Fizza Sulaiman is a living example of the power of persistence. She did not start out as great student at Middlesex County College. But boy, she’s made up for it ever since. So much so that she just received the largest and most prestigious transfer scholarship in the nation. Ms. Sulaiman was awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. It covers up to $40,000 per year as she transfers on to four-year universities. Gina Bedoya, a counselor who works with Cooke applicants, said the award covers tuition, fees, books and living expenses. “It truly is life-changing,” she said.
Ms. Sulaiman arrived at MCC in 1999 and did not do well. Ms. Sulaiman left MCC in 2003 but came back determined to succeed. “Education is the only way up,” she said. “I was focused. My time management skills, my study skills – everything changed.” When she received a scholarship from the MCC Foundation, she became even more determined. “I can’t let them down. They trusted me,” she said. She felt the small class size and personal attention she received from her professors were the keys to her success. “For me it was the professors,” she said. “If they had to stay an extra two hours just to help me understand something, they were willing to do that.” She named Professors George Pangalos, Donna-Marie Gardner and Erin Christensen as mentors.
Ms. Sulaiman, a biology major, is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the North Brunswick First Aid and Rescue Squad, as well as Democracy House, the College’s servicelearning program. She is planning to attend either Columbia University or the University of Pennsylvania.
