For transfer student and nursing major Ming Lin, his curiosity led him to explore a range of paths before he joined the community of learners at SJC Brooklyn.
“After I graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn in 2012, I returned home to Calgary, Alberta, Canada and took a few years off from school,” said Lin, a sophomore. “I was interested in many different things. I sold cars, worked as a barista and even went to trade school to learn automotive repair; I learned a great deal about all of these things and also about myself.”
One of these personal discoveries convinced him to pursue a career in nursing.
“Throughout all of the jobs I had, the one common thing I enjoyed the most about all of them was when I interacted with people and helped them with things that impacted their daily life,” he said. “Many of my friends became nurses and their stories made me realize that nursing and medicine would give me the perfect opportunity to meet and help many people while earning a living.”
To launch this journey, Lin returned to Brooklyn and enrolled at Kingsborough Community College, enrolling in the prerequisite and core courses he needed to work toward a nursing degree. While he did well academically, there was something missing.
“At KCC, I never really felt like I fit in — it was hard to adapt to the environment and to make connections with professors and classmates, since everyone was just focused on getting to school, class, and then home,” said Lin.
When he arrived at SJC Brooklyn, however, he was able to acclimate and thrive quickly.
“SJC is such a tight-knit community, where every faculty member I met was willing to help me with any questions or concerns,” Lin said. “They made it welcoming, so I feel comfortable to talk to professors and classmates in order to make meaningful relationships, and it is nice to know that the member of the faculty remember each student by name.”
The transition to a multi-faceted approach to coursework hasn’t stopped Lin from working toward his dream of a career in nursing. Along with such discipline-related classes as microbiology, Lin found new areas of study that have broadened his horizons and understanding of the world.
“My class about Islam is very interactive, which keeps it interesting because the professor tries his best to keep us engaged, rather than just reading off Powerpoint slides,” he said. “Learning about the different cultures and ways of life so far away inspires me to be more proactive in learning more about places I would not have thought as much about.”
Once coronavirus passes and things return to normal, it’s not hard to guess what this extrovert and people-person looks forward to most.
“I want to experience the full college life again; interacting with new people has always been a big part of my life,” Lin said. “I love learning about people, understanding their perspectives and challenging them on things we may see differently, so that we can learn from one another.”
