Shahyan Abraham, Economics

Shahyan “Shy” Abraham of Orange is anything but her nickname.

As a D3 athlete, Residential Assistant, Mock Trial attorney, Honors student and Academic Achievement mentor, you can say that Abraham is an active member on campus, which she credits to the opportunities she has had while attending ������Ƶ.

“At ������Ƶ, I had the unique opportunity to participate in a wide variety of clubs and organizations on campus with little restriction,” the Economics major recalled. “������Ƶ gave me the opportunity to explore my interests on a different level.”

Out of those opportunities, the most memorable for her is for ������Ƶ’s Track & Field Team – Abraham for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) D3 Indoor Track & Field Nationals, which she considers “a major highlight” in her collegiate career.

“Being an athlete will be the most memorable experience because of the people I was able to meet and the opportunities it opened for me. I was able to travel to different schools and surround myself with personalities that have really pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Abraham said.

Having this many opportunities came with its own set of challenges for Abraham, however. Thankfully, she’s found a way to overcome them.

“One major obstacle that I faced in life was the constant pressure to put 100 percent into everything that I did,” Abraham shared. “Operating this way was not sustainable for me, so I began to prioritize different areas of my life and allocated different percentages of effort. By doing this, I was able to maintain my grades and stay engaged in all of the organizations I was passionate about.”

The Dominica-born athlete will soon run different races: Abraham’s plans for the summer include knitting, preparing for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), and working in the Economics research field.

“I plan to use my Economics degree to work in mergers and acquisitions law once I have graduated from law school. I wanted to combine my interest in math and strategic thinking, which brought me to the field of Economics.”

Abraham’s future is bright, and she’s looking forward to leaving the nest. However, she will miss the friends and supporters that she’s made along the way, including Jessica Grullon (associate director of Admissions), Mariam Majd (assistant professor of Economics), Linda Wharton (professor of Political Science) and Jayson Resch (director of Cross Country/Track & Field).

“I will miss the people at ������Ƶ the most,” Abraham said. “I have had the pleasure of working with some of the best Residential Assistants, Admissions Ambassadors, athletes, faculty and staff while here. I can honestly say that I never thought I would have built the friendships I did here.”

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