Meet Our Grads 2 . Winter Study Abroad 5 . Help for Haiti 7. New Path for Foreign Students 10. A Scholar-Athlete 11 QC Goes to South Africa CLICK HERE QUEENS COLLEGE FACULTY | STAFFf NEWSyMAY i2012 Veteran New York Sportscaster Rose to Speak at 88th Commencement It will be a familiar voice to fans of For Howie Rose ’77, his invitation to speak to this. Speaking at commencement allows the Mets and the Islanders when at Queens College’s 2012 Commencement me the honor of addressing today’s gradu- sportscaster Howie Rose addresses offers a chance to wrap up some unfinished ates, and at the same time I feel like I’m those in attendance for the college’s business. finally enjoying my college graduation some 88th Commencement exercises. Rose “Obviously, I look at this as a tremendous 35 years later.” says it will be an opportunity for him to honor, but I’m also using this as a seren- While not encouraging missing personal experience the ceremony he missed when dipitous opportunity to have the college events, his message to graduating students he graduated in 1977. graduation that I never had,” says the sports- will advocate the kind of focus that pro- caster. Known throughout the region as the pelled his career: “I want to impress upon radio voice of the New York Mets and the these kids that, although they hear from TV voice of the New York Islanders, Rose every angle and from every quarter what a explains that he was a no-show for his own bad time it is to be graduating and trying to commencement ceremony because “I was get into the workforce, my message to them already in the workforce by then.” is: Nonsense! Whether you want to be a Freely admitting that the most important broadcaster, a writer, an actor, or an accoun- lessons he learned at QC were not in the tant, just be the best you can be at whatever classroom but at the campus radio station, it is you want to do and opportunities will Rose says when his mid-year graduation present themselves.” date rolled around, he had already landed a Also at Commencement, Sara Miller Mc- job in his chosen profession as the voice of Cune ’61 will receive an honorary Doctor Sportsphone, a pre-Internet, pre-all-sports of Humane Letters degree for her accom- radio service that the sports-addicted of the plishments in the worlds of publishing and day could call to hear continuously updated philanthropy. recordings of the latest scores and sports Students will also hear from one of their news. own, Yakov Yakubov, who was selected to Sacrificing personal events for the sake of be this year’s student speaker. The cer- his profession has apparently been a frequent emony will see a few changes from previous feature of Rose’s life. “I never had an actual ceremonies. Wendy Lee (Events) and John honeymoon,” he remarks. “I’m kind of used Andrejack (Student Life) say they have CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 COMMENCEMENT - from page 1 tweaked elements of the procession to get tions. “Now, we can actually have the recep- students to their seats more quickly. “My tion in the beautiful new lobby of Colden Outstanding Students personal goal is to keep the procession to Center,” says Andrejack. “It’s a much larger within 20 to 25 minutes,” says Lee. space and that’s definitely going to add from the Class of 2012 The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will pro- something to it.” vide musical accompaniment to the proces- “We’ll also be honoring the 70th anniver- sion under the direction of Visiting Lecturer sary of the class of ’42,” says Andrejack. gained a deeper understanding of the Kristin Mozeiko. “And a female vocalist, Richard Reif '62 , celebrating his 50th an- work. Today he spends long hours study- Francesca Lunghi ’12, will be singing ‘The niversary, will be offering his congratulatory ing. “I find history fascinating so it’s not a Star Spangled Banner,’” says Lee. remarks. hardship for me.” The Baccalaureate Reception will benefit Retiring History Chair Frank Warren will As part of his studies, Apperson is from the recent Kupferberg Center renova- serve as chief marshall (see story p. 15). learning to translate the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. He is also beginning to study two modern languages: French and German. In this he is helped by his fortuitous marriage to a woman from Switzerland, whose three official lan- guages include those two plus Italian. Classical Greek and Latin are “very challenging,” remarks Apperson. So much so, that in some ways mastering them JUSTIN APPERSON feels a little like being in war. “I have expe- rienced a similar type of heavy anxiety A Veteran Journeying Through before taking important exams as I have Ancient Times before going on operations in both Iraq Justin Apperson works hard at what he and Afghanistan,” he says. does—whether it’s fighting war or study- Apperson will be applying to several ing. After serving four years as an infan- graduate programs. His goal is to earn a try paratrooper, he returned home and PhD and teach history. enrolled in LaGuardia Community College, later transferring to Queens, where he has a stellar GPA of 3.85. He will graduate this MIRELA CENGHER spring with a double major in history and Reaching Through Autism’s classics. Barriers Raised by a single mother in Las Vegas, Apperson joined the army in 2002 and did In recent years, the focus of two tours of duty, in which he participated Mirela Cengher’s life has been 75 and Counting in daily combat patrols. He was stationed working with children with The gilded, seven-story ballroom of in Iraq’s violent Anbar province in 2003-04, autism. There is no cure for Manhattan’s Gotham Hall was the and then in Afghanistan in 2005-06. “It’s an autism, but diagnosis and treat- setting May 1 for this year’s Q Gala, experience I wouldn’t trade for anything,” ment have progressed greatly which introduced the college’s 75th he says. “I learned a lot of discipline and in the last few decades, and anniversary celebration. A Lifetime drive and confidence. It made me who I therapists—working Achievement Award was given in am, and I am proud of it.” often with approaches memory of Kenneth Kupferberg ’41 who, along with Today Apperson is a scholar who loves based on behavior his brother Max, was a member of the college’s first graduating class. His son ancient history. He first read Homer’s modification—are Mark (above, right) received the award on his behalf from QC President James Iliad when he was about 12. His love of able to make a real Muyskens. the classic has not faded, even as he has difference in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 FYI MAY 2012 | 2 OUTSTANDING STUDENTS - from page 2 second language, an idea that held enor- Language was not an issue for Gil, since mous appeal. he had graduated from a private English- lives of affected children and their families. “At an info session for certification in language high school just before the family After completing an undergraduate TESOL [Teaching English to Speakers of left. They settled in Corona, Queens, and degree in psychology in her native Romania, Other Languages], I met another Chinese- Gil was accepted at Queens College. He Cengher worked there for several years as American woman who told me about entered an accelerated BA/MA pilot pro- a therapist with children with autism. She AmeriCorps,” the national community ser- gram in chemistry, and will graduate this came to the United States in fall 2010 to vice organization, Leong says. She got her spring with a 4.0 GPA. start in QC’s master’s program in applied TESOL certification in April 2011 and began Life has not been easy for the family; his behavior analysis (ABA), a branch of psy- teaching English to Chinese immigrants at a mother, unable to practice medicine, has chology, and continues working with chil- Chinatown YMCA through a program run had to take on childcare jobs while car- dren with autism here at the same time. by Pace University’s AmeriCorps ing for the family, while his father has gone “Nothing is as rewarding as seeing a That program ended in December, but through the arduous process of getting child get better and better,” says Cengher, the YMCA picked it up and Leong con- his American medical license. At times the who is also the principal investigator on tinued teaching. Interested in learning family had to use food stamps to get by. two autism studies at Queens, and a prin- about other Asian cultures, she accepted Through it all, Gil has been an outstanding cipal investigator/researcher in two others an internship at South Asian Youth Action, student. outside the college. Her master’s thesis a nonprofit in Elmhurst. She also took a “The most important thing is the sup- examines techniques caregivers can exploit semester of Korean at QC. Presumably, her port from my family,” he says. “Knowing to evoke greater responses from a child varied background and commitment to ESL [every evening] that you’re going back to a with autism (for example, approaching after ERICA LEONG helped her stand out amid the thousands stable and unified family makes me want to a period when the child has had little inter- Finding the Music in Language of Fulbright applicants. “Erica is extremely try harder for them.” action with others, as opposed to when a Learning enthusiastic, hard-working, and responsible,” Gil has been accepted at three medi- child is already sated with contact).