Salutatorian Sarah Marks ’25 Earns Spot at Michigan State Toxicology PhD Program
Major: Forensic Science with a concentration in Toxicology
Minor: Biology
Mentors: Professor Elise Champeil, Ph.D., Edgardo Sanabria-Valentín, Ph.D.
Programs: PRISM, Honors Program, CUNY Immersive Research Experience (CIRE)
Internships/Fellowships: Research Intern Food and Drug Administration (FDA) National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR)
Hometown/Zip Code: Little Rock, AR; Manhattan, NY
Career Aspiration: Forensic Toxicologist/Professor
Post-Graduation Plans: Michigan State University Ph.D. Toxicology Program
How did John Jay support your personal journey?
I feel like I found my people at John Jay. One of the coolest aspects of John Jay is that you end up connecting with people both in and out of your major. Hannah Mathes ’25 is my roommate and one of my closest friends. She’s a criminal justice major who hopes to become a probation officer, but we had an instant connection based on our values and morals. We both believe in lifting other people up and not putting people down no matter who that person is in society. John Jay students have similar core values—fairness and justice—that connect us, no matter what we’re majoring in. Also, I feel like most John Jay students are very family-oriented. We understand the importance of having close, meaningful connections, so we end up building a family at John Jay.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be attending Michigan State University’s Toxicology Program, where I hope to earn my doctorate. Michigan State has been one of my dream schools ever since I decided to do a Ph.D. I wanted to go this route after I fell in love with research during my work with Dr. Champeil, Ph.D. That work, researching anti-cancer drugs, made me want to do research for the rest of my life. I also want to pursue a Ph.D. because I’d like to teach at the college level. I learned that teaching was a passion of mine when I taught an organic chemistry class through a John Jay summer bridge program. I loved breaking down super hard concepts and seeing the information finally click in people’s minds.
I heard a lot about Michigan State through some of my mentors. I found out that Michigan State really values John Jay graduates because after completing our degrees, we’re particularly prepared for their program because we’ve taken instrumental analysis—which I genuinely believe every scientist should take. There’s research being done at Michigan State, specifically on chemical warfare agents, that I’m interested in studying. Michigan State also feels very collaborative. Like John Jay, it feels like a place with so many amazing professors and everyone builds each other up.
How did your family respond to your news?
When I called my family, one of my mom’s friends happened to be there. She videotaped me FaceTiming both of my parents while I gave them the good news. I’m really glad I have that video. I was fully sobbing, tears pouring down my face, when I told them that I got into my dream grad school. They cried too and told me how proud they were of me. In my whole life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that level of pride from my parents. My mom said, “You did this. This was all you.” And my dad followed up by saying, “You worked really hard for this and I could not be prouder of you and the woman that you are becoming.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I really want to teach. Over the years, that desire has deepened. My dream is to have a forensic science practice and also teach toxicology courses. With the forensic science practice, I’d like to bring outside experiences into the classroom and talk about actual forensic science events with the students. At John Jay, that’s what excited me about forensic science, when professors would bring in cases that they were working on. I’d like to both testify in court and also share my case experiences with my students.
What does it mean to you to be named salutatorian?
When I found out, I was shocked. Becoming salutatorian was not something on my radar. I was absolutely speechless when I got the news over the phone. Hannah was the first person I told. She instantly freaked out. Then she told me I was the most incredible person ever. She said, “I love you so much and you impress me every day.” We both ended up crying because we’re really emotional and sensitive people. Then I called my parents. What was nice was that this was an accomplishment they could fully understand. Sometimes it’s hard to communicate how important certain things are in my research—sometimes they might not fully understand the intricate science behind what I’m doing—but they fully understood what being named salutatorian meant and how big a deal it was. My dad said he was impressed, but not surprised. He said, “You’re amazing. You just keep adding to the list of accomplishments.” Hearing that felt really good. Being a forensic science major is not easy, and there were times when I was worried that I didn’t know what I was doing and faced imposter syndrome, but being named salutatorian helped put that in perspective. There’s an actual title and piece of paper recognizing that I earned and accomplished this.
Could you finish this sentence? Because of John Jay…
I was able to become a more well-rounded individual because I talked to a lot of people with different experiences. Connecting with people from different backgrounds has taught me the importance of always lifting others up and having empathy.
