PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College student Dahyun (Crystal) Yoo has earned the 2021 All-USA Academic Team Scholarship, an award that recognizes her as one of the top 20 community college students in the U.S. Approximately 80,000 students applied for the $5,000 scholarship, but only 20 received the award. Cengage, an education technology company, sponsors the award along with Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges, and the American Association of Community Colleges.
“Crystal is an extremely conscientious and hardworking individual who always makes time to help others, especially with her exceptional graphic design and social media skills,” Bergen Phi Theta Kappa faculty advisers Lisa Mayer and Kelly Keane said in a cosigned statement. “Her personality is a unique blend of academic intellect yet extreme modesty. Crystal’s impact at Bergen is long lasting, and we are overjoyed that she received such a prestigious award.”
An international student from Calgary, Alberta, Canada pursuing an associate’s degree in chemistry, Yoo, of Hackensack, cofounded the Help Unite Bergen initiative as part of her executive leadership in the College’s PTK chapter. The award-winning project helped Bergen students stay connected in a virtual academic environment by creating a series of tutorial videos shared on social media.
“I am honored to be selected for the All-USA Academic Team,” she said. “I am excited by this opportunity to meet other recipients and forge friendships along the way. I hope this award will open doors to future collaboration with my fellow teammates. This achievement couldn’t have happened without the support of my family, the PTK Alpha Epsilon Phi Chapter, faculty and staff at Bergen Community College.”
Yoo has also worked extensively with science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects, creating a web resource repository for her chemistry peers. Before attending Bergen, she worked as a research assistant at Seoul National University Hospital in Korea and served as an interpreter for WorldSkills International. She expects to graduate from Bergen in May and transfer to a four-year institution to prepare for medical school. She intends to focus her future research on studying how chemotherapy-induced hair loss affects the body image of cancer patients.
“I am striving to become a physician who considers the mind and body of each person,” she said.
In lieu of an in-person ceremony at the American Association of Community Colleges Convention, Yoo will receive a keepsake medallion and attend a video recognition ceremony during the AACC convention in May.
All-USA Academic Team members represent the top 20 community college students in the country who exhibit outstanding intellectual achievement, leadership and community and campus engagement.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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