Upon re-enrolling for a second time at BCC, Salutatorian Astrit Boshnjaku, a native Albanian, made a personal challenge to himself – to get a 4.0 grade point average as an engineering major.  He lived up to the challenge and maintained that GPA throughout his rigorous courses, while also working 24-30 hours per week. 

“I was coming back to school after being in the working world for seven years. I had experienced how tough it was to pay bills – rent, food, gas,” he said. “I wanted to advance myself and thought now is the time to prove to myself that I can do it.” 

At first, Astrit, an ASAP student, said he was concerned he was too old. He questioned whether he would remember how to study and if he would fit in. “I actually saw a lot of people like me. Surprisingly, I never felt out of place,” he said. “With the financial help of ASAP, combined with lots of luck and putting in the time, I was able to make it through.” 

Astrit hopes to attend City College in the fall for Mechanical Engineering. “Eventually, I want to go to space. I want to be able to say that we landed on Mars or that we landed on the moon again,” he said. 

But for now, Astrit will be getting ready to collaborate with a classmate on a summer research project. They’ll be doing coding in an environmental sensor lab at CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center, along with other students from across CUNY.

Differential Equations was Astrit’s favorite class at BCC. “The professor was great. We were given real-life scenarios and needed to use differential equations to solve problems related to things like rocket flight or cruise control,” he said. “Actually, all of my professors at BCC were helpful and supportive in different ways. It wasn’t just about the teaching materials. They were preparing us for life.” 

 Aside from academics, Astrit enjoys video games, watching TV, hiking and swimming. He will have a whole crew cheering him on at graduation, including his mom and dad, cousins and fiancé. Not one for being in the spotlight, he remains modest about his Salutatorian achievement. He was thrilled to learn that he would be speaking to a smaller group at the Graduation Awards Ceremony, versus on the big stage at graduation.