2025 CUNY CREST Medal Awarded to JK Goongoon
JK Goongoon received The CUNY CREST Medal in recognition of her outstanding leadership, research excellence, and commitment to community engagement on May 30, 2025, occasion of her graduation. Goongoon graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Earth Systems Science and Environmental Engineering (ESE) & Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the City College of The City University of New York. She was also recognized as the Class of 2025 Valedictorian of CCNY Grove School of Engineering (GSOE) and Engineering Alumni Medalist for Grove’s Academic Program of ESE.
Expressing gratitude, Goongoon said, “I am extremely grateful to the CREST Institute for entrusting me with this award. I hope to honor the values this award represents, as I work towards becoming a leader in the spaces I engage in and push for community-oriented climate solutions.”
Dr. Liubov Kreminska, Associate Director for Program Administration and Advising of the ESE Degree Program at CCNY and Dr. Katherine Chen (Sociology), Colin Powell School, CCNY served as Goongoon’s advisors.
In high school, Goongoon worked closely with local oysters and mussel populations at Hudson River Park. There, she examined hard metal concentrations resulting from Combined Sewer Outfalls (CSOs) and learned more about water quality management, an experience that sparked Goongoon’s interest in Environmental Engineering. Further, Goongoon began exploring the field at CCNY’s Environmental Engineering Laboratory at the end of freshman year as she helped with water quality testing for the lab’s ongoing projects. Parallely, she learnt about the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) from the lab’s Principal Investigator, Krish Ramalingam (University Committee Chair for NYWEA’s Metropolitan Chapter).
Goongoon’s research accomplishments include being a Research Assistant at the Environmental Engineering Lab, assisting in wastewater treatment experiments, conducting data driven research with the CUNY Institute of Demography Research (as part of the CUNY Climate Scholars Program) on displacement from natural disasters, and conducting field research in a remote area of Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska to study the carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from burned and unburned plateau soils, as part of the Polaris Program with the Woodwell Climate Research Center. She is also the recipient of fellowships including the 2022-2023 Climate Policy Fellowship with the Colin Powell School and the 2024-2025 CUNY CIRE Climate Scholars Fellowship, and scholarships/awards including 2024 WEF InFLOW Scholar, 2025 Waterfront Scholar, 2025 Asian Alumni Group Scholarship, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, and Dean’s List Every Semester of College.
Throughout her academic journey, Goongoon has actively engaged with the CCNY Student Chapter of the New York Water Environment Association. She took the initiative to revive the chapter by rebuilding the club’s connections on campus. In the leadership role since reinstatement, Goongoon represented the chapter at Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC), one of the biggest water conferences. During her time at WEFTEC, she continuously networked with professionals from all over the country to bring back more connections for the campus club. She also represented the City College as the first WEF InFLOW Scholar to attend WEFTEC. Under Goongoon’s leadership, the CCNY chapter won First Place in the state for Student Chapter Recognition; first time in the school’s history. She was also involved in the Civil Engineering (CE) Student Council. All these experiences have helped Goongoon grow as a person, learner, and leader. She said, “Because of these extra curricular experiences, I have deeply embodied the passion of being and staying curious, which I believe will help me continue learning and growing in the industry I pursue.”
Goongoon is thankful to her family, friends and peers at CCNY, Krish Ramalingam and colleagues/friends at the Environmental Engineering Lab, and Dr. Kreminska and faculty members of the Environmental Engineering department for their instrumental support and guidance throughout her journey.
Goongoon looks forward to working in private consulting as a Water Engineer starting this summer and further, upon gaining more exposure to different facets of the water and environmental engineering, pursuing Master’s in a more specialized field. She said, “By that time, if opportunity calls for it, I would be interested in pursuing a PhD as well.”
Goongoon advises students to get involved on campus and join professional organizations and participate in conferences. She said, “Not only will it help you find a community you can grow together with but also connect more deeply with the work you are doing.”
CREST is proud to celebrate Goongoon’s achievements and excited to see where her journey takes her next!
