Student Profiles
2017 Rowe Scholar: Tonya Tucker
An avid volleyball player, Tonya Tucker is a biological sciences major from Newtown, CT, where she graduated from Newtown High School. Tonya’s experiences in healthcare have shaped the vision she has for her future. Volunteering at a free medical clinic has exposed her to issues in caring for the underserved, which is something she’d like to incorporate into her career, while shadowing at UConn Health’s OB/GYN department has sparked her interest in women’s health. Perhaps her most enjoyable health-related experience has been volunteering at a nursing home where she does art therapy with the residents, as art is one of her interests.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Julie Taing
Julie Taing is a graduate of New Britain High School, which offered her the opportunity to become a CNA her senior year. She did her clinicals at hospitals and nursing homes and says that this was an eye-opening experience for her. Before that she had volunteered for two years at the Hospital for Special Care in the Close Observation Unit. She currently works as a CNA in a nursing home, which she says has given her an appreciation of those who work in the health field. Julie is from New Britain, CT and is part of a Cambodian dance troupe that performs Khmer classical ballet and folk dances all over the state. At UConn she’s a chemistry major on the pre-med track.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Bright Eze
A nursing major from Nigeria, Bright Eze has worked with a Nigerian health group to educate the rural population about how to manage diabetic symptoms and use a glucometer to keep track of their blood sugar level. He is also the leader of an organization that encourages high school males, who are skeptical that a man can be a nurse, to become one. Bright is an easy-going person who graduated from Wisdom Comprehensive Secondary School. He’s always available to help and loves playing basketball.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Roselyn Terrazos-Moreno
Born in Lima, Peru, Roselyn Terrazos-Moreno moved to Newington, CT when she was three years old. During her sophomore year at Newington High School, Roselyn shadowed at an eye clinic, which allowed her to learn about machines and tools of the trade as well as the doctor/patient relationship. Soon to be a physiology and neurobiology major at UConn, she has already volunteered at UConn Health and the Newington VA Hospital. In her spare time Roselyn enjoys photography and manipulating her pictures in Photoshop.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Marcus Patterson
Marcus Patterson is from Waterbury, CT where he graduated as salutatorian of his class at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School. Marcus spent his junior year volunteering at nursing homes which ultimately led to his certification as a CNA. He’ll be majoring in allied health sciences at UConn.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Cristian Osorio
Hailing from Hartford, CT, Cristian Osorio is a graduate of Great Path Academy. He will be a physiology and neurobiology major at UConn. He has taken advantage of volunteering opportunities at Hartford Hospital, where he has worked with nursing, radiology, and with people suffering from anxiety and depression. Cristian has also shadowed a cardiologist and witnessed catheter ablations; he has since decided that his goal is to become a cardiologist. Beyond the environs of Hartford Cristian has traveled to the UK, Spain, and Colombia.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Sara Mohamedzein
Originally from Khartoum, Sudan, Sara Mohamedzein has lived in West Hartford, CT since the sixth grade. As a student at William H. Hall High School she was a member of the Medical Club and took advantage of the Mini Medical and Dental Program at UConn Health. She feels that both activities gave her an opportunity to learn about a variety of professions and concentrations within health care. Sara will be a biomedical engineering, or perhaps a chemical engineering major, at UConn. She was aided in the college application process by the fact that she was chosen as a College Prep Scholar and Questbridge Scholar, which gave her many resources and provided her with a community of gifted scholars.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Wesia Malik
Wesia Malik is from Newington, CT and graduated from CREC Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy. She’ll be joining the Rowe Scholars Program as a physiology and neurobiology major. As part of HCOP Wesia was able to sit in on lectures given by health professionals. She’s also had the opportunity to intern at Saint Francis Hospital in the central sterile supply unit, and this summer she shadowed a cardiologist. Just as Wesia has sought out experiences to learn more about medicine, she also took the opportunity to visit Israel and Palestine to learn more about the conflict there.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Maria Guerrero
Maria Guerrero is particularly interested in emergency medicine, which motivated her to become a certified EMT. She has interned at Danbury Hospital as an EMT student and has volunteered in the emergency room. She has also shadowed nurses at The Village at Brookfield Commons. These activities have provided her with experiences such as transferring blood to a blood bank, participating in the IV lab, attending hospital rotations, doing patient assessments as part of ambulance calls, and observing spinal taps, the placement of an intravenous catheter, and a catheter lab procedure. She has learned patient interaction skills, bedside manner skills, and how to work with the geriatric population. Maria is currently from Bethel, CT where she graduated from Bethel High School, but she was born in Ecuador, from there moved to Queens, NY, then Danbury, CT, and finally to Bethel. She can read, write, and speak fluent Spanish. At UConn Maria will major in biological sciences and hopes to include classes on genetics.