Chris Wakin (SEBS’17). Photo courtesy of Chris Wakim.
Chris Wakim (SEBS’17) faced an uncertain future when his parents’ high school graduation gift—a trip to the United States—brought him to New Jersey. The pro-democracy movement in Egypt made life there unsafe and Wakim saw no future for himself as far as a career was concerned.
The political instability forced his parents to make a difficult decision while they were visiting the US: to leave everything behind and remain in New Jersey. But it was a decision that led to many opportunities and honors for Wakim. Wakim graduates this month with a double major in microbiology and the biotechnology concentration in bioinformatics.
Wakim’s academics are very strong. This George H. Cook scholar, however, is a very well-rounded young man. In Egypt he was an actor, a photographer and journalist and a member of the choir at his church. Here, at Rutgers, Wakim has served as a member of the Rutgers University Senate and the Governing Council at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. He also served in the SEBS Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Society and was the only undergraduate on the Rutgers commencement committee, among other activities.
Read more about this undergraduate ‘everyman’ and all of his accomplishments at Rutgers Today.
