Meet the Alumni | 2018

Florence, or “Flo”, was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut where she attended Stamford High School. Flo contributed to her school through her involvement in multiple clubs. She served as president of the Media Innovators Club, was an active member of the National Honor Society, a discussion leader in her school’s Bible Club, and an advocate for Shakti, which raised money to allow girls in developing countries like India and Ethiopia to receive an education. Flo has worked alongside the Mayor of Stamford and the city’s Health Department during the summer months. For the past two years, Flo spent most of her time working for a local news company in which she took on the roles of reporter, videographer and editor. In her free time, she helped students in “Future 5,” a program specifically dedicated to getting students into college. Each year, she volunteered on the organization committee for Stamford’s event, “Hope in Motion,” which has more than 7,000 participants. Last year they earned more than one million dollars towards cancer research. Florence hopes to become a world-renowned producer in television or movie production. She knows that studying communications at Northeastern will help her achieve this goal. She is an exceedingly dedicated student who will stop at nothing until she accomplishes her dream.

Chrismelin was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in many of its neighborhoods, including Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Hyde Park. He was ranked in the top 5 students in his high school, Cristo Rey Boston. Chris was part of the junior varsity and varsity basketball team, the yearbook club, the Sant’Egidio Community, and the National Honor Society. He participated in a work-study program during his high school career, and worked at the New England Aquarium and Sullivan & McLaughlin Companies. During his work at Sullivan & McLaughlin, he connected with his mentor, Hugh McLaughlin. McLaughlin says, “Chris is the perfect image of the perfect student. He excelled in his academics, work ethic, and involvement with the Boston community. He would always come to work with a smile on his face, and it was a pleasure to work with such an outstanding individual.” Chrismelin has been inspired by many different television shows in the hopes of becoming a private detective in the future, which is why he chose to major in criminal justice. Chris believes strongly in bringing justice to society and wants to continue to promote peace. Growing up in Boston and now attending Northeastern University, Chrismelin wants to help his local community because he is proud of his city.

Eva was born in the small city of Gjirokaster in Southern Albania. She moved to Athens, Greece at the age of three and lived there for seven years. When she was ten, Eva moved to Norwood, Massachusetts where she has been living for the past 9 years. Eva graduated as salutatorian of Norwood High School, and was an active member in her community. She was the Vice President of the Environmental Youth Coalition at her school, Vice President of the National Honor Society, and the Co -President of the Spanish Club. She has volunteered her time at the Norwood Memorial Library and also Norwood Hospital. At the hospital, Eva’s tasks varied from working in the emergency room to transporting patients throughout the hospital. She is passionate about the medical field and plans to pursue a major in biology with a concentration in pre-dental at Northeastern. Eva simply loves to help others, and she truly hopes that she can continue this through her career as a dentist.

Brett hails from Ruckersville, Virginia, where he was born and raised in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. As a top ten graduate from William Monroe High School, Brett was very involved with his school and community. Brett was a leading member of clubs such as the National Honor Society, Beta, Student Council, Family Career and Community Leaders of America, as well as leading William Monroe’s sports as the captain for the soccer, cross country, and indoor track teams. Brett feels he could never have done any of this without the support he received from family, friends, coaches, and mentors. Brett’s parents taught him that everything he wanted in life would have to be earned. He hopes to give back to everyone who has supported him by achieving his dream of graduating from college, earning a Master’s in Architecture, and becoming a licensed architect.

Melody was born and raised in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. She graduated from University Gardens High School, where she developed her academic and leadership skills through different extracurricular activities. She has always been involved in science and math competitions, representing her school and even Puerto Rico during the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. In addition, Melody was in charge of public relations for her school’s National Honor Society and was the president of the Chemistry Club. She was mostly influenced by her parents, who taught her that hard work and a positive mindset is the key to fulfill all goals. Melody was also part of the Center for Talented Youth Scholars at Johns Hopkins University. With this program she had the opportunity to take science courses at universities around the United States, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Berkeley. Melody’s sense of giving back to her community and her interest in science inspired her to work on Huntington’s disease research during her senior year with her mentors back at the University of Puerto Rico. She plans to continue helping the community through research and is interested in creating new treatments and making drugs affordable for society. Her goal is to help those that cannot pay for treatments in hopes of providing them a better and healthier life. This is why Melody hopes to major in biochemistry and ultimately receive a master’s degree in the biotechnology field.

David is from Brooklyn, New York, where he got the opportunity to join the Jeter’s Leaders program. The Jeter’s Leaders program is a self-development program that gave David the tools he needed to overcome his fear of public speaking and become a leader. Through the Jeter’s Leaders program, David tutored and mentored public school students ages 5 to 13 once a week for four years. He completed over 300 hours of community service each year. David was also offered the opportunity to present at a Social Change and Leadership conference at the University of Tampa. David followed his brother’s footsteps by graduating as the valedictorian of his high school and receiving a full scholarship to attend college. David credits his success not only to the Jeter’s Leaders program, but also to his brother, mom, church, and English teacher. David is a strong believer in building a solid support system. He knows that his support helped him overcome the adversities he faced in high school. David’s participation in his school’s technology club, Mouse Squad, as well as his two internships in the IT departments of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Grey Group, have influenced his decision to pursue a career in software engineering. After completing his degree in computer science at Northeastern, he plans to obtain his master's in the same field at the University of Southern California, with a concentration in software engineering.

Estephanie was born in Honduras but moved to Boston five years ago. At a young age she learned the importance of becoming part of her community. Throughout her high school career at Madison Park, she searched for opportunities to get involved with her community. This involvement ranged from playing intramural soccer for her school team to coordinating meetings as the secretary of the Student Government Association. In addition, she was also a member of the National Society and a tutor for Dream Writers club. Outside of school, she was a member of the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM), a nonprofit organization which helps youth to develop leadership skills. She was also the co-coordinator for the East Boston SIM chapter, and a tutor for Aspira, an after-school program that helps English language learners and high school students with their academic work and college preparation. In Madison Park, Estephanie was enrolled in the Nursing Assistant Program, where she discovered her passion for medicine and science. Now at Northeastern University, she plans to major in Behavioral Neuroscience. In the future, Estephanie hopes to become a pediatrician and help the kids in her community and in underdeveloped countries. She believes that as a pediatrician she will be able to stay in connected with her community and inspire children to look forward to their education.

Shannon was born in Quebec, Canada, and has been living in Massachusetts for 10 years. She attended Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin, where she chose to pursue engineering technology as her vocation. In addition to playing soccer, throwing on her track and field team, and managing the boys varsity ice hockey team, she also participated in numerous extracurricular clubs. In her four years of high school, Shannon was in several clubs, including the math team, FIRST Robotics, and National Honor Society; she also stood as Student Council President for her senior year. Her history in a vocational school inspired her to take an engineering track at Northeastern University, stemming from her course exploration of a number of different fields. After discovering aspects of civil, industrial, mechanical, and other types of engineering, she chose to dive into her collegiate career as a chemical engineer.

Guillermo was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised by his loving mother and sister. Throughout high school he was very active in his school and community. Guillermo played for his high school's varsity soccer team, was a member of the fitness club, and enjoyed tutoring his peers in math studies. Guillermo graduated from Gertz-Ressler High School in the top twenty percent of the graduating class. The atmosphere at Gertz- Ressler helped inspire Guillermo to believe in himself to attend college after high school. He saw that he had a chance to make a difference in his own life. Since he received low scores in his SAT exams, he did not want other students to go through the same situation, thinking they would not have a chance to attend the top colleges. Guillermo started his own SAT tutoring sessions with the help of his high school counselor and his principle, helping students prepare for the SAT exams. Guillermo participated in the United States Naval Sea Cadets, where he developed a lifestyle of proper conduct and discipline. It was during one of the Sea Cadets trainings where Guillermo’s interest in his current major began. He went to SeaBees construction training where he was inspired to become an electrical engineer. Just seeing what electricity and light could do in a person's life, he developed a dream to someday provide that source of energy to those in need of it. He is also interested in becoming a math teacher to help students who struggle in that area. Guillermo wants the opportunity to give back to the people who have helped him achieve his success. Guillermo feels that what has helped him during stressful times is the power and guidance of God and having a positive mindset of being able to do the impossible.

David was born in the Bronx, New York. He is the middle child of in a family of three brothers. David’s family moved around a lot during his childhood, including to New York, the Dominican Republic, and Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts. He’s come to the conclusion that home is wherever his family is located. He attended Brooks High School, which is where he received a boarding school education. Unfortunately, David had to repeat his sophomore year at Brooks School. He knew he had a tough transition to overcome but with the right help and support he was able to achieve all his goals. He became varsity basketball captain and the Courage Award recipient in his senior year. Throughout David’s tenure at Brooks school he was chosen by the headmaster to be one of nine school prefects, began a Christian Fellowship club, and has been asked to speak publicly for special events. His ambition to study architecture and go overseas began after his transition from public school to the Brooks school. He wants to use his education to help build schools, homes, hospitals, and great monuments in less developed countries. David believes that he can easily be stripped of his opportunities, have unfortunate injuries, and relationships can change, so his faith is a vital component of overcoming all obstacles! David looks forward to living out his dreams here at Northeastern University.