From Uncertainty to the Queensborough Honors Program to Becoming a Chemistry Major in a Senior College

Published: January 24, 2017

By Nelson Tobar

When I first enrolled at Queensborough I was not sure what I wanted to pursue. As a high-school student I was terrified to take science courses and my studying habits were not those of the college level. After taking a chemistry course I learned that “chemistry is not hard, it’s just time consuming” and I was fortunate to join the Honors Program. It taught me work ethic and that changed everything for me. I was surrounded by students who were hardworking and hungry for accomplishments in life. Being surrounded by people like that was inspiring and it sparked in me the will to try my best. Through the honors program I met professors that are very caring about students and their future. Such professors such as my mentor Dr. Tirandai Hemraj-Benny motivate students to do great things and are now people I look up to. Thanks to the Honors Program I had the opportunity to do nanochemistry research for two years and even got to present my work at the National American Chemical Society Conference in Boston. Honors research was an eye opening experience and it is the reason I am now a chemistry major at a four year college and I plan to pursue a PhD in chemistry. That says a lot coming from a person that was afraid of science coming out of high school.

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