NEW YORK, NY – The Hunter College Athletics Alumni Chapter has continued its segment, "Hunter Hawks: Where Are They Now?" We caught up with a former track and field student-athlete from 2008-2011, Gemstonn Alegre to find out what he's been up to!

Accolades:
CUNYAC Outdoors ('08): Finished 6^th overall in the Long Jump; overall team finished 1^st place
CUNYAC XC ('08): Individual finished in the top 10; team overall finish tied with 1^st place
CUNYAC XC ('09): Individual finished in the top 15; team overall finish with 1^st place
CUNYAC Indoors Championship (2011): Part of the winning DMR Team, 400m Leg
Martin Luther King Jr. Award, for excellence in academics and community service
 
Community/Volunteering:
SAAC (Treasurer '09-'10, President '10-'11)
Soup Kitchen, 5k fundraiser for Cancer Research, Toys for tots
 
What are you up to now?
I am currently doing research at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Ophthalmology Department, Dyson Vision Research Institute.
 
What was your major and what made you choose it?
Biochemistry, I chose it because I liked the idea of mixing the world of biology with chemistry. Later on, I found it a little bit more complex than that, but no regrets.
 
What did your years at Hunter prepare you for?
My years at Hunter definitely helped me to be even more versatile. Having been on a team, part of SAAC, and majoring in Biochemistry made me become multi-dimensional that shaped me who I am in the professional world. Being on a team helped me to be a team player outside of the field and use that in a work setting that definitely helps when things need to get done. SAAC helped me learn a lot of administrative things that I use at work as well. Finally Biochemistry, which relates to my field of study.
 
What factors attributed to your success on the track field?
The factors were as long as you slept well, ate well and listened to your coach everything else fell into place. Simple.
 
What are your fondest memories at Hunter, on and off the track?
The annual track BBQ that I hosted every year during spring break of the outdoor season. We trained every day; there weren't really any breaks. Right after Cross Country season, indoors was next, right after that outdoors. So on my freshman year during the outdoor season I hosted a BBQ just to get to know my teammates better and honestly to loosen up a bit. Compared to "dorming schools" we are a "commuter college" and we don't have that luxury that those colleges have where teammates can be at one spot so easily. I felt before that BBQ we were a "team", trained together then after training we all went our own separate ways. A few of us felt that to be a TEAM we needed to get to know each other at a more personal level therefore we decided to have a BBQ. We ended up winning outdoor champs that year and that's how the track BBQ (as we later called it) became a tradition. It was conveniently done during spring break of the outdoor season, because we didn't really have time off, we trained during the break. I also felt that it was a reward for being on the team because by the time outdoors came a long it kind of "weeded" out the quitters and if you were on the team this long we thought it was a good welcome to the new members. It was easily the fondest memories I had with my team and always had a nice feedback afterwards.
 
What accomplishments are you most proud of since graduating from Hunter?
I think the most accomplishment that I am proud of is my current position at Weill Cornell. By doing research in ground breaking studies, it keeps me on track on achieving my end goal of hopefully becoming a doctor or just be in the health science field that will one day find a cure for something, anything.
 
Do you keep in contact with any of your teammates?
I love my teammates and I was glad to be a part of their life therefore I am happy to say that I do still keep in contact with some of them. I even go to Hunter a lot because my job is conveniently down the block from where Hunter is. I've gotten to know some of the new team members and one of them will joke around and say, "[He] doesn't even go this school!" a quote from Mean Girls (haha).
 
How does professional life vs. the life of a college student compare?
There are definitely similarities and differences. The similarities would be the path I chose at Hunter was how I envisioned my life to be in the Professional World, the commuting, and the busy aspect of it. The difference would be there are definitely more responsibilities, a lot less "safety net," you have more financial responsibilities and decision-making is more important than ever. That being said based on how you prepared yourself during your college years reflect on what you're going to do in the professional world. Right now life is good, because I used everything I've learned at Hunter and I've put into practice. I don't see much of a difference, I was happy at Hunter but I am happier now because of the work I've put in.
 
What's a recent project you spearheaded and what was it like?
Before I was offered a Research Technician at Weill Cornell and I am currently working on a new project right now, I would like to talk about a project that I finished with my mentor. I was a volunteer in the Ophthalmology department and it was a student-mentor program. I had a mentor who taught me the basic technique in research so that I can work independently on the corneal regeneration project that he was a part of. After learning the basics and increasing my confidence in different techniques to be used in the experiment, I was assimilated into the team. I was then able to conduct different experiments contributing to the final results of our project. The experience was surreal, coming from no experience at all in the ophthalmology field, with just the general knowledge of my major at Hunter College, which was Biochemistry, I have learned so much in a short amount of time. Spearheading this project was a little intimidating at first, but with the help and confidence that my mentor had in me, I was able to accomplish any obstacles. We recently finished the paper on the corneal regeneration project and sent it to a scientific journal publication, now we are just waiting for the decision if it's going to be publicized in the journal.