{"id":7347,"date":"2019-09-26T14:49:06","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T18:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=7347"},"modified":"2024-05-07T13:35:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T17:35:23","slug":"meet-mehdi-husaini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/meet-mehdi-husaini\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Mehdi Husaini"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m a senior majoring in biology with a concentration in\nmolecular cell physiology. I\u2019m also minoring in Spanish and physics. Keeping up\nwith a major and two minors definitely keeps me busy, but I enjoy it\u2014even if\nit\u2019s already given me a few gray hairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a student researcher with Assistant Professor Cathryn Kubera since my freshman year, I\u2019ve been investigating the importance of a protein called fascin in the aggressiveness and motility of certain brain cancers. Doing cancer research as an undergrad has been a highlight of my time at Monmouth. I\u2019ve even presented my research at the National Collegiate Honors Council, where I won second place in natural sciences at their\nnational conference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the time I was a child, my parents have told me that we\u2019re here to help other people. That\u2019s part of the reason I work as a volunteer interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients at the Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank, New Jersey. The patients are uninsured, mostly from the Latino community, and some have made it through incredible hardships. The experience has opened my eyes to the things we take for granted\u2014and the work that has to be done by my generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have already taken the MCATs, and I\u2019m currently applying to medical schools. I don\u2019t know what specialty I want to pursue yet, but I know that I want to balance clinical work with a role in health care policy or administration. With the way things are today, the medical field needs good, vocal representatives who are also physicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing cancer research as an undergrad has been a highlight of my time at Monmouth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been involved in Monmouth\u2019s Student Government Association since my first year, and last year served as president. When I found out that roughly 30% of college students nationally struggle with food insecurity, I wanted to help Monmouth take action. So last year, SGA started The Nest\u2014a University-owned food pantry for Monmouth students. The effect on campus has been palpable<\/a>, and I think we\u2019ve created something that will continue to influence the culture at Monmouth for a long time to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walls of the SGA office are covered with inspirational quotes by everyone from Shakespeare to Dolly Parton. Each president and vice president gets to pick something to put up there when they leave. Former Vice President Leslie Valdez and I haven\u2019t decided exactly what we\u2019ll write yet, but we\u2019re leaning toward \u201cBe the change you wish to see in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m from East Windsor, New Jersey, and at first I wasn\u2019t sure about going to Monmouth\u2014a small school that\u2019s so close to home. Now I tell everyone that I\u2019ve never been more proud to be wrong about something in my life. I\u2019ve found people at Monmouth who have become my mentors, I\u2019ve met friends who have changed my worldview, and I\u2019ve had countless experiences that made me who I am today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the SGA offices to the bio labs, the senior is making his mark while looking toward the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":7350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":45,\"y\":24}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents","category-tides"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents, Tides","issue":"Fall 2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7347"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7368,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7347\/revisions\/7368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}