Bronx resident Marie Njie was a recipient of the Maimonides Award from Touro University during the school’s commencement ceremony for the School of Health and Sciences at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville on Long Island.
Njie earned the prestigious award for demonstrating the highest professional ideals of a health sciences practitioner. Of this year’s more than 500 graduates from the Touro University School of Health and Sciences, Njie was one of 12 winners of the Maimonides Award.
“The Maimonides Awards recognize excellence and commitment. This year’s recipients exemplify those qualities and we’re eager to see the positive contributions they will make in their fields and their impact on society,” said Dr. Steven Lorenzet, Dean of the School of Health Sciences. “Touro is a recognized leader in the health sciences; it’s now the responsibility of each of our graduates to help carry that tradition of excellence forward.”
An occupational therapy (OT) graduate, Njie is optimistic about having a successful career helping others in this field.
“I’m passionate about occupational therapy because it allows me to support people’s physical and emotional healing so they can live meaningful, independent lives,” Njie said. “During my clinical rotations, I worked with students in the Department of Education’s D75 school district to build independence and social-emotional skills, and with older adults in an outpatient facility to help them regain function. I hope to continue working in outpatient care with clients of all abilities as an OT, and my dream is to open my own practice that incorporates dance therapy—an outlet that’s been a lifelong passion.”
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Andy Jagoda, Chair Emeritus of Emergency Medicine and Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
