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Giving Back: An Alternative Answer to Freshman Angst

New Orleans
Global citizenship is about recognizing yourself as part of a larger community, realizing that our actions are important and that we have a role to play. We should be asking ourselves, how can I harness my time, energy, and abilities to serve the greater good and make a meaningful, sustainable impact? Alternative Breaks provide some of these answers. You learn what interests you and where your strengths lie in a hands-on, immersive, supportive setting so you can continue to make a difference. And I could not be more grateful for an opportunity to do so, and to meet such wonderful people along the way.

Giving with Honors

Krishna Varre, member of the Honors College

On December 1 last year, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Honors College students gathered for their usual morning Coffee with the Deans, but it was no ordinary morning. It was the first-ever Rutgers Giving Day, and the students were ready to leap into action in support of the place they call home.

Growing Trend Toward Inclusion in the Arts Reflected in Rutgers Student Theater Groups

Cabaret Theatre’s Uchenna Agbu, Livingston Theater Company’s Kira Harris and College Avenue Players’ Kyle Cao on stage at Cabaret's Black Box Theatre | Photo by Nick Romanenko/Rutgers University

For the first time in 48 years, all three student theater groups at Rutgers-New Brunswick are being led by artistic directors of color.

It’s no coincidence, said the trio – Cabaret Theatre’s Uchenna Agbu, College Avenue Players’ Kyle Cao and Livingston Theater Company’s Kira Harris. Their diversity reflects a growing trend toward inclusion both at Rutgers and in the arts, media and society at large, they said.

HC Graduate Makes Her Mark on the Road to Wall Street

Double major Simmi Sharma ('19, RBS/HC) says Rutgers helped her realize what she is capable of
Simmi Sharma’s road to Wall Street began as a high school sophomore at JP Stevens in Edison. A discussion about the Great Recession during an AP U.S. history class caught her attention. As she started to read more about what happened, she began to develop an interest in finance. “I realized that money is the string that ties the world together,’’ Sharma said. “Regardless of the industry, the company, the product or the idea, financing is required. Being in finance means that you have a hand in picking the right ideas and supporting them to a point where they can make a material impact. I wanted to be a part of that.”

HC Junior as a student entrepreneur, and a student of entrepreneurship

Sarah Pomeranz ('20, RBS/HC/DRC) and the Sulis team piloted their water purification system in India.
Sarah Pomeranz ('20, RBS/HC/DRC) is majoring in Leadership & Management with a concentration in entrepreneurship and a minor in social justice. Her academic interests and entrepreneurial drive led her to co-found Sulis, a start-up addressing clean water scarcity with their innovative water sterilization technology, alongside team members Anurag Modak ('20, SAS/HC), Ari Mendelow ('18, SOE), and Yuki Osumi ('20, SAS/HC).

HC Rising Sophomore Launched Mother's Touch to Address Maternal Health Disparities

Gloria Bachmann of the RWJMS Women's Health Institute, left, expectant mother Michelle Leighton, and Rutgers-New Brunswick Honors College student Zoe Reich (SAS ’24) review the Mother's Touch app, a student project led by Reich that launched in June. | Photo by Nick Romanenko
While working remotely as a first-year student and interning at the Women's Health Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School under Dr. Gloria Bachmann, Zoe Reich ('24, SAS/HC/DRC) learned about the maternal health statistics and racial disparities that exist in New Jersey, ranked 47th in the nation for maternal deaths. Moved by this information, she formed a team of 40 fellow female students from the Honors College and Douglass to design and create an app to help empower current and expectant mothers.

HC Senior rethinks her major and the impact she could have on the world

Samantha Chen

Samantha Chen says her major in biological sciences is great preparation for a calling that combines her strength in science with her passion for social justice. “I came in thinking I would be premed,” Chen says. “But I had to rethink the impact I could have on the world.”

Samantha Chen seemed destined for medical school.

Strong in science and passionate about helping others, the Morris County native attended a STEM-focused magnet high school, earned dozens of AP credits, and chose biological sciences as her major at Rutgers. 

HC Student Accepted to Harvard Kennedy School’s annual Public Policy and Leadership Conference

Photo of Aasha Shaik

Honors College student Aasha Shaik (’20/RBS, DRC) was accepted to attend the 18th annual Public Policy and Leadership Conference (PPLC) at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government next February in Cambridge, MA.

This year, PPLC received more than 800 applications from 220 different colleges and universities, and invited 73 students in all to attend the three-day conference, which will provide an introduction to the field of public policy and include a series of distinguished speakers, policy workshops, and exposure to possible public service careers.

HC Student Creates ''Smart Jewelry'' to Fight Sexual Violence

Annie Zhang works on developing "smart jewelry" in the College Avenue Makerspace located within the Honors College at Rutgers–New Brunswick. Photo: Courtesy of Nick Romanenko
Annie Zhang works on developing "smart jewelry" in the College Avenue Makerspace located within the Honors College at Rutgers–New Brunswick. Photo: Courtesy of Nick Romanenko
As Annie ('19, Bloustein/HC) reflects on her experiences at Rutgers, she believes that the most important takeaway is Merakhi, a company that she created with her fellow Honors College students to develop smart jewelry that prevents sexual assault and saves lives.