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Jorge Alberto Medina '23 grew up with electronics. He recalls watching his dad disassemble and rebuild electronic equipment, and leafed through stacks of monthly electronics magazines as his light reading material. The exposure grew into a passion, and Medina set his sights on a journey that ultimately brought him to NJIT.

Two NJIT undergrads and an alumnus have landed prestigious awards from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists (NJ-SPJ) for their outstanding contributions to the university’s student newspaper, The Vector.

There aren’t many better places in the region to be than NJIT if you’re an undergraduate student aspiring to become a medical professional, and the numbers are backing it up.

This year’s entire graduating cohort from NJIT’s Pre-health Program has been accepted and is matriculating into graduate health professional programs of their choice, according to NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA). 

“So, what are your plans after graduation?” This is the question asked by uncles and aunts, grandparents, neighbors – and occasionally parents – from the Thanksgiving dinner table right up until graduation day. Four May 2023 Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) graduates highlighted below are a few of many who have hit the ground running and found gainful employment in challenging, growth-oriented positions prior to or immediately following the walk to the dais to receive their diploma.

When Kiaja Jones ’23 arrived at NJIT from Newark’s Technology High School in 2019, she did so as part of the inaugural class of local scholars from the Mayor’s Honors Scholar Program. Now she’s leaving her home city, diploma in-hand, as a reflection of the program’s early success and will be pursuing a law degree at the University of Maryland in the fall.

Growing up, I was very quiet, shy and introverted. As I started to discover myself in my teenage years, I began coming out of the closet at age 12. Because of this, I felt isolated at the time and so I found solace in video games and online forums and communities. I have always struggled with my mental health and it's taken me many years and a lot of work to be able to talk about it so openly. I used to try to hide it or make light of it, but it's been very painful and tough.

For Lara Rios ’23, NJIT has been an important part of her family’s life. Her uncle and father graduated from NJIT, and her brother is also studying at the university. As president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and diversity and inclusion officer of the Student Senate, Rios has always made it her number one priority to help her fellow peers feel at home at NJIT.

Anjali Khushalani worked in her native India as a project manager and process manager before arriving at New Jersey Institute of Technology last fall to pursue a master’s in engineering management.

The head of New Jersey’s largest utility urged the Class of 2023 at New Jersey Institute of Technology to embrace change and remain positive in the face of challenges ranging from climate change and social inequity to artificial intelligence.

Ever since Jason Ogbebor set foot in a chemistry classroom in high school, he knew he was destined to conduct high-level, impactful research. Looking to science legends — Mendeleev, Bohr, Einstein — Ogbebor is realizing his dreams and is on his way to pursue a Ph.D. at MIT.