l manhattan commons The Newsletter of Borough of Manhattan Community College I Spring/Summer 2010

BMCC students rise to the occasion during and after HaitianThe EARTH- QUAKE In This Issue:

Music Man Jazz musician Emmanuel Mendoza returns to BMCC with a clearer sense of purpose. PAGE 6 (Stories on page 4) Success Goes Underground MTA Civil Engineer Mohamed Hoque looks back on Bangladesh and his start at BMCC. PAGE 7

Does Mauby Really Work? Kwame Amin tests a folk remedy from –and wins a science prize. PAGE 8

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Commons Why Innovation Matters Knowledge Items of interest to the BMCC Com munity

Senator Charles Schumer Inspires lthough healthcare reform has been President Graduates at 45th Obama’s top priority, it was hardly surprising that he devoted a Commencement portion of his recent State of the Union address to education in Keynote Speaker America. “The idea is simple,” he said. “Instead of funding the Charles Schumer, U.S. Astatus quo, we only invest in reform—reform that raises student Senator from New York, achievement; inspires students to excel in math and science; and announced a “class gift” turns around failing schools.” to the graduates, ex- But meaningful reform, the President might have added, can plaining that in this only come through innovation—and that applies at every stage of economy, middle-class the educational process. “In this economy, a high school diploma students need financial no longer guarantees a good job,” he said. “That’s why I urge the aid, too. Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our “So two years ago I community colleges, which are a pathway to the children of so wrote a law,” he said, refer- many working families.” Senator Charles Schumer ring to a college tuition At BMCC, we’ve long viewed innovation as a precondition tax credit in the federal economic tion, through ‘giving back’, and of educational excellence. In my state of the college remarks this stimulus package, “so you or your ‘paying it forward’.” year, I noted that we are continually looking for ways to expand parents who pay for tuition can take Raymond O’Keefe, founder our curricular offerings—to make them more responsive to our $500 off your taxes for each year and former chairman of the students’ needs and aspirations and to prepare them for the chal- of college. But only if your family BMCC Foundation, and one who lenges they will face in a rapidly evolving marketplace. income is below $200,000 a year.” has set a profound example of Thus, each year brings new course offerings and imaginative BMCC President Antonio “giving back,” himself, was hon- new curricular programs. At the same time, we are determined Pérez, on a more philosophical ored with the Presidential Medal, to set the pace for the na- note, assured graduates that “the and over 2,700 graduates were tion’s community colleges in answers to life’s questions are awarded Associate degrees. developing and implement- within you. You’ll discover them http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/ ing new models of teaching through education and explora- news.jsp?id=2560 and research and in our use of cutting-edge instructional technology. manhattan commons Innovation, said Apple computer visionary Steve BMCC Administration BMCC Commons

Antonio Pérez Barry Rosen Jobs, “is what distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” In PRESIDENT EDITOR/SENIOR WRITER the education arena, innovation also distinguishes between prog- Sadie C. Bragg SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Louis Chan, Lynn McGee MANAGING EDITORS FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS ress and stagnation—and between success and failure. Nowhere Lynn McGee, Rachel Sokol G. Scott Anderson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS VICE PRESIDENT is that more true than in our nation’s community colleges. It’s a FOR ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING Nina Ovryn ART DIRECTION truth that BMCC lives every day, in and out of the classroom. Robert E. Diaz VICE PRESIDENT FOR HUMAN RESOURCES Tom Volpe ANTONIO PÉREZ, PRESIDENT DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Karen M. Wenderoff BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT Louis Chan PHOTOGRAPHER COMMUNITY COLLEGE Marva Craig THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS Mariusz Kaczmarczyk VIDEOGRAPHER Sunil B. Gupta DEAN OF CONTINUING EDUCATION STAFF & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Peter Dinh, Robert Gizis www.bmcc.cuny.edu

Please address any queries or information about the Commons to: [email protected] 8

manhattan 2commons manhattan commons eventually moved to New York to resources, or CPRs. live with his father, who was pur- “A key component suing a Masters degree in Math. to Ostrom’s work,” writes Commons Flying unaccompanied, the Thompson, “is an inter- 10-year-old landed in New York disciplinary approach; her in August 1997, and started sixth research and publications grade in Washington Heights the on CPRs draw from con- next day. “I spoke virtually no Eng- servation biology, ecology, Knowledge lish,” he says. “Even so, it was fun.” psychology, and economics, Items of interest to the BMCC Com munity Ambaye’s language skills among others.” soared, and so did his dancing Altogether, 12 CUNY Kimberly Thompson skills, leading to a scholarship at undergraduates—out of Swimming to America the Alvin Ailey American Dance BMCC Student Wins 101 applicants—received awards Until he was 12, Haftom School summer camp. Today, he’s Grand Prize in CUNY- for their essays based on 2009 Ambaye had never even seen a enrolled at BMCC, and establish- wide Nobel Science Nobel prize-winning work in swimming pool. Born in 1986 in ing records in the men’s back- Challenge chemistry, physiology and medi- a refugee camp in Sudan—where stroke and individual medley, on BMCC science major Kimberly cine, physics, and economics. his family had relocated while the BMCC swim team. Thompson won first place in First, second and third prizes in

civil war ravaged their home prov- http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/new the economics category of the each category included an Apple ince of Humera, Ethiopia—he news.jsp?id=2477 2009 CUNY Nobel Science Chal- iMac Computer, a Dell Mini 10 lenge—as well as $5,000 Netbook, and an Amazon Kindle. as an overall Grand Kimberly Thompson was Prizewinner. announced as the surprise Grand Thompson— Prizewinner at the end of the the contest’s only ceremony, elation alternating with awardee from a stunned disbelief as she posed CUNY community holding the giant, sweepstakes- college—wrote her style CUNY check made out for award-winning essay on $5,000. the Nobel-prizewinning work of “I plan to put it toward Elinor Ostrom, who proposed school,” she said.

eight basic tenets relating to sus- http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/ Haftom Ambaye tainable common-pool (shared) news.jsp?id=2337

Foundation News: BMCC Scholarship Fund Holds Spring Gala

Gala on the Hudson

BMCC’s 22nd Annual Scholarship Gala, held at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on Manhattan’s West Side, raised over $435,000 in funds supporting the BMCC Scholarship program. u Honorees were Robert J. Mueller, Retired Senior Officer, The Bank of New York Mellon, and Jessica Schell, Senior Vice Presi- dent for Digital Strategy and Business Development at NBC Universal. Master of Ceremonies and CBS correspondent Jim Axelrod introduced the speakers, Robert J. Mueller including BMCC President Antonio Per´ez. “BMCC’s mission is to make higher

education accessible to all with the ambition to attain it,” he said. “Most BMCC www.bmcc.cuny. students are the first in their families to attend college. Our mission to provide a step-up to these students is critical, because jobs requiring associate de- grees are growing twice as fast as those requiring no college experience.” u The event brought together over 330 attendees, and featured a reception, silent

auction and dinner. http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/news.jsp?id=2546 8 Jessica Schell Jim Axelrod manhattan commons manhattan 3commons COVER STORY I THE HAI TIAN EARTHQUAKE

Stephen Faustin’s Haitian Odyssey

orn in the U.S. but raised in Haiti, Stephen Faustin gradu- Faustin turned the car around, headed to his family’s home in the Bour- ated from BMCC with a degree in engineering science, and is now taking don section of Port-au-Prince, a few kilometers from the quake’s epicenter, additional courses at his alma mater. He returns to Haiti every year to visit and found the structure intact—but the building next door was gone. family and people he grew up with, and on a recent visit, the afternoon of “My two sisters who lived in Haiti, my cousins and goddaughters, had Tuesday, January 12, he drove to meet a friend—and headed right into the all gotten out and were safe,” he says. But two people were unaccounted earthquake’s destruction. for—his father, and Mamí, who had cared for him as a child. “She was like a “We could see streets swaying and buckling,” Faustin says. “Buildings mother to me,” he says. had collapsed and there was so much dust it was hard to see. People were Faustin formed a rescue party, frantically calling Mamí’s name into the walking in the streets, bleeding and dazed.” rubble. “We could hear people who were trapped crying for help,” he says. B And finally, they heard Mamí calling “Stephen, Stephen,” in a weak voice. Small Efforts Matter BMCC student does his part to rebuild Haiti. Faustin and his friends continued digging and extricated more people, including a woman who died the next he devastating January, 2010 earthquake in Haiti—which claimed over 230,000 lives and left a million people day. After nearly two weeks, he and Thomeless—drew a massive global response including rescue workers, humanitarian supplies, and monetary his aunt boarded a flight back to New support. u Smaller in scale, is the relief that’s been offered one person at a time—like that of BMCC Liberal Arts York—but sadly, his aunt, stricken by

major Isaac Logan. u Born in Russia, Logan spent his first 10 years in an orphanage, was adopted by an American the ordeal, died just a few days later. and lived in Texas to the age of 17—when he made his way to New York, working in a restaurant, and completing “The hardships faced by the his GED. u Now in his second year at BMCC, Logan spent spring break in Haiti. u “I grew up in poverty,” he says. Haitians now are beyond imagin-

“But I never went through anything on the magnitude of what the Haitians have faced. I wanted to reach out and let ing,” he says. “I feel it’s important

them know there are people who care.” u Through Hands-On, a relief organization, Logan flew to Port-au-Prince, that Americans continue to help the country through donations.” paying his own airfare, then was driven by truck to Léogâne, a city of collapsed buildings, children and animals Back in New York, Faustin is digging for food. u Logan, alongside other volunteers, dismantled a destroyed building with sledgehammers, and trying to resume normal life. “I still cleared debris with shovels and wheelbarrows. The week’s experience, jump when I hear a subway rumble, he says, “has made me grateful for the opportunities that have been and sometimes wake up in the middle given to me.” u After graduating from BMCC, Logan hopes to attend a of the night,” he says. The sounds and senior college, and major in international affairs. “It was overwhelming images from his 2010 Haiti visit will

to think this tragedy took place so close to the U.S.,” Logan says. “I left be with him always, he says. “But so

wishing I could have done more.” u Haiti relief efforts are far from over. will the memories of a happy child- hood in a beautiful country.” For a list of ways to do your part, visit http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/haiti/ www.bmcc.cuny.edu http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/

http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/news.jsp?id=2497 news/news.jsp?id=2339 8 Isaac Logan

manhattan 4commons manhattan commons

BMCC I SPORTS

Bringing Hoop Dreams to Life “We use basketball as a vehicle for teaching life skills.”

BMCC men’s basketball coach Dan teaching life skills,” he says. “Playing on this Nigro is instructing sophomore Justin team is about being on time, showing re- Daniels, a 6’7” forward, on the finer points spect to others, paying attention to details. of free throws, lay-ups and jump shots. If the players can conduct themselves this “Keep your eye on the rim and your way on a day-to-day basis, both academi- shoulders straight—and make sure to cally and athletically, it will stand them in follow through,” he calls from the side- good stead in the future.” lines. “That way you get the ball to rotate Adds freshman guard Justin Daniels,“I and spin into the basket.” love basketball. But I’m learn- Nigro assumed the helm of ing a lot more than how to the Panthers in Fall 2009, after play the game. I’m learning successful stints with a number In a sense, about responsibility and how of other college teams—includ- to function independently.” they’re“ under a ing Division 1 squads—as well as Nigro holds practices six microscope coaching at the high school level. days a week, “and the players “What drew me here,” said much more than are expected to arrive punc- Nigro, “was BMCC’s commitment tually, just as their professors other students. to team sports, as well as the great expect them to show up on resources. The facilities are among time for class—or an em- the best in all of CUNY.” ployer would expect them to “Our main goal for the season show up on time for a job,” ” he notes. “We stay in close was to stay competitive,” he says. The Panthers made the CUNY touch with their instructors, finals, and Nigro continues ex- and require them to take pecting the best. “We’d love to get Coach Dan Nigro part in tutoring programs.” into the regionals, which are state- What it all comes down to, wide, and ultimately, the nationals.” he adds, is that team members must meet That won’t all happen overnight, he ac- basic academic standards in order to keep knowledges. In contrast to 4-year colleges, playing. “In a sense, they’re under a micro- the Panthers roster changes continually, scope much more than other students.”

“since our players stay for only two years http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/news. at most.” Among this season’s standouts jsp?id=2200 are Janel Cobb and Tony Vails, who have repeatedly garnered CUNY “Player of the Players of the Year www.bmcc.cuny.edu Week” awards and are ranked among the nation’s top college scorers and rebounders. Eyandra Molina, a 5’6” guard from the For now, says Nigro, skill develop- Bronx, was selected CUNYAC Player of the Year, scoring 426 points and averaging 23.7 ment—both on and off the basketball points per game, the second highest effort in court—is a higher priority than trying to all of the National Junior College Athletic win championships. Association (NJCAA). Tony Vails, a 6’2” guard

“We use basketball as a vehicle for from Brooklyn, scoring 427 points and averaging8 22.5 points per game this season, was selected CUNYAC Player of the Week five times this season. manhattan commons manhattan 5commons http//www.bmcc.cuny.edu/ new/news.jsp?id=2336 “

8 www.bmcc.cuny.edu S isolated from other people.” isolated fromotherpeople.” the term‘alienation’—where youfeelseparatedand student adds,“asbeingallthesame.” mixed. “It’slike howwelook atimmigrants,”another Weinbaum shortstory, “MadMoon,”andreviews are species, asalljustoneculture.” an entire asociety, envision to justification “E lens A contemporary Blade Runner. movie the of basis Sheep?,” DreamElectric of Androids “Do classic, 1968 Dick’s K. Philip to Wells’s Time“The Machine,” published 1895, of the genre, reading stories ranging from H.G. definition own their with grapple Sexton’sstudents anticipates thefuture.” fiction commentsonthepast,andpresent, and tion isabitbroader, becauseIthinkgoodscience teaches IntroductiontoScienceFiction. “Mydefini the unexplainable,” saysProfessor DannySexton, who have scienceinit,thatitmakes anattempttoexplain omewouldargue thatsciencefictionhasto “Students really latchontoit,thinkabout‘whatif?’” Lit CritasAlienEncounter BMCC “Look at the word ‘alien’,” says Sexton. “Think of attheword of “Look ‘alien’,” saysSexton. “Think justread They’ve the1949Stanley one student. “There’s no possible possible no “There’s student. one asserts same,” the seems alien very

I

FACULTY the future. anticipates the present, and on thepast, fiction comments “ Good science -

manhattan commons ” not happeningnow.” not beingabletohappen,”Sexton says.“Ijustsawitas overlap. “IneversawthestuffIread insciencefictionas exploiting othercultures for theirinflatablecropstoday.” dent, “becausetheyhaveaNorthPole andaSouthPole inthe with theCivilWar. couldbesupported,”saysa stu- “That andSextoncharacters, ‘Grant’and‘Lee’, pointsoutparallels if?’” about ‘what S collide Worlds

http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/news.jsp?id=2022 tion at BMCC, “students really latch on to it, to think tion atBMCC,“studentsreally latchontoit,think exton notesthatinthetimehe’staughtsciencefic- In thestudents’analysis,past,present andfuture In “Mad Moon,” future and past worlds meet in two In “MadMoon,”future andpastworldsmeetintwo that annihilatesthewholeculture, andwe’re student’s observationthat“Granthasafire gun the conceptofcolonization,whichtriggersa addictive ‘fervel’leaves,andSexton bringsup tion thesubjugationofaliensharvesting opiate plantsgrew ontheplanet.Othersmen- reality isanhallucination,notingthat acter’s coming togetherafterthewar.” getmarried.It’slike and Lee thecountry story. There are twoopposite,opposingfactions.” The classalsodebateswhetherachar “And intheend,”saysanother, “Grant 6 - Student: “I clearer senseofwhoheis. and returns—with a A studentleavesBMCC Music Man news.jsp?id=2396 reggae, jazz,funk,Latin.” over—rock, and over records to listen and school from “Later,home Mendoza. run I’d Emmanuel says five,” was I when bass tric only thingIwanttodo.” the really It’s life. my enriched has “Music working toward my dream,” says Mendoza. tian earthquakerelief. Hai for concert benefit a gave recently and — Center Lincoln at Jazz and Music, of emy Acad Brooklyn at performed has that band Reggae well-regarded a Tribe, Judah joined He’s well on his way. Two years ago, he a degree in music and make music my career.” The New School or Julliard. I really want to get at ones the like program, jazz a for audition to like I’d graduate, I “Once says. he music,” who heisandwherehe’s going. of sense clearer much a with major Arts Liberal a as time this back, he’s now but too hard,” he says. Eventually, he left BMCC— just was night at gigs playing and and weekends—whichdidn’thappen. evenings to activities musical his confine in 2006, he opted to major in business and BMCC in enrolled he when bands—but local

http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/ started teaching myself to play elec- play to myself teaching started Wrig l dy te rehearsing then day, all “Working By age 18, Mendoza was playing gigs in “I’m thrilled to be back at BMCC and and BMCC at back be to thrilled “I’m “I’m taking courses in theory and global

Emmanuel Mendoza

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ALUMNI I NEWS & NOTES

Success Goes Underground “I was not certain how far I could make it.”

MCC alum Mohamed three hours with my father to reach Today, Hoque is a Civil don’t just teach them, I like to see Hoque—a Metropolitan Trans- the nearest town.” Engineer III with the MTA’s Civil/ them grow,” he says, “and fully portation Authority (MTA) Civil Eventually, Hoque moved to Structural Core Group. “Mostly, realize their potential. I am there Engineer who ensures the structural Ohio, took ESL courses, then moved we explore subsurface soil and rock for them at every level, whether they integrity of one of the world’s most to New York, enrolling at BMCC. “I conditions,” he says, “to see if it can need a reference—or any kind of Bextensive public transportation was not certain how far I could make support the building structures.” assistance I can provide.” systems—started his life walking dirt it,” he says, “At BMCC, working For the last eight years, he http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/ roads, with his father. with a very cooperative faculty and has also taught General Physics at news.jsp?id=2456 “I come from a village named staff lifted my spirits up.” BMCC, a subject that “enlightens Katakhali,” says Hoque, “in the After graduating from BMCC students about the things around southern district of Barisal, in in 1994 with an Associate degree us: the light, the magnets, the vari- Request for Success Bangladesh. When I grew up, it in Engineering Science, Hoque ous machinery and equipment, the BMCC Alumni – send us your success was pure rural with no electricity, transferred to Polytechnic Univer- loads, forces, speed, velocity—even stories! Write Barry Rosen, Executive Director no paved roads, very few bridges or sity, earning a Bachelor of Science in the pitch and sound.” of Public Affairs, at [email protected] brick houses. I remember, during Civil Engineering, and a Master of Teaching future engineers is u the rainy season, I used to travel on Science in Transportation Planning Hoque’s way of giving back to the Keep in Touch muddy and slippery roads for about and Engineering. school where he got his start. “I with the BMCC alumni office at www.bmcc.cuny.edu/alumni

Alumni Highlight: Sonia Gill or 212-220-1251

When Sonia Gill was growing up in , she imagined becoming a teacher. Later, she considered economics, and her strengths came to light during admissions testing at BMCC. “I had done really well on a math exam,” she says, “and my advisor suggested I go for accounting.” u After earning

an Associate in Accounting degree from BMCC, and a Bachelor in Accounting from Baruch College, Gill, www.bmcc.cuny.edu a licensed CPA, began her career at a Big Four accounting firm, and now works in investment banking. “There are always new accounting rules to interpret,” she says. “It’s a profession that evolves over time.” u On weekends, she teaches accounting at BMCC, sharing professional insights with students. Will the field provide careers, as they envision? “I think accounting is an excellent profession,” says Gill. “There are still positions, more so at the junior level. It’s a cycle, and it’s turning around.” 8

manhattan commons manhattan 7commons Does Mauby Really Work? Testing a folk remedy from Trinidad—and winning first prize in the process.

n the nation of , people with high blood pressure seek relief by eating a native plant called “mauby.” “Folk remedies are popular Ithere,” says Trinidad-born Kwame Amin, who graduated from BMCC with an Associate in Science degree. u Supervised by BMCC Science Professor Brahmad- eo Dewprashad, Amin tested the folk remedy’s medical validity, and confirmed a study claiming hypertensive patients benefit from the plant’s chemical compounds. u Testing mauby’s effects on blackworms, Amin noticed “a distinct lowering of their pulse rate.” Eventually, those findings earned him a first-place showing—competing against students from an array of 4-year and Ivy League schools—in the chemi- cal sciences division of the prestigious Annual Biomedical Research Confer- ence for Minority Students. u Professor Dewprashad holds us to extremely high standards,” says Amin. “We wound up beat- ing out some very tough competition.”

http://www.bmcc. cuny.edu/news/news. jsp?id=2060

Family Series BMCC Tribeca PAC & Theatre- CommonsCalendar l Steve Songs. Steve Roslonek works USA. Dec. 12 @ 3 p.m., Events, exhibits, performances for the coming months. appears on PBS Kids as $25; 10 Club Members $14. the lovable music teach- er, Mr. Steve and has Tribeca Spotlight Jazz Special Event Tribeca Dance been l Likeness to Lily. This Brooklyn l Uhuru Afrika: 50th Anniversary l Iñaki Urlezaga: Ballet Concierto. performing for families band features singer-songwriter Concert Celebration with Randy Led by founder and choreographer for over a decade. Oct. Susan Oetgen, pianist Tony Mel- Weston & His Orchestra. Weston’s Iñaki Urlezaga, Ballet Concierto 23 @ 1:30 p.m., $25; one, bass player Ian M. Rigg and tribute to African countries liberated fuses Argentinean and classical 10 Club Members $14. drummer Evan Pazner. Nov. 12 @ 8 in 1960 features lyrics by Langs- dance. Program A: Gala Vivat p.m., $15. ton Hughes. Nov. 13 @ 8 pm, $45 Argentina, Oct. 15 @ 8 p.m. and l Harold orchestra, $35 mezzanine, $25 upper Oct. 17 @ 3 p.m. Program B: and the l Rana Santacruz. Called “Mexi- mezzanine. Students: $10 off mez- Classical program, Oct. 16 @ Purple Crayon. can Bluegrass” or “Irish Mariachi,” zanine prices. 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. $35, $45, $55 Life-size puppets, Santacruz’s music travels from Ire- and $65. magic and music en- land, to Appalachia, New Orleans, Junie B. Jones liven this Enchantment and Mexico. Dec.17 @ 8 p.m., $15. Theatre Company pro-

duction based on Crockett Johnson’s Likeness to Lily stories of an adventurous boy. Nov. 20 Borough of Manhattan Community College @ 1:30 p.m., $25; 10 Club Members $14. 199 Chambers Street New York, NY 10007 l Junie B. Jones. This funny, fast- paced musical about new friends, new glasses and other first-grade situations, is based on Barbara Park’s stories and presented by

CommonsCalendar: All events are presented www.bmcc.cuny.edu by the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (www.tribecapac.org). For tickets call: 212-220-1460. 8