Jun Robbins

Jun is probably the only Town and Gown Scholarship applicant who took a year away from school in order to return to South Korea and manage a convenience store. His family was in crisis, and their situation took priority. He believes that “this endeavor not only sustained us but also marked the beginning of my transformation.” Having previously been focused on academic success, he came to believe that “true achievement is synonymous with personal growth.”  He had to learn the value of resilience, sacrifice and endurance.

Because the health emergency at home was his mother’s diagnosis of breast cancer, this experience also helped Jun crystallize his career goals. He is majoring in biotechnology, and witnessing someone close to him struggle with chemo has motivated him to one day specialize in cancer treatment, specifically to “enhance the precision of cancer diagnostics and to refine chemotherapy, making it more effective while minimizing its adverse effects on patients’ lives.”

Back at Marshall College, where he participates in the Honors Program, Jun is doing breast cancer research in Engler’s Lab. His work is focused on “improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy.” He is also working with the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) project, innovating knee range-of-motion therapy.

Jun volunteers with his church service team organizing food drives, clothing donations and other support initiates to communities in need.

Although Jun has a personal mission because of what his mother experienced, his goal is to make a meaningful contribution to the larger community. For him, “this wasn’t just a battle for her survival; it became my war against the disease that threatened to take her from me.” He is determined to find ways of mitigating the often devastating side effects of current treatments and helping patients to thrive long term.