By Alexandra Pecharich
The Drs. Castellanos took their chances with FIU. Back before the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine welcomed its first class of students to campus, in the fall of 2009, father and son each separately cast his fate with the new school. The elder Castellanos – both men are named Daniel [...]
By Angeline Evans
Kaiming Wu’s beaming expression has come to symbolize the success of FIU’s first graduating class of medical students. A photo capturing the moment Wu found out he had secured his first-choice residency has been used on billboards, news stories and Facebook. Behind the photo is a life’s work culminating in [...]
By Alexandra Pecharich
Kailee Imperatore wants to be a detective. Trained as a doctor – the 27-year-old just graduated from the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine as a member of its historic first class – she cares less about treating people directly, like a surgeon might, than she does about getting to the [...]
By FIU Magazine
By Elizabeth Hanly Dr. Trine Engebretsen bristles at the mere hint of anyone expressing sympathy for her – something she makes clear when strangers ask about her story. After all, Engebretsen’s entire life has been one display after another of fortitude. “Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue,” she states, [...]
By Alexandra Pecharich
Jean Hannan ’87, MS ’01, Ph.D. ’10 is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. When I graduated from high school, my father insisted I become an airline pilot like he was. But growing up I had seen him threatened with unemployment several times, and I [...]
By Alexandra Pecharich
Tina Vidal-Smith ’02, MIB ’04 Pacer Health Corporation, Vice President of Business Development Brick Mountain Billing, Vice President of Business Development ML Management, Co- founder and Manager, Mixed Martial Arts Bachelor’s in international business and marketing Master’s in international business Lifetime member FIU Alumni Association Q: As an undergraduate, you [...]
By JoAnn Adkins
Alumni couple Gitika and Sapan Bafna inspired by their Jain faith to expand religious understanding in South Florida South Florida’s small, tight-knit Jain community built a Jain temple in 2009. In this holy space where a marble likeness of the Swami Mahavir smiles benevolently, families gather to teach their children [...]
By Angeline Evans
FIU’s youngest known graduate has found his passion and a career to match. Sky Choi’s usually sunny demeanor transforms into one of focus and concentration when he practices forms, or “poomsae,” in taekwondo. One of Choi’s favorite forms is the Koryo. The form is said to symbolize “seonbae,” or a [...]
By Silvia Rodriguez
To say FIU junior guard Jerica Coley has had a good season would be putting it lightly. The two-time Associated Press All-American leads the nation in scoring with an average of 26.3 points per game and she’s also FIU’s first-ever two time Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Player of the Year. [...]
By James Hellegaard
Engineering Professor Arindam Chowdhury took top honors at the 2012 Faculty Convocation when he received the President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award. Under Chowdhury’s direction, FIU researchers made international news last fall when they unveiled the country’s most powerful hurricane simulator, the Wall of Wind (WOW), capable of generating a Category 5 hurricane [...]
By Lilyvania Mikulski
The FIU alumnus behind the world’s latest fitness sensation. Photos by Doug Garland ’10 and courtesy of Zumba Fitness Ripped up, colorful t-shirts on sweaty bodies of all ages, sizes and walks of life, burning calories as they dance in sync to music so energizing that fitness seekers feel like [...]
By Angeline Evans
His career stolen by cancer, David Menasche ‘97 sets off on an unconventional journey David Menasche ’97 is a light packer. Four days of clothes, basic toiletries, a voice recorder, a laptop and a cell phone are all he needs. Oh, and his red-tipped cane, to help him navigate now [...]
By Sissi Aguila
FIU alumna Beth Davalos MS ’94 leads a support network that brings hope to homeless children in central Florida. Photos by Doug Garland ’10 Social worker Beth Davalos MS ’94 listens intently to the frantic mom on the line: “We’re staying at a camp site. I don’t have enough gas [...]
By FIU Magazine
New basketball coach Richard Pitino is rebuilding FIU’s men’s basketball program with hard work, one day at a time. By Ryan Jones | Photos by Doug Garland ’10 Richard Pitino calls it the “one-day plan.” It is not a complicated thing. It may be a sports cliché, but for a [...]
By Alexandra Pecharich
Antoinette Smith is an associate professor in the College of Business School of Accounting As a professor, you bring to the table something other than your ability to do research and to teach. You bring a personal aspect. Even as a little girl starting out in low-income housing, I had [...]
