Since the age of 14, Angie Pati has been a ball of ambition.

Hailing from central New Jersey, Pati knew she wanted to stay close to home, but several other factors influenced her decision to attend Syracuse University.

She was accepted to several respected universities, including the University of California at Berkeley and Cornell University, but after SU named Pati a Coronat Scholar, she knew it was an opportunity she could not pass up.

“It says a lot about Syracuse University and how they treat their students because they really do value you,” she said. “I could be just someone at another school, or could really feel at home.”

The Coronat Scholarship is awarded upon outstanding academic records, leadership roles, and service involvement. As a Coronat Scholar, the university covers all of her tuition and is a student in the Renée Crown Honors Program. Pati also receives funding for any of SU’s study abroad programs and for a summer of approved research or volunteer work.

“I feel so grateful because I would not be able to do half the things I do in my two and a half years here if it wasn’t for that,” Pati said.

Pati is involved with SU’s plethora of student activities and organizations. She serves as the vice president of Love Your Melon, is on the executive board for the Phi Sigma Pi honors fraternity and the membership board for OrangeSeeds and is an orientation leader.

As a neuroscience and psychology dual major and triple minor in public communications, health and wellness and biology, she is blending all of her passions into an intense academic grind.

Pati said she has always wanted to be a neurosurgeon. However, she also developed an interest in public communications because she devotes her time to researching underrepresented diseases, specifically malaria, and wanted to effectively advocate her findings.

This past summer, she spent a month in Grahamstown, South Africa, where she worked with Inkululeko, a nonprofit organization that combats the limited opportunities offered to South African youth living in townships. She tutored high school students in science. SU has recently created an Inkululeko club, and Pati works as its advocacy director.

After Africa, Pati traveled to India to learn and conduct research about the country’s alternative healthcare systems and diseases. It was there she realized how threatening malaria really is.

“I really hope I’ll be able to tie it to university students in America,” she said.

Although Pati’s extracurricular and class schedules seem laborious, she is still a normal college student. In her free time, she enjoys playing the guitar and watching reruns of “Friends” on Netflix. She values her close circles of friends the most.

“The people at Syracuse University, even more than the things I’ve been a part of, have been what keep me here and motivated in life. I never doubt that I belong here.”

Published on January 22, 2017 at 9:41 pm

Contact Caroline: caschagr@syr.edu