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Great Grads Archived article from Jun 2, 2003
They come from different schools within the university and diverse areas of the state, and their interests and aspirations vary greatly. But these graduates have much in common: They are outstanding students with bright ideas who have pursued their goals with focus and diligence, reflecting the values and ideals to which Rutgers aspires. Seeing double Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy During most of their six years at Rutgers, they shared a car and cell phone, took the same classes and, whether living on or off campus, bunked in the same room. Now Bradley and Brian Tumminello, 24-year-old identical twins, share something else: doctoral degrees from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. (Each earned his own, of course.) As far as John Colaizzi, dean of the School of Pharmacy, can recall (and he's been at the school for 24 years) the Tumminellos are the first set of twins to graduate from the pharmacy school. "They are exemplary students, both honors students and very polite young men," says Colaizzi.
During their fourth year, Colaizzi says, he finally was able tell them apart. "Brian is more serious and Bradley more gregarious," he observes, an assessment with which the twins agree. The Tumminellos — talkative brothers who finish each other's sentences — attended Johnson High School in Clark, where they excelled in biology and chemistry. Brian, who Brad insists is "the smarter one," had toyed with becoming a doctor. But senior year, both turned to pharmacy — their mother works for a pharmaceutical consulting firm — and left medical school to their sister, Tara, 10 months older than the twins. (She's applying now.) When the twins first arrived at Rutgers, they were nervous. "Our high school graduating class was 170," says Brad. "We were afraid we'd get lost." But attending a small college within the framework of a large university gave them the benefits of both. "Being twins makes it easier," Brian admits. "People notice you." Nevertheless, a demanding course load and part-time jobs at Rite Aid in Clark didn't leave a lot of time for socializing. The six-year Pharm.D. track requires a commitment beyond the classroom. Along with challenging courses on such topics as molecular biology, immunology and oncology therapeutics, students intern in a variety of settings within hospitals, pharmacies and industry. This fall, following some well-deserved time at the shore, both will start paid doctoral fellowships — Brian at Bristol Myers Squibb in Plainsboro and Brad at Sankyo in Parsippany — while continuing their work at Rite Aid. That means heading back home to their old Clark bedroom, complete with bunk beds, until they save up enough for a house of their own. Can't imagine it should take them long. — Carla Cantor Douglass College When Alexis Jemal walked into the College Avenue gym her first year at Douglass College and told fencing coach Yefim Litvan she wanted to fence, she had little experience with the sport.
"She wasn't recruited for fencing. She hadn't played in high school," says Litvan. But after watching her those first few weeks, Litvan saw something special. "Alexis had flexibility, speed and a fierce determination. I knew she'd go far." Litvan called it right. Four years later Jemal is one of Rutgers' top athletes and the No. 5 fencer in the country. Undefeated for much of her senior year, she won first place in the women's saber competition at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Colorado Springs in March, leading the Scarlet Knights' fencing team to a ninth place finish at the 31-team event. Growing up in Westfield, Jemal studied martial arts at the local YMCA. She also ran track, played the alto sax in the marching band and was president of Helping Hands, a service group at her school. Her high school didn't have a fencing team. "I had always thought that fencing was an aristocratic, expensive sport — which it is — and hadn't given it much thought," Jemal says. Then, during the spring of her senior year of high school, the YMCA offered a fencing class and she was hooked. "I did some research and found out about an organization in New York, the Peter Westbrook Foundation, that helps minority and inner-city kids get started in fencing," says Jemal. Jemal met with Westbrook and began training at the center's New York Fencing Club. When she made the Rutgers team that fall, she devised a grueling schedule: 8 a.m.–11 a.m., train with Coach Litvan at the College Avenue gym; 11 a.m.–4 p.m., attend classes; 4:30 p.m., catch the train to New York and fence until 10 p.m. She rarely made it back to her dorm before midnight. Combining her academic interests — Jemal hopes to become a lawyer — and a social life with fencing hasn't been easy. This past semester she traveled so much for competitions — Budapest one month, Colorado, Italy and France the next — she found it difficult to study. Still, she managed to graduate with a 3.88 average. She describes her commitment to fencing as a "love-hate relationship." Fencing is as mental as it is physical, Jemal says, "exhilarating one day, frustrating and exhausting the next. It teaches you so many life lessons: how to accept defeat, make breakthroughs, examine your game, keep on trying. It's a very humbling sport." This fall, Jemal will begin a juris doctor/master of social work accelerated dual-degree program offered by Rutgers' School of Social Work in conjunction with the School of Law–Newark. She'll also continue to fence in New York to prepare for the Olympics. Will it be 2004 in Athens or 2008 in Beijing? She isn't sure. "I've thought about going out in 2004," Jemal says, "but I'm beginning to think that 2008 would make more sense. I've balanced so much in my life. Whatever point I'm at, I believe I'll be able to get to this goal." — Carla Cantor Statistical certainty Livingston College Bhavisha Patel was sitting in class when a professor's off-hand comment that the average person makes three career changes in a lifetime stopped her in her academic tracks. At the time the Livingston College senior had a double major in economics and management. "I was heading down a certain pathway, and the statement made me realize that there was no way I could be happy in business for the rest of my life."
A few interviews in the "real world" convinced her of the need to find a new career path. "Management positions did not provide a meaningful career. On the other hand, I have always been good in statistics and, after talking things over with my professors and family, I realized that I wanted to work in that field." Never mind that she needed 16 courses to complete the statistics major. Her parents suggested that she stay on at Livingston the extra year. "I crammed in a lot, taking full course loads over two summers," says Patel, who also found time to volunteer with a junior achievement program, teaching a business course at a local high school. Switching gears isn't totally new for Patel. Until age 9 she lived in Zambia in southern Africa, where her father owned clothing stores. In 1990, her family emigrated to the United States, where her father went into the hotel business. "We went wherever my dad's hotels took us," says Patel, who moved several times, including stints in North Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, before settling in Voorhees seven years ago. Perhaps that's why the certainty of statistics attracts her. "What I love about statistics is that there are definite answers to all your problems, whereas in management the measure of success is grayer," says Patel, who is applying to graduate schools in biostatistics and hopes to eventually work for a pharmaceutical company. In the meantime, Patel plans to take it easy this summer while applying for graduate school, if she can find the time to relax in between working in her father's hotel, volunteering for the Red Cross and starting a tutoring program for math and statistics in her community. — Carla Cantor Religious revival Camden College of Arts and Sciences Self-assured and self-directed, Camden senior Christine Evans heads off this month to begin a master's program at Harvard University's Divinity School. The decision to devote herself to the academic pursuit of religion is not one she came by lightly. Growing up in Haddonfield, Evans, the daughter of Camden biology Professor Robert C. Evans, once got in trouble for skipping church to play soccer. "I have always been frightened and fascinated by religion, a subject about which people can get so passionate without fully understanding what they believe," says Evans. She also found her religious upbringing too limiting. "It wasn't physical enough. I felt torn between church and other activities." That concept was rocked when she took her first religion class with Stuart Charme, professor of religion and philosophy, who later became her adviser. As part of the course, Evans attended a goddess ceremony in Berlin, Pa. "This was a pagan, mother-based religion. I saw how nurturing and holistic religion could be compared to my own Lutheran background." Charme played an integral part in her decision to pursue a religion major. "I admired his approach," Evans says. "It was less about doctrine than about why people believe what they do and how religion influences everyday life."
When it came time to apply to graduate school, Evans felt pulled by competing passions: religion, Irish literature and feminism. Applications went off to the University of Chicago, Trinity College and University College in Dublin, as well as Harvard University's Divinity School. She got into all four programs. After some soul searching, Evans emerged with a clear direction: She would study religion at Harvard. A fellowship with full tuition helped. "Religion is such a broad and powerful topic," Evans says. "Literature and Ireland are important, but neither is more central to my life than the chance to explore the interactions between religion and gender and the fundamental role played by religious traditions in defining roles for women." — Carla Cantor
School of Law–Newark For Donita Judge, commencement ceremonies at the School of Law–Newark were the final stop on a journey that really started back in high school. Her yearbook write-up notes Judge's goal of becoming a lawyer and, after serving 25 years as a United Airlines flight attendant, raising a daughter and losing her closest friend Sept. 11, 2001, she is finally achieving that goal.
Years of flying weekends, then studying and taking classes during the week, were "physically exhausting," says the Denville resident, but she stuck to her goal, even after the tragedy of United Flight 93 — the hijacked flight that crashed in Pennsylvania — cost the life of her best friend and several other colleagues. Judge coped with the tragedy, and helped others in turn, by establishing a Rutgers law school scholarship in memory of her friend. The Wanda Green Memorial Scholarship helps minority students who lost a parent or guardian Sept. 11. "The Rutgers scholarship program for 9/11 only helps undergraduate students," Judge notes, so the Green fund meets an important need. Judge came to the law school through the Minority Student Program. She had earned an undergraduate degree on the Newark campus, graduating from the Honors College and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa — all while flying weekends and studying during the week. She tackled her studies at the law school with the same focus and energy, becoming a Kinoy/Stavis public interest fellow and volunteering with the Association of Black Law Students. She was the driving force behind the "Get on the Bus" campaign to stage a rally in Washington, D.C., as the Supreme Court began hearing a legal challenge to affirmative action programs at colleges and universities. The campaign ultimately sent 13 busloads of supporters to the rally. "We really made a difference, I think," says Judge. Judge plans to be a civil rights attorney, and already has spent a summer working with the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund. "So many people need a voice," she says. "I can be that voice." — Carla Capizzi
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For questions or comments about this site, contact Greg Trevor Last Updated: May 30, 2006 © 2012 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved. 
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Bradley and Brian Tumminello
