Ability and judgment lead to medical studies
25-year-old Kaylynn Pubill is summering near Little Neck Bay, not on a beach chair in the blazing sun, but indoors in Bayside, squeezing a full year of chemistry into two summer sessions at Queensborough Community College.
“Studying is meaningful to me now. I want to be more,” says the Bronx native and former waitress who deferred college for a while because she “really did not know what to do.”
The extra course in chemistry is in preparation for the fall, when Kaylynn – a graduate of Queensborough with an Associate’s Degree in Health Sciences – matriculates to another City University of New York (CUNY) institution, Hunter College, to study Biology.
“After a semester, I’ll officially be pre-med,” exclaims the former Christopher Columbus high school student, taking her daily bus ride from Pelham Bay to Queens.
“I heard a lot of great things about Queensborough. It’s surprisingly close to me and I found as a student, if you work hard and stand out, faculty take you under their wing.”
Pubill is a winner of a prestigious 2019 Finch College Alumni Association Foundation (Freya Moskowitz Stern) Scholarship, worth $5000 and awarded to a second-year female community college student aged 22 and older in the tristate area who is transferring to an accredited four-year college.
“I got the notification email while I was in class. I didn’t think that I would win,” beams Kaylynn, during a break at the College’s Science Atrium, before a cram session in the library.
“Before Queensborough, I did not know how to think critically. My biology Professor, Dr. Patricia Schneider; my research mentor, Professor Andrew Nguyen; my philosophy teacher, Professor Shannon Kincaid; and services like the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program and Research Initiative for Maximizing Science Skills (RIMS) really made the difference for me,” adds the undergraduate researcher and Phi Theta Kappa honor-society member.
A big sister to a brother, 20, and two little sisters, 9 and 7 – “I’m like a second mom” – Kaylynn is looking forward to being “full-on pre-med.”
“My family is so proud of me. They’re supportive and know how much I love science, health, the body and taking care of people.”
Bestowing equal credit upon “special” people at Queensborough, Kaylynn is thankful to staff who took care of her, introduced her to lab work and helped her navigate the higher education system. Francesca Berrouët, Director of Queensborough’s CSTEP program, which fosters academic excellence for students majoring in the STEM fields (Science Technology Engineering Math), was a critically important mentor, according to Kaylynn.
“She sat with me for three hours and really broke things down, told me research and chemistry were essential, encouraged me to join the honor society and charted a course for me. I had no idea what to do, and she helped me so, so much,” says Kaylynn, a beneficiary of CUNY’s generous financial aid services including a research stipend and STEM Waivers, which cover the costs of some specific courses for high achieving Queensborough students during winter and summer sessions.
While aid has alleviated significant financial stress, Kaylynn has accumulated some education loans. The Finch scholarship will help her meet upcoming costs at Hunter as she pursues neurology.
“In May, at my graduation, Professor Nguyen told my mom that I could do whatever I wanted to, that I had great potential and that he would help me any way he could. My mom told him that she knew I could do it. She always pushed me, but I wasn’t so sure.”
Kaylynn, tall and draped in a sky blue Queensborough hoodie, tilts her chair, leans over the Atrium lunch table before darting off to study and reveals advice she would share with her younger self.
“Let go of all the self-doubt and fear because that will hold you back. You have guts. Put your ego aside and be open to growing. You will end up in the right place, doing the right thing. Keep your head down and ride things out…. Oh, and listen to mom.”
Kaylynn was among 2,315 students who graduated from Queensborough this year. It’s not too late to enroll in the course you want and applying is easy. Just go to www.qcc.cuny.edu/admissions or call 718-281-5000. The campus is located at 222-05 56th Avenue in Bayside.
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Contact:
Michael Donahue
