What made you choose Hofstra?

“First and foremost, the class sizes were very appealing to me, and I don’t think I even realized how important it was until I actually came here. You really get to know your professors. Second was the location. You can get to New York City easy, but also everything you need is nearby. It’s really convenient. Third was the ability to do research early on.”

What kind of research did you do?

“I’ve done more than one project. Dr. Rabbany, the dean of the School of Engineering, is my primary research advisor and I’ve been working with him since my first year. He’s been a great help in terms of structuring how I want to take courses in guiding my research journey. He’s very cognizant of the fact that even though I’m an engineer, I want to study medicine. The research projects I’ve done have been a mesh between the two.

In one of my main projects, we were modeling how fast blood flows within our system, specifically the smallest blood cells in our body. It’s difficult to figure out velocity or flow using MRI or CT scans, so we created a mathematical framework instead.”

Clearly research is your thing…

“I definitely knew I wanted to do research and get involved. I just didn’t know how to go about it. Since Hofstra has such small class sizes, professors are so open to taking in students. That’s how it was reasonably easy for me to get into research as early as I wanted. The professor’s culture is that they are here to support the students and to see them succeed. They put in the effort to help you.”

Is that all you did outside of classes?

“Not at all. I joined a couple of clubs, not so much as an academic need, but as a social need so I could find a network. I joined BMS, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and Phi Delta Epsilon, the pre-medical fraternity on campus. Phi DE was the biggest commitment, I was vice president of recruitment, so I put a lot of time and effort into that. I definitely found a community that gave me a lot of comfort. Everyone was on the same page and very supportive of each other.”

What’s your favorite spot on campus?

The benches right outside of Mason Hall (in the southeast corner of campus). In the spring, I am often sitting there between classes catching up on assignments or work while hearing the bustle of students move between classes. Since there are a ton of plants in that corner, it is always fun to see the change of flora during the seasons.

What was your most memorable moment at Hofstra?

“When I joined Phi DE (Phi Delta Epsilon International Medical Fraternity) my freshman year, the first week was recruitment week and there was a bunch of events. I remember what got me so interested was that genuinely every person was so social and so open – there was no sense of competition. It felt more that they were here to help and support throughout your journey. Everyone wants to see each other succeed. I don’t think that’s exclusively just Phi DE – but that’s in general here at Hofstra. I appreciated that I could be more open and more of myself here. Having a community is something special – it’s emotional support that you can’t ever take for granted.