Psychology Major Izadora Lima Awarded $19K Transfer Scholarship by Pace University

By the end of this Fall 2023 semester at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY), returning student Izadora Lima will have completed her Associate in Psychology degree and begun her transfer to Pace University for the Spring 2025 semester.

“My long-term plan is to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Pace, then my Ph.D. in clinical psychology to become a therapist and open my own practice,” says Lima.

That plan moved closer to reality when she received a substantial scholarship: $19,000.

“When I got the acceptance letter from Pace, they let me know I had been awarded the Dean’s Scholarship, a merit award for my grades and effort,” say Lima, who had also received a Student Government Association scholarship from BMCC in Spring 2023.

These awards recognize Lima’s accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom.

At BMCC, she has been part of the Panther Partners mentoring program for first-generation college students and participates in BMCC Academy of Leadership and Service groups including  Building Outstanding Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT), Student Partners Lending Universal Support (PLUS) and The Leadership GEM Series.

She has also trained to be a peer tutor with BMCC’s Supplemental Instruction (SI) program and the Impact Peer Mentoring program. She is a member of the Urban Male Leadership Academy (UMLA), the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), and BMCCs honor society, Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). She even finds time to be part of the BMCC Psychology Club and Entrepreneur Club.

“Iza is a unique student, but also an inspirational one,” says Professor Maya Jiménez. “As an international student from Brazil and a Psychology major, I was impressed to see her level of seriousness and dedication in a class like mine, ART 104: Survey of Art History II, outside of her major.”

Referring to Lima’s membership in PTK, her service at the college as a peer tutor with the Supplemental Instructor program and other activities, Professor Jiménez adds that, “Iza is a testament to how even the most driven and academically accomplished student needs to be well-rounded, proactive, and a community member in the classroom and beyond.”

Lima’s intentional engagement with opportunities at BMCC reflects her sense of purpose as a college student and future therapist.

“Before BMCC, I attended one and half years of college in Brazil, majoring in logistics, but my dream was to come to NYC to study psychology,” she says. “I now live in Manhattan but I grew up in Brazil, Belo Horizonte-Minas Gerais. In January 2022, when I was 20, I moved to New York by myself to follow my dreams.”

BMCC appeared on Lima’s radar, she says, through word-of-mouth.

“I have a friend who attended BMCC and loved it,” she says. “At that time, I was looking for a school that had a good Psychology program, with good professors and staff, and a school with diversity. As a Latina woman, I wanted to be in a place where I could fit in.”

When asked why she is drawn to the field of psychology, Lima shares that she attended therapy as a teenager, when she was going through a grieving process.

“I respect the listening skills of a good therapist, and I enjoy listening to people talk about their feelings,” says Lima, who hopes one day to open a retreat where clients, especially women, can immerse themselves in the healing power of nature.

“I want to help people find a path to love themselves,” she says. “We are all dealing with so much, and we have so many emotions in response to our lives and what is happening in the world. I want to help people be open about what they are feeling, and to feel good about who they are. Everyone deserves that. It is our moment to shine.”

She has multiple reasons for choosing Pace University as the next step in her higher education journey.

“It is a school with an amazing Psychology program,” Lima says. “The classes they have available will grow my knowledge and be the way to achieve my dream of becoming a clinical psychologist. Also, Pace has amazing, diverse students, professors and staff, and their network for internships excites me.”