Student Spotlight

Going to Honduras was like going home. The hot humid weather, trash littered on the side of the road, and beautiful tropical greenery scattered throughout the country. The cities with modern architecture and paved roads. The “communities” (or village areas) with dirt roads that could take out even the best rough terrain vehicle, houses that shouldn’t be able to withstand rainy season (but do), the kindest people living in some of the worst conditions, a lack of clean water systems, and access to little or no healthcare.

Second-year Honors College student Justin Najimian is no stranger to service and giving back. According to Najimian,  who majors in public health and minors in Spanish and health & society, service has played a monumental role in his experiences at the HC and beyond.

"As long as I can remember, service has been a constant in my life,” said Najimian.

Honors College student Mallory Vollbrecht (‘21, SAS/HC), a senior majoring in Cell Biology/Neuroscience and Psychology on a pre-med track, currently serves as the Philanthropy and Outreach Lead for the HC Serves Leadership Team. However, her experience with service work dates all the way back to her elementary school days where she first served by helping to care for the gardens surrounding her school.

Jeremy Lewan says he’s wanted to be a meteorologist since he was five years old. And now the Rutgers senior has been awarded the 2021 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Orville Family Endowed Scholarship for $10,000, the top prize in the country offered by AMS.

Lewan, who was born and raised in Bayonne, is currently a senior at the Honors College at Rutgers University- New Brunswick majoring in Meteorology with a 4.0 grade point average.

You can’t overstate the role chess plays in the life of Gabriella Glaz. 

Not only is the Tewksbury resident ranked among the top 70 women of all ages in the state of New Jersey, but she’s also captured rankings in the top 100 of her age group nationally every year from the time she was 13 until now, at age 18. 

The first tennis racquet incoming student Naomi Karki held was pint-sized and colorful, with characters from the television show Dora the Explorer decorating the rim and handle.

The East Brunswick resident was 5.

She spent the next few months swinging the racquet around, never hitting a ball. Nonetheless, her parents kept her in the Pee Wee tennis program at the Nassau Tennis Club in Montgomery Township.

“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.