Stacy-Ann Wallen is a budding author and nurse. She writes chapter books which she hopes to publish someday, and she’s volunteered at Saint Francis Hospital for two years. She’s worked in the Radiology Department, assisting nurses, discharging and admitting patients, delivering lunches, and sanitizing and making beds. She’s also worked with congestive heart failure patients, walking them around the hospital to keep them active. At UConn Hartford she volunteered for a blood drive. Stacy-Ann is from Hartford and graduated from William Hall High School in West Hartford, CT.
Author: brs13008
2018 Rowe Scholar: Tyra Vanriel
Tyra Vanriel grew up in Westchester, NY but loves to visit family in Jamaica and enjoy the beautiful island. She finished her last three years of high school in Connecticut, graduating from Greenwich High School. Tyra has interned with Greenwich Ear, Nose, and Throat, where she learned about common ENT complaints and how to examine patients. She has also done a rotation in the Emergency Room at Danbury Hospital and spent time on an ambulance to learn more about emergency care. Tyra will soon become a nutritional sciences major with a minor in biological sciences.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Maifrak Sobrino
Maifrak Sobrino’s name comes from a combination of her parents’ names. ‘Mai’, for her mother Maira, and ‘frak’ for her father Frank. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Maifrak moved when she was 10 to Norwich, CT and eventually graduated from Norwich Free Academy. She is now a nursing major with a psychology minor and potentially an additional minor in HDFS. Her goal is to become a neonatal APRN because she enjoys working with infants. As a teenager, Maifrak began working at Norwichtown Rehab, which she credits as the place where she found her passion for health care and nursing. It has given her an understanding of the health care needs of the elderly, taught her to have patience with the people with whom she’s working, and how to juggle multiple tasks. Maifrak is also CPR certified and has taken a Stop the Bleed course. Last summer Maifrak spent three weeks in Prague, Czech Republic, which she says is the best decision she made in college and she encourages others to study abroad.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Faria Mahjabin
Faria Mahjabin is a biological sciences major and a potential math minor. She loves to learn languages and is currently fluent in four. Her next language to acquire is Spanish. Faria is from Stamford, CT and is currently working as an ER medical scribe at Stamford Hospital. She has also shadowed doctors at NY Presbyterian Hospital. Faria is a graduate of Westhill High School.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Victor Jacome
Victor Jacome has volunteered at a nursing home where he helps care for elderly patients in the acute care hospital center. A native of Wallingford, CT, this nursing major graduated from Lyman Hall High School. During high school he had the opportunity to travel to Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Gabriela Davila
Gabriela Davila is a person who loves motion. She grew up playing volleyball and swimming, and loves going to the beach and traveling. She enjoyed her internship at Norwalk Hospital in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatrics, and maternal fetal medicine because of how fast paced and energetic the departments were. A native of Norwalk, CT and a graduate of Norwalk High School, Gabriela is a nursing major and Spanish minor who hopes to be a neonatal nurse practitioner due to her interests in maternal fetal medicine and neonatal care.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Ashley Balfour
Ashley Balfour, from Windsor, CT, is an accomplished dancer. She’s been dancing since the age of three and is trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. Whether it’s a softer, elegant style or a sharp and edgy style, she loves being able to transfer her emotions into a story using dance. A graduate of East Catholic High School, Ashley is a nursing major. She’s been influenced by her elementary school nurse and audiologists who have advocated for her own health and success. She’s currently interested in a variety of areas of nursing, from Zika virus research to medical spas. Ashley works for a nurse practitioner at a medical spa and has seen life changing results for patients who improve their self-image, self-esteem, and quality of life.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Elise Wardell
Elise Wardell is an allied health sciences major on a pre-physician assistant track. She has shadowed a pediatric PA in both a hospital and a doctor’s office and enjoyed experiencing the different settings. She has also volunteered at her local emergency department, where she got to see something new every time she was there. Elise is from Shelton, CT and graduated from Shelton High School, but loves traveling to her family’s house in Spain and hopes to do more travel in the future.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Hanya Ouda
Hanya Ouda was born in Cairo, Egypt but currently lives in Coventry, CT. She’s a graduate of Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy in East Hartford, CT. Hanya is a chemistry major on the pre-med track and has had the opportunity to shadow at a hospital for two years, once with the High School Student Research Apprentice Program and once with her pediatrician. These experiences exposed her to different fields in medicine as well as the importance of patient care.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Neco McFadden
Neco McFadden is from New Haven, CT and graduated from Wilbur Cross High School. His interests lie in athletic training and nutrition. He’s inspired by his high school athletic trainer and is eager to start learning more about the human body. Neco is a good strength trainer and someday wants to compete. He also sees himself potentially becoming a strength coach.