On April 24, Hostos’ 2019 Salutatorian Fatimata Kafando and former Hostos student Mohammad Molla joined the ranks of the best students in the state after being named to the Phi Theta Kappa All-New York Academic Team.
 
Kafando, who majored in civil engineering, will graduate with a 4.00 GPA and will pursue her bachelor's degree at the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York as part of the Dual Degree Engineering Program. She will concentrate her studies on how temperature impacts design and construction. She also plans to pursue advanced degrees.
 
While at Hostos, Kafando has shinned as a part of the National Model United Nations team that represented India in Washington, D.C. She was also a member of the Student Ambassador Program and the Alpha Kappa Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa National Honors Society.
 
Recently, Kafando was also part of a Hostos team of students that won first place for their research at the statewide C-STEP Conference, while being recognized individually with a first-place award in the Biology I category for her poster presentation, "Modulation of MicroRNAs by Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate in Cancer Biology: A Computational Study.”
 
Molla transferred from Hostos to the University of Buffalo in Spring 2019 with a 3.650 GPA. He is currently studying aerospace engineering. While at Hostos, Molla was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, the Math Club, the Engineering Club, and the Muslim Club. He has dedicated his studies to his father, who passed away recently, and the young STEM standout plans to also study toward his Ph.D. in engineering.
 
His ultimate goal is to develop technologies that push the boundaries of human experience and start an organization to help provide internships for engineering students to pursue their educational and career goals.

About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities for a half-century. Since 1968, Hostos has been a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs.

Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.