Old Man Honors College.” He was also the first lead videographer on the Honors College Media Team and helped capture life there. With a double major in psychology and statistics and hands-on experience making videos, he was hired after graduation as a Rutgers Admissions Officer where he continues to work while pursuing his MBA at the Rutgers Business School. He says that his student leadership roles gave him the opportunity to learn from other students and help shape their experience at college, which in turn helped him grow more confident over time. His favorite place at Rutgers (after the Honors College of course) is Harvest, a place where you can get amazing and healthy food in the very cool New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health on Rutgers’ Cook Campus.
Kaitlyn San Miguel, '19
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Arts and Sciences & School of Communication and Information
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: As a student leader in the very first class of the Honors College, she had the freedom to create and build student organizations at the HC and implement programs that shaped the student experience.
Having embraced her college experience on so many levels, Kaitlyn helped shape and ultimately found her community at the Honors College and beyond through her leadership roles—she served as the Community Service Coordinator on the HC Student Advisory Board, HC Dance Marathon Team Captain (for three years raising thousands of dollars for children!), HC Undergraduate Intern, HC Alternative Breaks Site Leader, and HC Service Assembly Head Chairperson. These leadership experiences not only helped her develop essential life and work skills like how to advocate for others and herself and how to collaborate creatively and effectively, but they also shaped her vision for a life that is more intentional and reflective and helped her form life-long friendships. She continues to serve the community that nurtured her through college by mentoring current HC students and providing the kind of support and deep caring that she felt as a student and continues to benefit from even now, after college. With a deep sense of purpose and her humanities education in hand, Kaitlyn brings her critical thinking, creativity, problem solving skills, and awareness for the impact of her work to her job, now as Associate Production Editor at Simon & Schuster.
Mikio LaCapra, '19
Home Base: New York City
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Engineering
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: After a scientist from the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) met with a group of Honors College students, he helped start the HC CASIS team in his junior year with the objective of securing a Rutgers student research project on the International Space Station.
The Honors College provided Mikio with a small college feel within Rutgers, uniquely allowing him to attend small classes and meet one-on-one with the dedicated professional development adviser, all while organizing top 40 concerts, conducting research starting in his first year, and cheering along at Big Ten football games. The tight Honors College community also provided a space to build strong friendships and study groups, which helped him academically succeed and fostered a deep appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration that he carried through his four years. As such, through Honors College support, Mikio was twice able to take advantage of Rutgers’ international presence, conducting summer research outside his major of Materials Science and Engineering in Japan and China - two experiences pivotal to his teaming skills and cultural identity. At the HC, Mikio also served as an Ambassador to prospective students and formed an invaluable mentor connection through regular family-student dinners with live-in HC Faculty Fellow Dr. Mazzeo, a professor in the School of Engineering. Upon graduating from Rutgers, Mikio completed his Master's in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and is now an Associate Opto-Mechanical Engineer at a stealth mode bio-tech startup in the San Francisco Bay Area.
April Nicklaus, ’19
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: Led the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group’s (NJPIRG) New Voters Project to register thousands of young people to vote throughout the state, and played a role in introducing the Help Students Vote Act with NJ Senator Cory Booker in Washington, D.C.
Through NJPIRG, April worked to advance projects for the public good ranging from higher education affordability to plastic pollution to civic engagement. She built a deep sense of community through hours spent planning, team building, and working with other student groups and Rutgers administrators to advance shared goals. At the Honors College, April took the opportunity to spend time with Dean Matsuda and Faculty Fellows, who live at the Honors College, during open-door socials to help build her own intergenerational community. Coming into college, April had the impression that she needed a degree before she could go out into the world and make a real difference—but her experiences with NJPIRG and the Honors College provided her with the tools and the confidence to make an impact immediately, both on and beyond the Rutgers campus. Her work in public interest advocacy through NJPIRG set her on a path for life and taught her essential skills like how to build your power to effect change and leverage resources to maximize your impact. She was 1 of 10 students nationally recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge her senior year. Today, she is the Training Manager for The Public Interest Network, a national network of non-profit advocacy organizations, where she leads their program to train hundreds of professionals working for social change.
Megan Wang, ’21
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: Served as the editor of the Honors College weekly newsletter, Inside the Honors College, for two years as a member of the Media Team.
During her time at Rutgers, Megan has taken a deep dive into her research in food science developing the knowledge she needs to understand what goes into our food (including our favorite snacks!), the chemistry and biology involved in stabilizing food, and the many facets of creating, managing, processing, developing, and overseeing food safety. When she’s not in the lab, she’s busy capturing life at the Honors College in her role as editor of the weekly newsletter as well as through feature stories she’s written. Megan is also active in the Rutgers Chinese Student Organization as an executive board member where they celebrate Chinese culture and partner with other student organizations at Rutgers. Among her favorite events is “ChinaNite,” a theatrical fashion show fundraiser that has woven into it original student-created stories focused on issues facing young adults in the AAPI community. Up next for Megan is pursuing her master’s degree in food science at Rutgers.
Robert Helsel, '19
Home Base: New Jersey
School at Rutgers-New Brunswick: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Coolest Thing He Did at Rutgers: Took a summer study abroad trip to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in Little Cayman Island to do marine ecology work, including independent research, scuba field work three-four times a day on the reef, and lab work, and he had extensive interaction with marine life like sea turtles, sharks, and more.
As Rob looked for ways to take advantage of all of the amazing opportunities he came across at Rutgers, he learned something unexpected—he learned how to ask for help. Many of the opportunities, like his study abroad trip to Little Cayman Island, took money he didn’t have. And still other opportunities, like being invited to attend the Earth Optimism Summit in Washington, DC, where he met some of his lifetime heroes, came as a result of being known to the Deans. By building relationships at the Honors College and at his school, he felt comfortable asking for what he needed to make things possible. And he set himself apart such that Dean Matsuda at the Honors College thought of him for the trip for just two Honors College students to DC. Rob performed regularly at the monthly HC Coffeehouses with his band, visited with the Deans and HC staff often, got involved in organizing a student-led organization focused on civil discourse around controversial topics, and all around took time to engage with people at the HC where he said it was easy to connect with people who will support you. Today, he works at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Land Resource Protection helping to protect wetlands and open water. His advice to new students: Try every restaurant in New Brunswick!