“Knowledge is power,” says Sumbul Kiroglu, “but knowledge is limited. Imagination is limitless.”

Kiroglu is familiar with the potential that imagination offers. Five years ago, she left her home country of Turkiye (the nation that Americans know as Turkey) and traveled halfway across the globe to reinvent herself in the U.S.

She had no friends or family to welcome her to America. She had no job awaiting her, and she spoke little English.

In her homeland, she had earned a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering and worked for eight years in petrology and mineralogy for the Koza Gold Corporation. She was an experienced and successful professional. So why did she pull up roots and head to a foreign country?

“In my previous career, I had knowledge,” she admits, “but I lost my curiosity and imagination. I am always thinking about the next step, and I didn’t see a future in my current field.”

When she arrived in the U.S., she threw herself into learning English, taking ESL classes with Kaplan International and Camden County College (CCC). At the same time, she was searching for a new career, one that could provide enough creative potential to spark her imagination.

Kiroglu discovered healthcare and began her new journey by earning an associate degree in massage therapy at CCC. After classes there one day, she was in the library waiting for an uber when she noticed a poster about transfer scholarships offered by Neumann. She wrote down the contact information listed on the flyer and later emailed Sarah Margulis, Neumann’s assistant director for transfer outreach and recruitment.

Now 35, Kiroglu started her studies in Health Sciences last fall after receiving a full-tuition transfer scholarship to Neumann. She is on track to graduate in May of 2026.

“When Sumbul first reached out, it was clear that she had researched Neumann and the scholarship well,” recalls Margulis. “She had a plan in place. When our president presented her the scholarship during our Accepted Students Day, it showed in her face how grateful and excited she was for this opportunity.”

“The scholarship has changed my life,” Kiroglu says. “It boosted my self-confidence and made me see my potential. I’m visible now. I trust myself.”

Her imagination has also revived. She wants to combine her expertise in engineering and technology with her interest in healthcare.

“My ambition is to merge my engineering acumen with advanced fields like artificial intelligence, especially in healthcare applications,” she writes on her LinkedIn page. “I am enthusiastic about harnessing AI to revolutionize diagnostics, wellness strategies, and overall health experiences.”

She has already impressed Hubert Lee, assistant dean for health sciences. “Sumbul is an outstanding student with great potential in the health care field,” he says. “She is hard-working, engaged and has assimilated extremely well to the United States.”

Kiroglu’s dream job is to work for a university or a tech company and use AI to create medical devices that will help people improve their health.

She believes that success in college is about two key elements: determination and a sense of belonging.

“At Neumann University, I found both. Now I have knowledge, experience and imagination. I feel more powerful.”

Neumann University offers transfer scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 based on a student’s cumulative GPA and one full-tuition scholarship per year to transfer students from Delaware County Community College and Camden County College.