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Osman Abbasi graduated from SUNY-Bighamton with a degree in Computer Engineering in 2003. In 2005, and earned a Master's degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University. Osman Abbasi presently works for Ernst & Young in New York City. He performs technology consulting and auditing services for Financial Services organizations in the NorthEast. Osman has spent the last 4 years gaining experience in Engineering and Financial Services consulting. He enrolled in the Rutgers PostBaccalaureate Program after recognizing the fulfillment offered by a career in medicine.

"How does an individual working in Manhattan decide to forego a lucrative career of serving Fortune 500 clients to pursue a career of serving sick and ailing patients?" — Osman Abbasi

Natalie Armstrong was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. In 2007, she graduated from UC Riverside with a major in Psychology. Natalie developed a strong desire to study the brain as a young child after watching members of her family suffer from acute and chronic diseases diagnosed as Parkinson's disease, pituitary tumor, and seizures. Through her volunteer experiences at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, Natalie aspires to become a neurosurgeon. Her hobbies include golf, basketball, reading, trying to get use to the way of living on the East Coast.

"I have a strong desire to become the best African American female neurosurgeon that caters to minority communities." — Natalie Armstrong

Gianna Casini graduated from Marist College with a degree in Communication and the Arts. After graduation from College, she began employment as a project manager for AT&T Corporation in 1998 until 2003 when she left AT&T to undergo reconstructive surgery for shoulder injuries she sustained as an athlete in high school. Her long period of recovery from her surgery afforded her an opportunity for introspection and planning which resulted in her decision to pursue a career in medicine.Gianna enrolled in the Rutgers Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Program in Spring 2005 to pursue her goal of admission into medical school. In June 2007, Gianna was accepted to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School via the Rutgers Post-baccalaureate linkage program and will begin medical school in August 2008. Gianna and her husband are expecting their first child in January 2008.

"In January 2005, I officially traded business meetings for lectures in biology and chemistry. Finally, I traded paychecks for tuition bills. I've told my friends and family that from the moment I started to seriously consider applying to medical school I knew I was not pursuing a vocation, instead I was pursuing an avocation." — Gianna Casini

Kiera graduated from Rutgers in January of 2006 with a bachelor's degree in American Studies, and after spending almost a year "in limbo," she finally realized her passion for medicine. She enrolled in the Rutgers Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Program in fall 2007 to pursue her new passion for medicine.

"I am a first year post bacc'er, and I am loving every minute of it (yes, even chemistry)!" — Kiera Farry

Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in English in 1996. In 2000, she completed a Master's degree in City and Regional Planning at Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and is currently completing her doctoral thesis in urban planning and policy development.

Heather developed an "abiding interest in the etiology of disease" after she served as project manager for a successful initiative to encourage physical activity as a strategy for improving health and encouraging weight loss. She was stimulated by the direct interactions with the project participants to move from theory to application in the treatment of human pathology and disease.

Heather Fenyk alternates her time writing her dissertation, working as a policy consultant, and laughing at things 3-year-olds say. In her free time, Heather enjoys reading science blogs and cooking foods that pair well with wine.

"The path that has led me to this point has been anything but traditional." — Heather Fenyk

Originally from Detroit, MI. Lisa received her a BS in Computer Science from North Carolina Central University in 2001, where she also played on the women's fastpitch softball team. Lisa developed an interest in the medical profession early in life due to a history of health issues in her family. However, she decided to major in computer science in college because of financial insecurity. After working in finance at IBM for 6 years, she realized that her decision to major in computer science was a detour from her original goal of studying medicine. In summer 2007, she relocated to New Jersey from NC to begin the Postbac Prehealth_Program. She loves to experience as much of life as she can and "enjoys hobbies of all sorts, from the "geeky" to the adventurous ones!"

"My goal is to say farewell to Corporate America and begin pursuing my life-long dream of becoming a doctor." — Lisa Hicks

Jen Maratea received both her BA in English in 2004 and MS in Education in 2005 from the University of Pennsylvania. After teaching in the field of education for a while, she decided to make a career change. She hopes to become an orthodontist. She is currently very happy to be a first-year pre-dental post-bacc student at Rutgers University.

"I greatly value an education that is combined with a strong sense of community, as well as networking opportunities with like-minded people who share my passion for health." — Jen Maratea

James McGee graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in policy analysis and management and earned a certificate in international business from Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. Upon graduating, he worked for Merrill Lynch and a startup educational consulting firm before realizing that his childhood dream of a career in medicine wasn't going to be brushed under the carpet so easily. Just to be sure that science was still his passion, Jim worked for a year in a research lab at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

With a lot of guidance from his wife, Jean, currently an MD/PhD student, he decided to switch to another research position at Princeton University, where he now works, so that he could enroll in the Rutgers Postbaccaulaureate Prehealth Program. He is excited to be continuing his education with other non-traditional students from a vast diversity of backgrounds.

"I believe medicine to be a field that, within our lifetimes, will face some of the greatest challenges, and yet be infused with some the greatest opportunities, we could possibly imagine. If you find yourself eager to solve tough scientific, political, and economic problems, or at least give them a sincere try, there should be no career more rewarding than one in human medicine." — James McGee

Fidelia Pokuah graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Biology in 2005. As the youngest of five children in a family with members working in the healthcare field, Fidelia developed an interest in a career in medicine at a very young age. To further explore her interest in research and other health related fields, she worked as a research assistant at Columbia University and as an intake coordinator at Albert Einstein Mental Health Clinic, after graduating from college. Working closely with physicians on a daily basis during this period, she quickly realized that her true passion and desire was to be a physician. In Fall 2006, she enrolled in the Rutgers Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Program to prepare for application to medical schools.

"My life experiences have solidified my decisions to become a doctor as I anticipate joining those helping to bridge the gap in healthcare
disparities." — Fidelia Pokuah

Amish Talwar graduated from Rutgers College in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Through his undergraduate studies, Amish realized that his primary interest is in saving people's' lives and not in making policy decisions that affect their lives. This realization motivated him to pursue a career in medicine and he enrolled in the Rutgers Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Program to pursue his goal.

"Toward the end of my undergraduate career, I began to realize that my new career goals were influenced more by a yearning to lay my mark on public policy rather than to simply and unequivocally help others." — Amish Talwar

Melissa Shah received a bachelors in Management from Villanova University in May of 2005. Upon graduation, she moved to Michigan and worked as a strategy & operations consultant at Deloitte Consulting where she consulted primarily in the healthcare industry. Consulting led her to places like Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida which required her to live out of hotels and fly twice a week, every week. Disillusioned by the lack of emotional connection both with colleagues and clients, she was motivated to pursue a career in which she could actively perform rather than provide recommendations to others who did practice. After working on a project to streamline an inefficient legal process at one of the nation's largest healthcare service providers, she became intrigued by the interdisciplinary nature of the healthcare industry. She recently moved back to New Jersey to pursue her new interest in a career in the dental industry. She enjoys cooking, dancing, and no longer dealing with flight delays every week.

"Very few environments besides the healthcare field allowed creativity, dexterity, and business to integrate with the sciences, offering its practitioners the ability to strengthen areas in which they had experience and develop areas in which they had limited knowledge." — Melissa Shah

Prasann Vachhani graduated from Rutgers School of Engineering in 2001 with dual degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and worked as a software engineer for 5 years. Although he found his work as a software engineer financially rewarding, Prasann started to feel a nagging sense of uncertainty about his career direction. Realizing that he was not interested in advancing his career in this field, he was motivated to return to school and pursue his childhood dream of a medical career by inspirational stories of nontraditional medical students. In Fall 2006, he enrolled in the Rutgers Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Program to pursue this goal. A few months after working nine to five sitting in front of a computer, I started to feel a nagging uncertainty as to whether this was indeed what I wanted to do. But I simply did not have the courage at the time to give up a financially rewarding job and go back to school." — Prasann Vachhani

Marnie Waxler graduated with a BM in Voice/Opera Performance from MGSA at Rutgers University in 2005. After trying her hand at performing professionally, she found that a music career wasn't what she truly wanted, and so decided to return to her original interest in health and science. To pursue this goal, Marnie enrolled in the premed track of the Rutgers Post-Baccalaureate Prehealth Program. She loves cooking, reading, writing poetry, singing, listening to good music (especially British bands), and sushi. Marnie currently lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her fiancé and their adorable cat, Finnigan.

"I feel like I am finally back on the path that I am meant to be on - and that's what matters in the long run." — Marnie Waxler

A proud parent of 4 kids, Barbara graduated with honors from University of Colorado, Boulder Leeds School of Business in May 1994 majoring in Accounting. She began college seeking to major in psychology and complete all prerequisites for medical school. However, for personal reasons, she changed her major to business. After working in Corporate Finance & Accounting for 9 years she decided to return on her path to a career in medicine. In 2004, she enrolled in the Posbac Pre-Health program at Rutgers University College. She graduated with highest honors with a second bachelor's degree majoring in Cell Biology & Neuroscience and was awarded the Normal C. Miller Award at the May 2007 University College commencement ceremony.

"Late in the year 2001, I decided it was time again to pursue my dreams of becoming a healthcare professional. My decision was influenced that summer, when my dear friend developed a kidney disease and lost total function of her kidneys. I decided to donate a kidney to her and after the healing process to return on my path to becoming a medical doctor." — Barb Wismer