Student of Distinction
SPONSORED BY
Victoria Dookie
April 2019
Cathedral High School
Woodhaven, New York
Victoria Dookie, now in her senior
year at Cathedral High School, has
made helping others her personal
passion while also achieving great
academic success.
Throughout her career at Cathedral,
she has taken – and excelled at –
all honors courses. These courses have
been complemented by an impressive
array of Advanced Placement classes,
including AP World History, AP U.S.
History, AP Government and AP
Biology. She has maintained a 95%
grade point average, and been made
a member of the coveted Cathedral
Scholars while juggling a multitude
of responsibilities and extracurricular
activities. Among the many activities
she enjoys are Book Club, Knitting
Club, and Fashionistas Club.
Commencing with her acceptance
in 2017, Victoria has been an active
participant in the school’s renowned
Medical Gateway Program. It is an
honors and internship program offered
to high-achieving students who have a
love for the healthcare profession and
will continue their studies in college.
During her involvement she
interned at New York University Hospital.
While there she worked for the
critical care unit nurses station. In this
role, over the course of more than 100
hours, she completed clerical work
and shadowed nurses as they checked
on patients in their rooms.
The director of Medical Gateways,
Victoria Aderin, states Victoria “appreciates
and reveres the importance
My is
of the volunteer experience. She has
been an outstanding student in my
Health Problems and Global Health
classes, actively contributing to discussions.
She is extremely helpful to her
peers and is an amazing orator. At
NYU, she was lauded for her professionalism,
caring and dedication both
to patients and staff.”
She gained experience during a
summer internship with Elmhurst Hospital
in 2016. At Elmhurst she worked
in the pathology department, assisting
with clerical duties and gathering and
shipping slides and reports for conferences
and consultations.
Another medical-related internship
involved John Jay College of Criminal
Justice. At John Jay she participated
in lab shadowing sessions for both the
Biomedical Research lab and Forensic
Toxicology research lab. Her enthusiastic
participation demonstrated
both her interest in and dedication to
pursing a STEM fi eld according to the
program’s director.
Cathedral’s World Youth Alliance
program is another volunteer opportunity
that benefi ts from her contribution.
World Youth Alliance was founded
at the United Nations in 1999. The
Alliance works with young people
around the world to build a culture
that supports and nurtures the dignity
of people.
She also volunteers with local youth
in her community, specifi cally with
Sacred Heart Catholic Academy Twirlers.
Growing up, Victoria was very
shy. Her parents encouraged her to
participate in extracurricular activities,
but of all the activities, baton twirling
was the one she most enjoyed. Since
she was 11 she assisted teaching
younger girls.
Helen Palmeri, Twirling Director,
enthuses, “She was extremely successful
with the children and always loves
a challenge. In her sophomore year
at Cathedral she assumed responsibility
of creating a twirling act for our
annual Variety Show. In 2016 she
increased her twirling roles by working
with me to develop a competition.”
For the past several years, Victoria has
taught girls, ages of 4 to 15 to baton
twirl.
Athletic aptitude is also apparent
on the track. She has run Varsity
Cross Country for the past two years.
Athletic Director Joel J. Ildefonso
proudly states “She challenges herself
to improve upon her race times. She
battled through injuries and continued
to show up every day to put her best
foot forward. Students like Victoria
help make our athletic programs
competitive.”
Victoria’s U.S. History teacher,
Stephen Yozaites, Jr., concurs. According
to Yozaites, Victoria serves as an
"#$%
example to her peers by consistently
displaying the endurance, sportsmanship,
and competitive drive that
embody the student-athlete. He adds,
“She is always enthusiastic, and responds
to victory and adversity, both
in sports and in class, with consistent
tact and great humility.”
Remarking on her work in his
classroom, Yozaites says, “Victoria
consistently showcases originality
in her work, and her ability to think
quickly and critically amid the rigors
of AP classes is a testament to her passion,
preparation, and hard work. She
recently crafted an advanced research
paper on the various textual and
historical interpretations of the United
States Constitution. This assignment
would have proven diffi cult for college
students.”
Born and raised in Woodhaven,
Victoria is a fi rst generation American.
Her family moved to Queens 27 years
ago from Trinidad. She loves spending
time with her family, describing herself
as a very family-oriented person and
says her biggest inspiration is her
mother, Nalini Dookie.
“She came to America with little
money and worked hard,” she recalls.
“My mother sent three kids to private
school even though it wasn’t easy.
Watching her efforts on our behalf
while having so many struggles made
me want to focus on health and helping
others.”
Victoria graduates this June with
an Advanced Regents Diploma. In the
fall, she will attend St. John’s University
in Queens as a Biomed Major.
Her goal is to continue her healthcareoriented
studies and make a difference
by becoming a sports physical
therapist.
!
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM BT APR. 12-18, 2019 7
/TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM
