Sowad Ocean Karim '23
BA Political Science, BS Biology
Minors in Environmental Studies, International Studies, and Health, Medicine, and Society
Pronouns: he/him

How did you hear about Stony Brook University?
I've always known about the public universities in New York as a New Yorker. The SUNY and CUNY schools were on the radar. I first heard of Stony Brook from my local pharmacist, who has a daughter who went to Stony Brook for medical school. I learned more about SBU from my high school, The Bronx High School of Science; SBU does on-site admissions for Bronx Science students, so I gave it a shot and got my acceptance right away.

On Stony Brook:
As time went on with my college selection, the biggest thing (besides affordability) that drew me to Stony Brook was its diversity. If America treated diversity like a melting pot, Stony Brook treats it like a mosaic, where each individual and background is a piece of broken colored glass that comes together to create the image that is Stony Brook. We celebrate diversity and identity and much more without losing our individuality here, and I dearly treasure that.

On his major:
I am on a pre-med track, double major in biology and political science, and a triple minor in environmental studies, international studies, and health, medicine, and society. I am very interested in understanding both the natural and social sciences and felt that all of these combined will truly aid in furthering my endeavors of gathering more knowledge and perspectives to work towards addressing the many problems that continue to plague our society. With biology, I learn more about the intricacies of the human body and how it functions, as well as the environment and how all of those interact with each other. With political science, I learn more about human nature, society, governmental structure, policy, why people consent to the way they are governed, foreign affairs, and much more. With my environmental studies and international studies minors, I work towards enriching and furthering the depth of knowledge in my respective majors. With my health, medicine, and society minor, I gain an applicable perspective that bridges the two majors together.

Favorite Class:
SOC 340 and POL 102 are tied for my favorite classes. SOC 340: Sociology of Human Reproduction as a class helped me to shape and give me a greater reason as to why I wanted to pursue medicine and become a doctor in the first place. POL 102: Introduction to American Government was a very light-hearted class that, had I not taken it in my first year, would not have shaped me to consider including political science as a second major nor be involved and work all in the pursuit of knowledge.

Greatest achievement:
I would say publishing a book would probably be one of my greatest achievements thus far. This was an ambitious project of both mine and my friend, Kellianne Ticcony. The goal was to have a collection of various poems, drawings, and other forms of art to celebrate the importance of nature, the environment, and the Ashley Schiff Preserve located in Stony Brook University. What is really cool is that the works were all made by Stony Brook students, and all proceeds collected by the book will go directly to the Friends of Ashley Schiff foundation.

Awards & Accolades:
Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society, National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), Upstander Award, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, SOULE Foundation Book Grant

Plans for post-graduation:
Graduate school at Stony Brook! I am in the process of applying for the Master in Public Health at Stony Brook, and working towards the dual master’s program to also do the Master in Public Policy.

Career aspirations:
Becoming a pediatric primary care physician who also works towards advocating and/or writing legislations that work towards improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare in this nation, especially for those living in historically marginalized communities.

Clubs and organizations:
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG), College Democrats of Stony Brook, College Democrats of New York, Phi Delta Epsilon International Pre-Medical Fraternity (PhiDE), Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society, Environmental Club, National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), Company of Archers (COFA), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Haitian Student Organization (HSO), Cat Network of SBU, Faculty Student Association (FSA), Students Helping Honduras (SHH), Suffolk County Board of Elections, the Thacker Lab inthe Department of Ecology and Evolution, Seawolves Team for Admissions Recruitment (STARs), SUNY SA, and SBU Hillel.

Advice for potential Seawolves:
#1: Do not be afraid to take risks (smart ones, of course). College is one of the best environments where trying out new things, shooting for the stars, and getting out of your comfort zone, is all highly encouraged. It is a more controlled environment for you so that you can get a much stronger understanding of who you are before adulthood.

#2: Have hobbies and passion projects. Stony Brook is an academically rigorous environment, and prides itself on being such a reputable institution (as it should!). But this also means that you can get overwhelmed and stressed out, and risk burning out. Having a hobby (or hobbies) that you can turn to will help out with managing stress, as it is something that you enjoy doing. For me that was cooking, exploring, board games, and hanging out with my friends. Passion projects are independent goals or achievements that truly inspire you, and allow you to have a visualized goal to accomplish; this will allow you to be consistent in fueling your ambition. I truly believe that having a passion project every academic year (or even every semester) would help out a lot, as four years to reach graduation is too far ahead of a goal. For me, my passion project was to leave my mark on Stony Brook University, and I truly believe I have done so with the book my friend and I published to further support green spaces on campus, creating PrideFest (a whole new tradition on campus to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community) and having two successful years of hosting that, and connecting/bonding with a lot of people!

#3: You deserve every award or election you won, every achievement, and much more. There will be times where you may face imposter syndrome. Learning about how you can love and appreciate yourself and the hard work you put in is going to be important.

Favorite SBU memory:
I will be remembering all the friends and connections that I have made here at Stony Brook. The people here at Stony Brook are beautiful and amazing, and they all genuinely shaped and made me who I am.