Alumna Perfect Frimpong Sets Sights on Career in Medicine
'I Want to Be the Best I Can Be for the Patients Who Will Need My Help’
10/27/21
West Windsor, N.J. – The road hasn’t been easy for Mercer County Community College (MCCC) alumna Perfect Esther Frimpong ’21 (A.S., Biology). But financial challenges that might have derailed some students have served to motivate and propel her forward. After graduating from Mercer with Honors in May, she has transferred to Rutgers University to complete her studies in Biology, with a pre-med concentration. Her goal is to be a physician providing care in underserved communities.
Starting out at MCCC was Frimpong’s best choice for myriad reasons. “Education is the key. Mercer was the right fit in terms of my major. It was close to home, and class sizes are small. I had an opportunity to establish close relationships with professors and students. The willingness of tutors to help students also really stood out,” she recalled.
Frimpong’s achievements at Mercer were exceptional. She graduated with an almost perfect 4.0 GPA. She was named to the President’s List or Dean’s List every semester and earned a Five-Star Award from Alpha Theta Gamma, Mercer’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. In 2020, she was selected for the Mercer Medical Award from the MCCC Foundation and, as a graduating student, she received the Dowd Biology Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in Laboratory Science.
Frimpong is driven by a passion for medicine, especially the delivery of healthcare to patients with financial challenges. Her long-term goal is cardiothoracic surgery. She recalls that this dream has inspired her since she was a child. “Watching the news with my family, I realized how often people die from cardiac arrest due to an inability to pay for surgery. It broke my heart as a child and it still breaks my heart,” she said.
Frimpong’s deep compassion for those less fortunate comes from her own experiences. “I want patients to be able to walk in for free doctor consultations, get access to less expensive but effective medications, and have access to health counseling,” she said. “I will offer a helping hand to anyone who might be going through a situation similar to mine. I want to be the best I can be for the patients who will need my help,” she said.
Frimpong rates her academic experience at Mercer as top notch. “I had an amazing time,” she said, recalling numerous faculty and staff members who supported her throughout her journey, including Honors Advisor Eugene Mok and Professors John Nadig (Mathematics) and Diane Hilker (Biology).
“I am truly grateful to them,” she said. She advises current students to seek help if they need it. “Make your experiences count and utilize all that Mercer has to offer.”
Frimpong is also grateful for the scholarship support she received from the MCCC Foundation, recalling her academic life prior to that funding. “I would use online videos as a substitute for required books and would go to a friend’s house to use their laptop to complete assignments because I did not have one at home," she said.
Like many college students taking online classes during the Covid pandemic, Frimpong notes that online learning was an adjustment, especially in Biology 102 and Calculus. “Certain courses are better learned in person,” she said. “However, my professors made it a great experience. They ensured that we benefited from our online classes just like we would have in person.”
Frimpong moves on to the next phase of her academic journey with confidence and pride in her achievements, as well as a deep sense of gratitude. “Academic achievement matters, but at times it takes even more to attain something great in life. I am proud I could achieve the goal I set my mind to when I chose to study at Mercer,” she said.
