From Malaysia to Masonic (and beyond)
A Rohingya refugee naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2025, Nurhaliza Syukur ’26 was born and raised in Malaysia, coming to the United States in 2019 with aspirations of a career in medicine.
Learning the Game
In his own words, Public Relations major Jayson Bretton discusses his experiences at Utica College discovering his natural talent for speaking and blending it with his love of sports.
I’m from Rockland County, NY. I ran track back in high school and I got recruited by the coach. I like the fact that Utica College is such a small community and that the faculty don’t see you as a number. They actually know you by name.
I took a communications class the first semester I was here, and my professor said I’m a great speaker, so I thought I could get into something that would involve public speaking. I might like to do something in professional sports when I graduate. I think I would like to be a sportscaster. That would be interesting to me.
I’m in the sports communication concentration of the PR major. In the organizations I’m in on campus, they have me doing advertising for events coming up. I enjoy doing that. That was part of how I decided to become a PR major. Plus I like sports, so it’s a good fit for me.
Utica College is very diverse, so it’s comfortable here. I get to meet a lot of people. I actually know somebody here who graduated from the same high school as me. This is a good school.
More Stories
Big little sister
Dr. Franits' book examines texts and other artistic works rendered by siblings of individuals with disabilities, interrogating the impact of disability on the identity of non-disabled siblings.
Local Organizations Give to Utica University’s Tangerine Group Food Pantry
Tangerine Grove received a $5,000 gift from The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties and a $300 gift from the Genesis Group.
I would like to see logins and resources for:
For a general list of frequently used logins, you can also visit our logins page.