Bintou Marong ’15
Bintou Marong never had any doubt she would apply to the University of Rhode Island. The moment she stepped foot on campus she fell in love with its beauty and sense of community.
That community molded her as a student and set her on a path of caring for others as a nurse. “URI built confidence in me,” she says. “Think big is the motto— and I’m living by it.”
Marong, who immigrated from Gambia at age 10, enjoyed an extensive support network. In the Talent Development (TD) program, she was guided by advisor Sharon Forleo and her colleagues. Forleo retired in 2016 but remains in touch with Marong to offer advice or a kind ear. And Marong counts as close friends fellow nursing students she met during TD’s summer program just before her first year at URI.
She also knows she can call on her former nursing professors for references or guidance—personal or professional. “I thought I would get my degree and get out,” she says. “But years later I’m still in touch with all these people.”
It certainly helped that her nursing clinicals consisted of only about 10 students, allowing personalized interaction among students, faculty, and patients. Meanwhile, a prestigious fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital allowed her to apply classroom skills in a real-world setting with a caseload of patients.
Between her studies and nursing rotations, Marong joined URI’s Honors Program. She found herself in classes with unique topics—like reality television. And she combined her love of powerlifting with an academic study of gender to produce a senior Honors project entitled, “The Weight of Gender.”
Her combined experiences produced an impressive resume by the time she graduated from URI. Hospitals quickly extended job offers, and Marong now works as a cardiac nurse at The Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island. She was accepted to Duke University’s competitive Doctor of Nursing Practice program for fall 2019. She has her sights set on working in sports medicine.
“URI was an opportunity I would not have had back home,” Marong says. “URI has so many resources. There’s opportunity. You just have to take it.”
—Chris Barrett ’08