Congratulations to the FCSAA Publications Division Student of the Month for January… Amalia Abraham from Miami Dade College! Amalia was nominated by her advisor, Ms. Emily Sendin.

Here is what we learned about Amalia through Emily: “Amalia Abraham joined Urbana Literary & Arts magazine in the fall of 2020. Her eagerness to contribute to the magazine allowed her to overcome her fears of lacking artistic skills. During weekly meetings with the staff and advisor, she discovered a passion for design she never thought to have and thus took on the challenge to become Urbana’s volume 14 web designer. Since then, she has created several new pages for the website that demonstrate her artistic growth. She collaborated with the webmaster and editors-in-chief to create the Latinx Virtual Gallery, where she portrayed the writers' and photographers' work in a dynamic and interactive format. As a STEM major, Amalia’s logical and critical thinking skills as well as her outside the box thinking, have been an asset to the magazine. Her passion for learning led her to participate in workshops to learn tactics to effectively target her audience and create a more attractive website. She has implemented these skills by redesigning Urbana’s website and adding a modern vision. Amalia is currently working on the magazine's new initiative, which is the creation of a weekly blog. She created a specific section where she posts weekly blogs received by the staff. Amalia has said: ‘Urbana has had a tremendous impact on my life and has challenged me into becoming a well-rounded individual.’

Amalia has demonstrated leadership skills by serving as the Vice- President of TriBeta National Biological Honor Society and an active member of Phi Theta Kappa. Starting her sophomore year of college, she took the initiative to contact SebastianStrong, a nonprofit organization focused on funding research to find better childhood cancer treatments. As an M.D./Ph.D. aspirant, one of Amalia’s passions is cancer biology. She had a calling to work with this organization, and alongside her peers, she created fundraiser activities to contribute to SebastianStrong. Furthermore, she has volunteered with The Women’s Breast and Heart Initiative where she has served as a strong advocate for early detection of these diseases. She started immersing herself in the world of science in Summer 2020, where she participated as a research intern in the project “Targeting TMEM16A to Treat Cystic Fibrosis,” which culminated in a poster presentation of her findings. One of Amalia’s priorities is helping those in need and serving as a mentor. She served as a peer leader for students taking a chemistry course by meeting with them weekly to discuss any doubts and/or explain the class material. Amalia is an engaged member of her community, and Urbana is fortunate to have her as our lead web designer.”

What a phenomenal student to honor this month. Congratulations to Amalia Abraham, our Publications Student of the Month & thank you to Emily Sendin for nominating her!