Biomedical Sciences Student Maintains a Hectic, but Meaningful, Schedule

“Time management is definitely one of the things I have worked on—because I have had to,” Amanda, a junior, said. “I feel as if I have mastered it at this point. Since my senior year of high school, I knew I had to work if I wanted to do well in college and attend medical school.”

“It does require discipline,” Amanda continued. “I know things are not going to be given to me. I need to be the best medical school candidate possible, and it is only going to come from me doing the work while in college.”

Amanda’s dream of becoming a doctor was born in her native Guyana. It grew when the family came to the United States 15 years ago, settling in Richmond Hill, NY. Amanda excelled at nearby Townsend Harris High School, where she began a service path that continues at St. John’s. 

These days, Amanda volunteers at an area cardiology office and works as a behavioral therapist for a Queens, NY-based pediatric therapy service. She is also a certified SAT tutor, freelance writer for a pharmaceutical trade publication, and an administrative aide at The School of Education at St. John’s.

Amanda is also a Queens Public Library volunteer, and soon will begin mentorship duties with both the E.P.I.C. (Establish Relationships, Promote Possibilities, Impact Direction, Confirm Next Steps) and R.I.S.E. (Reach, Inspire, Succeed, Empower) networks at St. John’s.

In addition to all of these activities, she participates in the University Honors Program. She is also a Student Ambassador, helping to spread the word about the possibilities she has discovered at St. John’s. 

“I do not really have that much time for hobbies,” Amanda joked.

Amanda’s schedule became even more demanding in the summer of 2025, when she began an internship with the Northeast Regional Alliance MedPrep Academy that will help her improve her medical school candidacy. In addition to helping her prepare for the challenging Medical College Admission Test, the program enabled her to spend three months at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The three-year program will also allow her to experience Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the future.

“I basically secured an internship in my field for last summer, this coming summer, and the summer after,” Amanda said. “It’s a blessing I am thankful for.”

Born in the small community of Berpice, Guyana, southeast of Venezuela, Amanda came to the United States at age seven with her mother and older sister. Her father remained behind to continue his job, with the goal of reuniting with the family in their new home in Queens, NY.

Amanda developed her work ethic through the example of her parents, who both held multiple jobs to ensure their children always had ambition—including the ambition to come to the United States. She and her older sister, who works in the financial services sector, are the first in their family to attend college.

Amanda’s journey here was not without complications, however. Separated from her father at age seven, she developed an emotional condition that left her temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. The symptoms mirrored those of spinal-cord paralysis; the condition only abated months later when she reconnected with her father in Guyana.

Eventually, Amanda’s father reunited with the family in a process that took three years to complete. Today, her father works as a security guard for the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Health Care System. Her mother is a professional caregiver.

“I do not know if it was separation anxiety from my father, but I ended up being paralyzed from the hip down,” Amanda recalled. “For a little while, I could not walk. There was no physical diagnosis detected; it was genuinely a psychological issue.”

Comfortable in her new surroundings with her father by her side, Amanda excelled in high school and then found St. John’s to be a compassionate destination willing to accommodate her needs. 

“When I have asked for things like, say, a work-study job, I have gotten them,” she said. “St. John’s really does provide great opportunities for students.”

In May, she will participate in a 10-day service immersion to Panama as a way of spreading the St. John’s mission that has come to mean so much to her.

“Amanda’s energy and disposition brighten my day,” said Mirella Avalos-Louie, Ed.D., Associate Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Programming, The School of Education, and Amanda’s work-study supervisor. “She is resilient, motivated, and resourceful. Amanda does not wait for opportunities to come to her. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for her.”