A Visa lottery winner finds her path to medical school

Growing up in Albania, Sonola Burrja never imagined that she would move to Mamaroneck, New York, and study in the United States. But when her family won the U.S. government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa program lottery in 2018, the plan changed.

“The plan was that my younger brother and I get educated outside of Albania, which would probably result in our … not going back, [but]when we won the U.S. lottery, my parents saw it as a great opportunity for the entire family to stay together,” says Burrja, who graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in May.

Now, just five years after moving to New York, she’s a first-year student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. And she can’t imagine not having gone to Fordham, where she joined the pre-health program, majored in biological sciences, minored in German, and was part of the University’s inaugural group of ASPIRES scholars. Partially supported by the National Science Foundation, the program—which stands for Achievement in STEM through a Program of Immersive Research Experience and Support—provides a select group of undergraduates with scholarships for their four years at Fordham, guidance in and out of the lab, and funding for their undergraduate research. 

Conducting Ethical Research

Through ASPIRES, Burrja began collaborating with professors and conducting research almost right away—albeit not in the way she expected. It was March 2020, when COVID-19 spread to the United States, so her plan to conduct in-person research had to be put on hold in favor of a virtual research project.

“I was supposed to meet up with a researcher at Fordham that week that everything got shut down,” she recalls. Instead, she spent the summer working with Rachel Annunziato, Ph.D., a psychology professor and associate dean for strategic initiatives at Fordham College at Rose Hill, studying statistical data on diabetes and COVID-19 comorbidity.

Burrja went on to earn three undergraduate research grants from Fordham to support her work with biology professor Marija Kundakovic, Ph.D. She joined the Kundakovic Lab to study the epigenetic effects of hormones in female brains. 

“I never knew that there were so many differences between female and male brains—and that somebody at Fordham was actually tackling this issue,” Burrja says, explaining why she asked Kundakovic to be her mentor. “I really thought it was very interesting because some conditions, for example, depression and anxiety, have a sex bias of females during their reproductive stage. There are some huge differences, and we still don’t know enough about this topic—and the brain generally is a very unexplored area.”

To help her navigate the ethical questions that need to be taken into consideration when conducting research, Burrja took Ethics and Research, a course that allowed her to “discuss some very difficult dilemmas” and think deeper “about some issues that don’t really come into our lives, but if you go into medicine or if you go into actually doing research, those issues might come up—and there are actual consequences to being on one side or the other.”

And they will come up: Burrja plans to become a doctor. She’s not yet sure what her specialty will be, but one thing in particular is a must.

“The patient interaction part is something that I would not want to sacrifice,” she says. “I would like to be able to speak with them and just be an advocate for them, especially working with underserved populations.”

Read more “20 in Their 20s” profiles.

“I’m a city girl at heart, and I really love the Lincoln Center area. You have Central Park, a variety of restaurants and theaters, and a lot of diversity here,” she said.

Med-School Bound

She also knew that she wanted to go into medicine. She had lost her father, Mohammad, during her senior year in high school to complications from a stroke, and the experience inspired her to pursue a career where she could help prevent similar tragedies.

At Fordham, she joined the pre-health track and chose natural sciences as her major, where she took classes such as animal physiology, neurochemistry, and neuropharmacology. She is applying for medical school in the spring, and looking for research assistant positions in the meantime.

The kindness of medical staff that she encountered while her father was undergoing treatment is part of what inspires her.

“I want to be that kind of positive light for families that are going through it,” she said.

Fellowships in Science and Humanities

Last summer, she participated in a University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Undergraduate Research Fellowship, where she conducted research on mortality rates for patients undergoing pancreatic cancer surgery.

Though she majored in the sciences, Asha also enjoyed her humanities classes at Fordham. As part of a Teagle fellowship in 2021, Asha did a project tying the themes in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and W.E.B. Du Bois’ Souls of Black Folk to contemporary issues of racial injustice that were exacerbated during the COVID pandemic.

Her favorite course at Fordham was Faith and Critical Reasoning, which she took with Leo Guardado, Ph.D. It helped her see how theology can apply to scientific concepts such as artificial intelligence, she said.

“I also come from a Muslim background, so even though Fordham is a Catholic institution, I appreciate the fact that he took the time to go through the sacred text of each religion, and just made it all really easy to understand,” she said.

Prioritizing Mental Health

Just as important was the help she got when the road to graduation got a little bumpy. Her return to in-person classes after the pandemic was accompanied by notoriously hard classes such as organic chemistry, genetics, and anatomy.

Last year, Asha found herself battling anxiety and insomnia. She decided to prioritize her mental and physical health by going to University Health Services, working with a psychiatrist, and asking for accommodations for testing and assignments from Fordham. She still made the Dean’s list three years in a row.

“Looking back, I’m very grateful because things are just gonna get harder going forward. There are always going to be things that pile up. It was just really a learning experience, and because of last year, I’m in a much better mindset this year,” she said.

Hope to Spare

Deborah Luckett, Ph.D., a senior lecturer of biology, had Asha in her Concepts in Biology course as a first-year student and again this year in Science, Technology, and Society’s Values. She has no doubt that Asha will thrive.

“She’s going be my doctor whether she realizes it or not,” she said laughing.

In addition to drive and good grades, Luckett said Asha possesses a keen ability to pay attention to others.

“If you don’t really know Afsana and you’re talking to her, you may think she’s not listening, but she can say word for word just about anything you just said,” she said.

“She’s very dedicated, she loves what she does, and she loves being around people. If she’s caring for a person who is very ill, they will never feel neglected and will never feel like there is no hope. Because she will have hope for both of them.”

The words study abroad bring to mind traveling to new places, meeting different people, eating all kinds of delicious foods, and having new experiences. I had the pleasure of leading a dozen Fordham pre-health students to Cali, Colombia, on a weeklong study abroad course. Since this is the third time I am leading this course, I can say that study abroad not only opens students’ eyes to new cultures and new possibilities but also gives them the opportunity to learn about themselves.

Almost half of all Fordham undergraduates study abroad, but it is not very common for students in the pre-health professions track. A one-credit service course, called Community Health in Cali, Colombia, held each year during spring break, is probably the only study abroad program available for pre-health students. As the faculty leader, I have always enjoyed the trip as it feels like an extension of my Human Physiology course here on campus. Not only do we talk about human health and disease, but I can also extend the discussions on health care systems in the U.S. and abroad.

As part of the service course, these students get to visit the city of Cali and learn about the health care system there. Colombia has the fourth largest economy in Latin America and Cali is the third largest city in Colombia, located southwest of Bogotá and situated in the Valle de Cauca. It is a thriving metropolis of about 2.4 million people. Cali has many private and public universities and Fordham has a special relationship with Javeriana University, a private Jesuit university that hosts us while we’re there. Javeriana is a nonresidential university with undergraduate and graduate programs; it also has a medical school. Colombian students start medical school directly from high school and graduate in five years, followed by a one-year internship and residency.

Fordham students are inquisitive and eager to learn about other cultures and different health care systems. The study abroad course is ideally suited for pre-health students interested in pursuing medicine as well as public health. What we discover is that Colombia’s healthcare system is based on the income level of the people and organizes the population into six strata, or levels. The bottom-most layer is made up of people that have very low or no income; their basic medical care is covered by the government. At higher income levels, people receive better medical coverage from their employers. People at the highest strata are often able to pay out of pocket and access the best medical care available.

As the week progressed, we interacted with many Javeriana medical students, who are very open and friendly, and attended lectures and labs with Javeriana medical school faculty. The students dissected pig hearts, studied the electrophysiology of the cardiovascular system, and learned how to get a medical history of patients in Spanish. They also listened to a lecture on the various facets of being a physician—the hard work, the physical and emotional toll, as well as the financial remuneration. One of the medical school professors also highlighted the most important reason to choose medicine as a profession: the capacity to serve others and derive happiness from it.

We visited several hospitals and clinics to get a better idea of the healthcare system in Colombia. One of the best and most touching experiences for students was visiting the Institute for Deaf and Blind children, where the disabled children get necessary surgeries and treatments for their conditions. The institute also has a school that teaches them skills to make them independent and help them transition to high school and college so that they can become productive members of society.

We also got to be a part of an outreach program run by Javeriana public health faculty and Javeriana medical students. The students visit areas in and around Cali, especially on the hillsides, where it might be harder for people to access the medical centers. They talk to people about good nutrition, maternal and children’s health, vaccinations, how to maintain healthy lifestyles, and exercise, among other things. This is a great opportunity for Fordham students to actually meet the local people and interact with them.

One of the most important aspects of education, and certainly Jesuit education, is to reflect on the learning and incorporate the learning into practice. As part of the program, I asked the students to submit a daily reflection. At the end of the trip, I asked them to write a reflective paper examining how the program influenced their thinking in terms of their commitment to health professions, and how they might incorporate the lessons they learned in Cali moving forward. All the students felt that the program helped them to visualize themselves in medical school and a hospital setting and to be able to communicate with people from different backgrounds. They felt a new sense of confidence.

In all, it was a fun and educational experience and that leaves the students reenergized and refocused on their future plans to be part of a profession that improves lives. The most important thing we learned about was our ability to connect at a very human level—and that it’s our connections that define us, not our differences. That, I hope, is the lasting message that resonates with all my students, regardless of the professions they enter.

Photos courtesy of Usha Sankar.

Top photo, standing, left to right: Sydney Souness, Antonia Flores, Maribel Molina, Samantha Hamilton, Fatima Khan, Usha Sankar Ph.D., John Soriano, Brittany Zaita, LiYing Wei, Stephanie Pepdjonovic. Sitting, left to right: local guide Veronica Paris, Issy Asianah, Kevin Quiah, Daniel Garcia

“Just look at my hair and beard!” said Christopher Proto, D.D.S. “I was wearing the uniform of the day—flannel shirt. You can tell who lived on campus and more or less rolled out of bed, and who commuted. Maybe that’s why Gloria looked more put together.”

Like Proto, Gloria Coruzzi, Ph.D., majored in biology at Fordham, but after graduation, the lab partners went their separate ways to start careers and families. She earned a doctorate in molecular and cell biology at NYU, where she’s the Carroll & Milton Petrie Professor and a former chair of the biology department. He earned a doctorate in dental surgery at Georgetown and has been in private practice since 1981.

They reconnected about six years ago, Proto said, after a chance encounter in a restaurant on Arthur Avenue, near Fordham’s Rose Hill campus.

Proto was having lunch with his wife, Monica, and their son, Andrew, FCRH ’12, when he spotted Coruzzi walking back to a table to join her husband and son. “I stopped her and said, ‘Gloria?’ She hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Chris?’” The friends embraced, and introduced their spouses and sons. “We couldn’t believe that we reconnected in the Bronx after all these years,” he said. “It was like a movie.”

They later met for lunch near NYU, where Proto is now a clinical instructor at the College of Dentistry, and eventually brought two other former classmates into the fold: David Perricone, M.D., a pediatrician; and Diane Esposito, Ph.D., who earned a doctorate in biology at Fordham in 1982 and is now director of research compliance at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

“We were an unusually balanced, fun foursome,” Coruzzi said.

“But,” Proto added, “Gloria was always the one who told us to stop fooling around! She kept us on task.”

Last June, the foursome returned to Rose Hill for Jubilee.

“We were all connected at some level, but our 40th reunion brought us together on campus for the first time,” Coruzzi said. “We walked down memory lane, even went into some of the labs.”

Both Proto and Coruzzi recalled the challenges of being pre-health majors—the long hours in the lab, the competition and anxiety associated with getting into grad school. But they said the support they received from professors and peers at Fordham continues to serve them well.

“As in any walk of life, we found that common adversity helps you develop strong bonds. You see it in the armed forces, on sports teams—we supported each other,” Proto said. “That sense of teamwork was very important to me.”

Coruzzi said she found a mentor in biology professor E. Ruth Witkus, Ph.D., who joined the Fordham faculty in 1944 and chaired the biology department from 1966 to 1978.

“She was chair of the department when women weren’t in many faculty positions,” Coruzzi said of Witkus, who died in 2008 at the age of 89. “She was way ahead of her time—razor-sharp smart, very decisive—and that really influenced me, especially when I was chair of the biology department at NYU. I’ve always thought of myself as a scientist, not a ‘woman scientist.’”

Coruzzi added that the Jesuit model of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, is something she tries to convey to her own students.

“You’re embraced by it,” she said, “and it stays with you as a person. Those ties that you make in college really can follow you for the rest of your life.”

Register here for Jubilee ’17, scheduled for June 2 to 4. And go to fordham.edu/reunions for information about all of this spring’s events, including the Lincoln Center reunions.

The newly renovated 140 West 62nd Street, once home to Fordham Law School, has been transformed into a state-of-the-art facility with a three-story library, a student lounge and café, health and counseling centers, career services offices, and abundant space for classrooms and student activities.

The new space serves as the Lincoln Center home of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business, offering students spacious lecture halls, an innovation lab, and a trading room with rows of Bloomberg financial data terminals.

Designed for energy efficiency and equipped with the latest technology, the building provides plenty of space for students to collaborate—from group study rooms in the library to large event halls and space for student clubs.

Story continues below the slideshow.

Here’s what students are saying about the new 140.

Paul Novak, Freshman, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Justin Westbrook-Lowery, Freshman, Fordham College at Lincoln Center

“I love coming here, having tea with friends after classes, having a conversation, and getting a little snack,” said Westbrook-Lowery from his seat in the lounge, where students can refuel with a beverage and a bite to eat from Argo Tea. “And I love that we’re so close to the library. I don’t have to leave the building and go to another space.”

Westbrook-Lowery commutes from his home in the Bronx. He chose Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus because he loves being in the heart of the city. “This brings me close to all the different opportunities I’m looking for—in politics, history, everything,” he said.

Sitting with Westbrook-Lowery, Novak said he loves how communal the space is. “It’s so nice to have one space where we can all come together. I came from a small town in Massachusetts, so the change from a suburb to a city was one I really wanted to go through. When I first visited Manhattan with my family, I thought, I could never live here, ever. It’s just too busy. But the second I moved [to campus], I thought, I finally found a place where I feel happy.”

Masha Bychkova, Junior, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Majors: Classical Languages and Classical Civilizations (Minor in Visual Arts)
Recruitment Chair and Winterfest Committee Chair, Campus Activities Board (CAB)

“CAB has its own offices here,” said Bychkova, sitting outside on the plaza as she waited for her Winterfest meeting to begin. “We have a space we can use, everything’s very organized. It’s really nice to have a distinct space for student affairs—separate from academic areas.” A member of the first class to live in McKeon Hall—the residence hall that opened atop Fordham’s new Law School building on 62nd Street in 2014, Bychkova says the renovation of 140 “completes the whole campus.”

Adiyah Baig, Senior, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Major: Computer Science
Saad Baig, Sophomore, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Major: Computer Science

Heading out of the library with her brother, Adiyah said she likes the big windows and the views. “When you’re studying, at one point you start to feel like you’re caged in, and you’re stuffed with all this information. You don’t want the place you’re studying in to also be stuffy. When you have a place like this, you can look outside, you can see the pretty greenery, other people walking around. You think, let me take a break and go for a walk or something. It’s nice.”

Saad appreciates having the room to spread out. “I like having my personal space,” he said. As a science major, he’s also anticipating using the new group study rooms for projects with his lab partners.

Anthony Norris, Junior, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center
Major: Global Business with a concentration in Global Finance

With five out of his six classes held at 140, Norris spends a lot of his time in the new space. “This place is a second home to me. Being in such a new place makes it very easy to learn,” he said. A member of the Gabelli School’s first Lincoln Center class, Norris founded the Investment Group, a student club that’s now about 200 members strong.

“I’ve had a quite a few Investment Group meetings in here, so I get to take advantage of the conference rooms,” he said. He also looks forward to using the Bloomberg terminals, which he’s familiar with from his summer internship at Morgan Stanley. “There’s a lot of things to take advantage of here. There’s every resource available to you.”

Namrata Marjit, Senior, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Major: Natural Sciences
Hend Saad, Senior, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Major: Natural Sciences

“The new space is really beautiful,” says Marjit, who worked at the old Quinn Library and plans to work at the new one this year with Saad. “It allows the students to feel more welcome. It’s very homey.” She loves how spacious the lounge area is. “I can always find a seat.” And she likes the outdoor garden located just outside.

As a commuter student, Marjit appreciates having a spot where she can get her studying done. “Sometimes working at home is not possible,” she said. “You need a place with a lot of resources.”

An aspiring physician in Fordham’s Pre-Health Program, Marjit was always one to hang out in the library, and looks forward to continuing to “catch up with friends” in the new space.

Saad, who is also in the Pre-Health Program and plans to go to dental school, came to the library to scan a page from one of her textbooks. “I’m gonna be here 24-7. I study here, I’m going to work here,” she said with a laugh. “All my gaps between classes, I’ll be here.” Saad, who was born in Egypt and grew up in Queens, said the new library space has a vibrancy that she loves.

Photos by Dianna Ekins, Bud Glick, and Logan West