Bridge to a New Opportunity

Balqiisa J-Elmi had a plan. She would graduate from PSLA at Fowler and move on to her dream school, Loyola University Chicago. But when her plans fell through, her high school advisor recommended she attend Onondaga Community College and apply to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). Within a month of her high school graduation, J-Elmi entered EOP's Pre-Freshman Summer Institute. She lived on campus for a month-and-a-half and completed two college math courses. "I remember being devastated when I realized I wouldn't be attending Loyola. There is quite literally few things I am more grateful for than having what I thought was a setback work out for me in the long run."

Once the fall semester began, J-Elmi remained active in EOP along with the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (C-STEP). She also joined the Muslim Student Association and became the organization's secretary.

After a successful first semester in the Mathematics & Science major, J-Elmi began hearing about a summer paid internship program, "Bridges to Baccalaureate." C-STEP's Colleen Stevens and Leslie Reid, along with Biology Professor Maryann Page, all encouraged her to apply. Bridges to Baccalaureate supports under-represented students interested in pursuing careers in biomedical sciences. After much hesitation, she applied and was surprised to be chosen for the 8-week program.

J-Elmi's summer internship was at SUNY Binghamton. While working under the watchful eye of Professor Christopher R. Bishop, she studied Parkinson's Disease in rats. "We ran motor deficit assessment tests to quantify movement and make hypothesis about how certain drugs would help alleviate typical Parkinson's Disease symptoms. I fell in love with research. It was engaging and kept me curious."

Her experience was so positive, she decided to transfer to SUNY Binghamton where this semester she's majoring in Integrative Neuroscience. It's not where she expected to be, but she's extremely grateful to be there. "My C-STEP and EOP Navigators as well as my Biology Professor were huge supporters. It helped me understand I was not as on my own or lost when I was starting college. I've been recommending the Bridges program to incoming sophomore OCC friends and will continue to do so!"