Nidaa Aljabarrin knows how life-changing the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship was in her academic journey. "It made so much of a difference. I didn't have to worry about the financial part. It took so much of the burden off going to college. I was able to do research and work on things I was really passionate about."
As Aljabarrin was completing her Mathematics & Science degree at Onondaga Community College in 2020, she learned she had been selected for the national scholarship. She was OCC's most recent recipient until Dio Brown was chosen earlier this month.
Aljabarrin is a native of Syria who came to the United States in 2016 along with her parents and 9 siblings. Her career aspirations were motivated by family tragedy. While growing up in Syria, one of her brothers died from asthma because proper medical care was unavailable. His death set her on a path to pursue a medical-related career helping others.
After graduating from PSLA at Fowler High School in 2018, Aljabarrin came to OCC along with her twin sister Fidaa. Nidaa was a member of the Lillian Slutzker Honors College, and an officer in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. After completing her degree at OCC, she continued her education at Syracuse University tuition-free thanks to the scholarship. She earned her Biology degree in 2022, then spent a year working at SUNY Upstate Medical University as a Research Support Specialist.
Today, she's a second-year medical student at St. George's University in the Caribbean. She'll graduate in November, and hopes to return to the northeast to begin her clinical rotations. Her primary interest is in genetics, and she plans to eventually focus her efforts on helping refugees and underserved populations, possibly through the Doctors Without Borders organization.
Nidaa's sister, Fidaa, also chose a medical career path. She's a respiratory therapist at SUNY Upstate Medical University. And this fall, another sister will begin taking classes at OCC. "I'm trying to help her with financial aid and her class schedule from afar," said Nidaa. "I keep telling her how much I loved OCC. I received more support there than anywhere else. My professors continued to give me letters of recommendation years after I graduated. They still check up on me. The community and network you build there is like nowhere else. It really helped me strengthen my confidence, my skills, my English speaking, everything!"
