“Queensborough strengthened my interest in science,” says Nadia Aboley. “Witnessing the passion of my mentor Dr. Sullivan was inspiring.”
In 2003, Nadia Aboley came to the United States from her home in the Ivory Coast, having earned her high school degree. When she enrolled at Queensborough, she didn’t expect to find science so interesting and so rewarding. She was inspired by her biology and chemistry professors, particularly her mentor, biology professor Dr. Regina Sullivan, and biology professor Dr. Raji Subramaniam, who recommended her for the RIMS program (Research Initiative for Minority Students, funded by the QCC-NIH Bridges to Future Program).
Nadia excelled. Her lab research on melanoma cells had introduced her to Dr. Sullivan. “I started working with her and her passion became contagious and inspiring. I discovered a love for science through her.” In February 2007, Nadia won 1st Place at the10th annual CUNY Conference in Science and Engineering: Minority Science Initiatives in CUNY’s Decade of Science. Her winning poster presentation on the Study of Actin Structure and MARKS Phosphorylation in Murine Melanoma Cells competed against 50 undergraduate and graduate submissions. She placed third at the 2006 Annual Fall MACUB Conference and won 2nd place in the MACUB Conference the year before that.
At the end of the school year in 2007, Nadia was awarded the Drs. Edith Lea and Herbert Schnall Endowed Scholarship by the Department of Biological Sciences and Geology, and received the Dr. Edward Sarlo Award for Excellence in Organic Chemistry and the Belle Vader Mancott Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research from the Department of Chemistry. Additionally, she was accepted into Rutgers University’s prestigious RISE (Research In Science and Engineering) program that summer to study pharmacology.
The following fall Nadia added American Chemical Society Scholar to her list of achievements. The ACS awarded her a scholarship of $3,000 for the 2007/2008 academic year. The goal of the scholarship is to aid in building an awareness of the value and rewards associated with careers in science and to assist students in acquiring the skills and credentials needed for success in these areas. The ACS maintains approximately 350 student scholarships per year, and awards 100-150 new scholarships each year, of which Nadia was one. The nationwide program is highly competitive and Nadia was the second Queensborough student to receive it.
"This is a very difficult honor to get," says Queensborough Chemistry Department Chairman, Dr. Paris Svoronos. "Our students are being compared with thousands of students from all colleges countrywide."
"Being an American Chemical Society Scholar is such an honor, and it’s helped me focus more on my education at Queensborough and on my goal to become a pharmacist," says Nadia.
Nadia Aboley and her mentor Dr. Regina Sullivan
Nadia graduated from Queensborough in June of 2008 and plans to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pharmaceutical sciences. She hopes to become a pharmacist and one day return to the Ivory Coast to provide much-needed services to the underserved of her homeland.
