23
SPRING 2025
SHREYA KUMAR
Financial analyst,
BlackRock
TIRSO BALLESTEROS
Nurse in the Intermediate Care Unit,
The Valley Hospital, Paramus
MELANIE DeLEON
Intern, the Smithsonian's
Latino Museum Studies Program
sHe aced aN exaM
ON aPPeNdicitis
WHile HaviNg
aN aPPeNdicitis attack
One story tells you everything you need to know about the
grit Katherine Colon brings to life. Prior to the start of an
exam on appendicitis in Professor Vicki Brzoza's medical-
surgical nursing class, Colon mentioned she didn't feel well.
Upon hearing the symptoms, Brzoza made a quick diagnosis
of possible appendicitis and told Colon she could postpone
the exam. But Colon refused to leave class. Two hours after
her test, Colon emailed Brzoza to say she was going in for an
appendectomy. Sans appendix, Colon will begin her nursing
career in the med-surg unit at Robert Wood Johnson
Hospital in Hamilton, New Jersey.
