Senior Aces One of the Toughest College Science Courses, Making Rutgers History

Solomon Williams, one of the top-ranked students in organic chemistry at Rutgers, had a love-hate relationship with science growing up.

It was his least favorite subject until he failed a biology exam. Instead of giving up or getting frustrated, he was inspired to do better.

“Once that happened, I remember that I couldn’t believe I had failed it and thinking that I had to really start trying,” said Williams who is on course to graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, earning a degree in biological sciences and a minor in health and society.

“When I sat down and really read the science, I realized that it was fascinating and really interested me just like superheroes did when I was a kid,” Williams said.

At Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Williams has made history – earning one of the highest grades in organic chemistry. He was named a recipient of the Wright-Rieman Award in 2023 which recognizes undergraduates for excellence in the subject and is graduating this year ranked number one out of 6,057 students in the School of Arts and Sciences. He is also ranked as the number one student in Systems Physiology and General Chemistry and scored in the top 3% in the nation on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). His extraordinary achievements place him among the most academically talented students at the Honors College.

Now with acceptances from prestigious medical schools including Yale, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, Williams, 21, of Hackettstown, is poised to become the first doctor in his family.

It is a dream he began thinking about before coming to Rutgers, when a teacher at Pope John High School in Sparta recommended that he read The Pact, a book about three male Black physicians who grew up in inner-city Newark and made a promise to help each other get through college and medical school.

“That was when I could see that people that look like me can become doctors,” said Williams. “I realized my fascination with science could be used to help people. Since then, I haven’t really looked back.”

With the support of his mother, a retired immigration attorney, and his father, a retired federal officer, Williams has been unstoppable. He has completed multiple internships including at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in Bergen County.

At Rutgers, Williams, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society, also works as a research assistant in the laboratory of Wise Young, the Richard H. Shindell Chair in Neuroscience. There, he studies hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury that occurs due to a lack of oxygen and blood flow before, during or shortly after birth.

He has also tutored high school students in algebra and college students in chemistry, volunteered at Hackettstown Medical Center and, in his spare time, plays intramural basketball at Rutgers.

“Solomon is a highly motivated, diligent student-scholar who demonstrates outstanding character both in and out of the classroom settings. Whether he is studying or researching, Solomon has a magical touch that turns everything around him into gold,” said Kamal Khan, director of ODASIS, a program that works to increase the recruitment and academic success of educationally and economically disadvantaged students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Williams isn’t sure exactly what field of medicine he will pursue. But he knows that part of his goal will be to investigate health disparities in the African American community – inspired by his own family’s health challenges. His grandfather, the patriarch of his family, died recently, almost a decade after suffering a stroke. Williams believes that his grandfather’s background and cultural values growing up in the deep South resulted in him eating more sugary, unhealthy food and not thinking of monitoring his health and lifestyle regularly.

“I want to provide health care tailored to the specific needs of individuals in the Black community,” said Williams. “I think I can make a difference.”