Top Ten Stories of 2025
2025 was a year filled with incredible success stories from our John Jay College community. From life-changing scholarships to transformational fellowships and stellar careers, our community gave us plenty to celebrate. Here are the ten most popular (by pageviews) stories on the John Jay site.
#10 MBK Scholar David Shinn Jr. ’29 Gains Community Following Family Tragedies
“The most important thing that MBK Connect did for me was give me a network of people, a community of brothers, that I can talk to whenever I need them.”
#9 Andrew Noe Cruz ’28 Wins Watson Fellowship
The fellowship provides students with three fully funded, immersive summer internships, a network of peers, and ongoing mentorship.
#8 Internships Advance Rohan Kumar’s ’25, ’26 Cybersecurity Career
“What I loved most about my internships with the different city agencies was how they offered a resource or service to the people of New York. I loved knowing I had a hand in keeping the systems New Yorkers rely on secure and up and running.”
#7 Internships & Full Scholarship Propel Andrew Bandini ’19 to Successful Legal Career
At John Jay, Andrew Bandini met people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and learned about communities that could benefit from having lawyers in their corner. “Being a lawyer took on a whole new meaning. It meant I could help people.”
#6 Andrew Vargas ’25 Wins Full Scholarship to Johns Hopkins PhD Program
“John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is ranked the top public health program in the country, and over time, it became my top choice for grad school.”
#5 Carol Robles Román Award for Legal Excellence at John Jay Announced by Governor Hochul
The Governor announced $250,000 to establish the Carol Robles Román scholarship fund at CUNY’s John Jay College.
#4 NY Giants Fellowship Readies Guinevere Servis ’26 for Criminal Defense Law
“Receiving this fellowship gave me and my family an amazing opportunity. The financial support helped me pay for living expenses, and having a relationship with the Giants community changed my life.”
#3 Bronx DA Internship Helps Juan Rivera ’25 Earn Law School Scholarship
When Juan was just six years old, he witnessed his father being arrested and taken away. In the courtroom, he saw his father’s lawyer defend him. “After watching that ‘man in a suit’ fight for my dad, I knew I wanted to become a lawyer.”
#2 Women’s History Month 2025: Our John Jay Heroines
These women kept our community motivated through their innovative thinking, determination, and empathy.
#1 FBI Honors Internship Primes Samantha Kosziollek ’19 for Her FBI Career
Inspired by her grandpa Joseph’s work in public service and her own internship with the FBI, Samantha Kosziollek joined the agency’s intelligence division to help victims find justice.
