RAM Student Going to Toronto, Courtesy of Fulbright Canada Program
March 2, 2020
Emily Escobar ‘21
Emily Escobar ‘21 is sold on FSC’s RAM program. She bleeds RAM green. She organizes fundraising events, recruits her peers for RAMdom Acts of Service, and is organizing an “Alternative Spring Break.” That’s a small picture of what Escobar means to the RAM program, and what the RAM program means to her.
It means even more now, since she heard just weeks ago that she’s been chosen to spend the summer at the University of Toronto, as a member of the Fulbright Canada – Mitacs Globalink Research Program. Escobar’s ecstatic because she’ll be conducting research, a discipline she came to love in a CSTEP Freshman Summer Bridge Program prior to her first semester at FSC. She became more deeply immersed – of course – in a RAM Introduction to Research class.
“Without the resources of the RAM program, I wouldn’t be ready to take on this tremendous opportunity,” Escobar says. “The RAM program has immersed me in the world of research, and I am grateful for these experiences, because they are shaping my academic and career goals of applying to a PhD program.”
Escobar – a founding member of the Farmingdale Undergraduate Research Association – will be studying Developmental Sociolinguistics. It has to do with child development, and how a child learns to speak multiple languages. That has motivated Escobar to target a PhD program that will launch her into a career in psychology research.
“By engaging in research and immersing myself in Canadian society, I hope to serve as an ambassador for the United States of America. Particularly one who overcomes differences and advances peace.”
Escobar is both a first-generation American and college student. Her parents are from Honduras, and Escobar has been curious about their homeland all her life. So much so, she says her curiosity about that has made her into a more adventurous student. Also contributing to that spirit was the school environment she grew up in, in Central Islip.
“My classmates included students who immigrated from Bangladesh, Peru, China, and Guatemala. I remember often asking my classmates about their home countries. I was curious about their different school lunches and practices that seemed a world away, but were carried to our melting pot of a town.”
Escobar doesn’t have time to daydream about other students’ lunches anymore. In addition to her classroom studies and research, she has other responsibilities, too. She’s a RAM research data and program assistant intern, and CSTEP advisory board member. Apparently, there’s no such thing as enough for Emily Escobar.
“It’s amazing to see RAM Scholars reach their full potential,” says Dr. Erwin Cabrera, RAM program director. “Our students are both nationally and internationally competitive. This award shows us that this is true. I am excited for the future and the experience that Emily will attain, as well as the connections and ideas that she will bring back to our campus community.”
