Lester Castor, BSN'12 (Metro)
Castor is a Clinical Nurse Manager in Cardiac Services at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
"I see the other side of this curve, where we will look back and can say how hard we fought. Let's continue fighting. To stay positive. For divided we fall, but together we will rise."
Emory Alexander
Senior forensic psychology student at FDU's Metropolitan Campus.
Emory works overnight on the NYC subway systems to place people who are experiencing chronic homelessness in shelters and other housing options. She is a subway train based outreach specialist for Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC).
"This disease is scary for everyone and the best choice is to stay home, but for the close to 5,000 people in NYC who sleep in the street or subways every night, that is not a choice. Every night, I try to bring them home. And every morning I go home thankful and grateful for the opportunity to serve."
Brian Temple, BS'00, MS'01 (Metro)
Temple, MD, MS, FACP, is working as an infectious disease physician and the Director of Antibiotic Stewardship at the Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI.
"FDU helped shape my mind and character as a 16-year-old student from Sierra Leone — and my two FDU degrees prepared me well for a challenging medical career."
Class of 2017 Nursing alumni
Here's where these BSN'17 (Metro) graduates are fighting on the front lines (from left to right):
- Jillian Smith, Monmouth Medical Center
- Katrina Thelisme, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
- Sharmaine Lindo, Kessler Rehabilitation
- Sarah Uran, Englewood Health
- Grace Ann Gigante, The Mount Sinai Hospital
Senior nursing students Carolina Fortes (far left) and Lauren Padron (third from the left) are volunteering with the Morris County Medical Reserve Corps at the County College of Morris COVID-19 testing site, alongside Carolyn Garzone, lecturer of nursing at FDU (second from the left) and Marnie Sperling, nursing clinical assistant professor at FDU (far right).
Ramsey Samy, BS'15 (Metro), PharmD'19 (Flor)
Post-doctoral fellow at FDU's School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Samy is working as a response pharmacist at the Secaucus Field Hospital, which was built at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in response to the need for more hospital beds.
"As a health care provider on the front line in the fight against the novel coronavirus, it is clear that the world will look towards you for your ability to research, learn, teach and apply at a moment's notice. When you find yourself face-to-face with a COVID-19 patient who is coding on an overnight shift, you learn that the best tools are your education, training and professional experiences."
Melanie Rivera, BS'19 (Metro)
Rivera is playing a vital role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as a medical laboratory scientist. She's currently testing patients for the virus at Holy Name Medical Center and St. Joseph's Health, in addition to her normal duties of working in the blood bank, hematology and microbiology labs.
Judith Williams, BA’11 (Metro)
Williams is a graphic designer at BioReference, a laboratory specializing in clinical diagnostic services. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the company has been in full force, with an emphasis on increasing testing capacity, decreasing testing turnaround time, and providing non-traditional testing access and options. Williams and the graphics department are designing digital, web and social media content with the latest information to keep the public informed.
