While no official reason was ever given for Marlene Lawston’s sudden departure from “Blue Bloods,” it’s possible that producers simply decided to go in a different direction and recast the role. However, it seems more likely that the choice was actually made by Lawston herself. That’s because the young actor didn’t just leave “Blue Bloods” behind -– she quit Hollywood altogether. Despite a promising start in the industry, she hasn’t appeared on screen since the show, and it’s clear she’s found a new passion — one which she’s pursuing wholeheartedly.
After high school, Lawston enrolled in New York’s prestigious Colgate University, where she pursued a B.A. in molecular biology with a minor in Chinese. She graduated summa cum laude in 2020, having achieved an impressive number of accomplishments. Most notably, she penned an honors thesis about “sensory organ development and regeneration in blind cavefish” (via the University of Oxford), which went on to win her the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and recognition from the Beckman Scholars Program in 2018. The latter is an invitation-only scholarship, described by the organization’s website as a “15-month mentored research experience for exceptional undergraduate students.”
What’s more, Lawston also excelled outside of the classroom. While not studying for herself, she tutored biology courses, volunteered as an EMT, and was even a student coordinator for the Southern Madison County Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
