Garden Club Hosts Reopening of Rejuvenated Lisa Qian, M.D. '18, Memorial Garden

“I believe that every member of the Garden Club could recognize that the garden had so much potential, even when it was still densely overgrown with weeds,” said Kristopher Ortiz, School of Medicine (SOM) Class of 2024, president of the Garden Club.

After clearing dense portions of overgrown plants and weeds, the group laid down large amounts of mulch, gravel and stone slates, set up seating areas with benches and tables, along with a gravel walking path that winds through the garden, which sits behind the Grasslands Residence Halls. “What was an attempt to save the club some money actually became a fun project for us and allowed us to once again reutilize items the garden had all along,” Mr. Ortiz said.

Students gathered at the reopening, where they celebrated the new-look garden with refreshments and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting with Anthony M. Sozzo, M.A., M.S.Ed., associate dean for student affairs and director of student financial planning and student activities. “Many of us, including myself, had not really worked on a project like this before, so it was a learning curve for us all which made completing the project even more rewarding. The club is excited to have this space available for us and other members of the campus community to enjoy,” Mr. Ortiz said.

In 2018, the SOM Class of 2018 dedicated the garden to the memory of Lisa Qian, a fourth-year medical student who passed away at the start of her last year of medical school at NYMC at the age of 24. She was posthumously awarded her medical degree at the 2018 commencement ceremony.

“I wrote to students asking for volunteers to clean up the space and more than 30 students replied within hours offering to bring the garden back to life. Lisa was an artist and nature lover who took great interest in the garden. Her memory lives on in the garden named after her,” Mr. Sozzo said.