Melvin Rodriguez, a first-generation student from Camden, New Jersey, is set to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and minors in Chemistry and Classics from Montclair State University in 2026. He will attend medical school after focusing on research on melanoma and fertility, presenting his work at conferences and mentoring fellow pre-med students. Rodriguez joined research in Biology Professor Carlos Molina’s lab using zebrafish to learn lessons that may apply to humans. He shared his work with scholars across the United States and Puerto Rico and was recognized as a Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholar, a CSAM Summer Research Scholar and a participant in the Premedical Urban Leaders Summer Enrichment program. Rodriguez credits the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program, the Pre-Medical Program, and close friends for his success.