Scholar of the Month

“I have always loved math and art, and engineering is a great blend between logic and creativity, and problem-solving and design. I also wanted to pursue a major that can benefit the environment. I love that civil engineering is a broad field, where I can become an environmental engineer and work to help our society have clean and healthy water, work in environmental remediation, or go into sustainable urban infrastructure and design green roofs or urban agriculture systems. I can even choose a path related to my other interests and work in set design for Broadway musicals. Through the civil engineering program at NJIT, I get to build skills that I can use to pursue so many paths that will make me happy and help the world become a better place.”

– Isabella Puluse, ’27H

Our January Scholar of the Month is Isabella Puluse, ’27H, a junior civil engineering major, theater arts and technology minor, and a recipient of the T&M Associates Scholarship and the Turner Construction Company Scholarship. Inspired by her Introduction to Engineering professor to pursue civil engineering, Isabella blends creativity, determination, and resilience into her professional and academic endeavors.

Originally from Hawthorne, New Jersey, Isabella has continually challenged herself through her coursework and electives to expand her horizons and earned a 3.78 GPA last semester. She notes how Professor Maria Stanko made a meaningful impression on her during her first semester through her course Biology of Sustainable Food Systems, where she had the opportunity to think about real-world problems through a strategic problem-solving lens. Professor Stanko then introduced Isabella to Professor Jay Meegoda, for whom she performed undergraduate research on biodigester technology to convert food waste into alternative energy sources.

Isabella’s extracurricular experience is also noteworthy, as she is on the executive board for two performing arts clubs on campus, serving as vice president of the Theater Entertainment Production Club and public relations coordinator for the Society of Musical Arts. She has devoted her time as a performer and a crew member for various productions on campus, plays bass in three different musical groups, and sings with the GigaBeats, NJIT’s a cappella group. This past summer, Isabella worked on Science Heroes, where she travelled to libraries to inspire and educate children on the wonders of science.

Isabella is looking to pursue internships related to environmental remediation or sustainable infrastructure and plans to pursue a master’s degree at NJIT after completing her bachelor’s. 

To learn more about the impact that scholarships have on NJIT's students, please watch our 2025 Scholarship Thank You video.

To support students like Isabella, kindly visit www.njit.edu/givenow today.