Student Spotlight

When it rains in Ishir Hazarika’s hometown of Berkeley Heights, streets turn into fast-moving rivers. Water gushes out of manholes and toilets in basements overflow.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Over the summer, Rutgers tennis sophomore Naomi Karki traveled to China to volunteer with other tennis players as part of the China-US University Tennis Invitational Tournament.

“To have the opportunity to travel to a new part of the world and connect with a different culture is so special,” Karki said (pictured front row, second from left). “You have to come in with an open mind and heart to make the most of it and really immerse yourself within a new place.”

The Honors College, founded in 2015, welcomed its 10th class this fall—the Class of 2028! New students received a warm welcome during Welcome Week as they settled in and began to connect with the Honors College (HC) deans and staff, meet their Changemaking Mentors, and make new friends.

“Get out the vote” is more than a catchphrase for Alejandra Afanador, a second-year student at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. 
 
It’s the 19-year-old's mission on campus. 

Afanador, an Honors College student, has spent the summer volunteering as an RU Voting Ambassador and will continue to do so ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 5, general election.  

When Rachel Toepfer is playing in the fantasy realm of Dungeons & Dragons, they tend to play the role of a paladin, a holy knight who fights for a cause. 

In the real world, the Rutgers University-New Brunswick senior has taken up an advocacy role, too, advancing the cause for LGBTQ+ rights.  

Toepfer, who identifies as nonbinary, attends the School of Arts and Sciences and is majoring in political science with a minor in women’s gender studies. 

Last year, Rutgers celebrated its first Delta Scholar, Casey Fortson (‘25, SAS/HC), in this nationally competitive program aimed at college sophomores and juniors who are committed to combating systemic injustices in the Mississippi Delta region and similar communities, particularly focusing on improving public health, legal, and e

As an eighth-grader, Olivia Colavito received treatment from a physical therapist after straining a hamstring during a dance class.

That initial exposure to the science of rehabilitation took root in her mind.

“PT helped me so much,” said Colavito, adding that she was able to return to dancing and running in about six weeks. “Besides myself, I remember the therapists helping so many patients who were very grateful to receive treatment.”

Solomon Williams, one of the top-ranked students in organic chemistry at Rutgers, had a love-hate relationship with science growing up.

It was his least favorite subject until he failed a biology exam. Instead of giving up or getting frustrated, he was inspired to do better.

“Once that happened, I remember that I couldn’t believe I had failed it and thinking that I had to really start trying,” said Williams who is on course to graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, earning a degree in biological sciences and a minor in health and society.

Four Rutgers students have been selected as Goldwater Scholars, a prestigious national honor for undergraduates who plan to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.