5,000+

Name: Joniqua Howard, Ph.D.
(Bridge to the Doctorate Fellow
Period of Participation: 2004-2010
Date of Graduation: May 2010 (Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Current Status: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Personal Statement: “The USF Bridge to the Doctorate experience is a very enriching, rewarding, and
above al empowering. It is more than simply a program of professionals, it is an extension of your
immediate family! A place of safe refuge during the storm, as well as a place for growth, development,
and unconditional love.”
Name: Warner Ithier-Guzmán, Ph.D.
Period of Participation: 2004-2010
Date of Graduation: August 2010 (Ph.D., Marine Science— Chemical Oceanography)
Current Status: Environmental Scientist, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Píedras Campus
Personal Statement: “Obtaining my doctoral degree has been the achievement of a lifetime. All this
has been possible to the continuous support of the University of South Florida’s FGLSAMP Bridge to
the Doctorate. It provided the funding, guidance, and professional support needed to achieve my goals.
Thanks to it my research contributions has opened many doors in my native island of Puerto Rico.”
Name: Yolaine Jeune-Smith, Ph.D.
Period of Participation: 2004-2005
Date of Graduation: August 2010 (Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering—Univ. of Fla.)
Current Status: Postdoctoral Research Associate, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Personal Statement: “The FGLSAMP BD Cohorts II and III were my family away from home. The
love and support I received from just what I needed to preserve. Even after I graduated, the program
helped me to secure my current postdoc with the Cancer Imaging Research group at the H. Lee Moffitt
Cancer Center & Research Institute. The program and students are the greatest.”
Name: Quenton Bonds, Ph.D.
Period of Participation: 2004-2010
Date of Graduation: December 2010 (Electrical Engineering)
Current Status: Research Electronics Engineering, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Personal Statement: “The FGLSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program is not only composed of
individuals devoted to academic excellence but people who care. I am not longer afraid to take on
projects on projects outside my field. In fact, I now integrate theories, concepts, and ideas from other
areas into my research adding creativity and uniqueness. Throughout my entire graduate program the
Bridge to the Doctorate program was a vital component to my success.”
Name: Javier Pulecio, Ph.D.
Period of Participation: 2005-2010
Date of Graduation: December 2010 (Ph.D., Electrical Engineering)
Current Status: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)
Personal Statement: “The NSF Bridge to the Doctorate fellowship has enabled me to utilize the
knowledge I gained as an undergraduate and merge it with my newly defined research interests. I feel
blessed to have been a member of the Bridge to the Doctorate family and hope that I will always
represent, with my work and accomplishments, all that is right about this program.”
Name: Al-Aakhir A. Rogers, Ph.D.
Period of Participation: 2005-2011
Date of Graduation: August 2011 (Ph.D., Electrical Engineering)
Current Status: Senior MEMS Process Engineer, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
Personal Statement: “The Bridge to the Doctorate program has been a tremendous asset to my social,
academic, and professional life. I am confident that my preparation and successes will afford me the
opportunity to make important scientific contributions and give back to underrepresented communities
as the BD program has done for me . . . Da B-dot-D, da Bee-Dee.”
Name: Karyna Rosario, Ph.D.
Period of Participation: 2005-2010
Date of Graduation: December 2010 (Marine Science—Biological Oceanography)
Current Status: Postdoctoral Research Associate (USF College of Marine Science)
Personal Statement: “The NSF/FGLSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Fellowship gave me the
opportunity to start my Ph.D. program at the University of South Florida I received encouragement and
support to conduct research internationally in Antarctica and New Zealand through other NSF program.
The BD award has given a great help for me to accomplish academic goals and I am very grateful for
it.”
23