The winner of a prestigious fellowship awarded to immigrant students who are poised to change the world has roots in the borough. NY1's Shannan Ferry filed the following report.
Lorenzo Sewanan will have to make room for yet another award on this wall.
He's one recipient of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. It honors immigrants & children of immigrants poised to make a big impact on the world.
"There's so many outstanding immigrants, and just being recognized as you know, being also part of that is, is, really great," said Sewanan.
Sewanan's family left the South American country of Suriname in 2008 and moved to Queens seeking a better life. His parents opened a jewelry businesses, and Sewanan attended Hillcrest High School in Jamaica. He said that's when his passion for science and medicine really took off.
"My dream is really to use my research to help people with inherited heart conditions," said Sewanan.
In fact, he hopes his research will help prevent cardiac diseases before they even develop.
Sewanan is now a graduate student at the Yale School of Medicine. As a fellowship recipient he will be awarded $90,000 to continue his academic journey.
Out of roughly 1800 applicants, coordinators said Sewanan was an obvious choice. In addition to his work in science, he's also a published poet.
"There's often the sense that immigrants are coming here to take things away from the country and we're here to sort of stand as an example that immigrants and new Americans are here to contribute to society," said Director Craig Harwood.
Sewnanan is one of 30 students who won the fellowship this year. The recipients are studying at some of the nations top graduate schools.
"And this is just the tip of the iceberg, um, for every one fellow that we have there are a 100 hard working young immigrants that are trying to make a difference," said Sewanan.
That's the idea. To acknowledge immigrants making a difference, one fellowship at a time.