S O A R A Place to Launch Your Life TM Volume 2, Issue 1 A Message from Cheryl Williams University Associate Dean for Special Programs April 2015 Greetings All. envision expanded possibilities for the many high This academic year has been one of reflection on our school graduates who aspire to higher education, but past and contemplation of our future. We celebrated who fear they can’t afford college. the 50th anniversary of College Discovery in Decem- We’re also encouraged by the growing interest in ber, only to begin planning a commemoration for the Single Stop, a relatively new program in the OSP same landmark for SEEK. Two of the TRiO pro- portfolio, but one which is shifting the paradigm on grams, Talent Search and Upward Bound, are also how colleges provide financial support to low income marking 50 years of service. We in the Office of Spe- college students. Located on each of our community cial Programs (OSP) are grateful to the SEEK, CD, college campuses, since 2009, Single Stop has gener- Upward Bound, and Talent Search faculty, staff, and ated nearly $141 million in benefits, tax refunds, and supporters who over the past fifty (50) years have as- supportive services for students and their families. sisted thousands of talented and motivated students to Where the program shines is in helping students navi- expand their horizons through the counseling, aca- gate the public benefits bureaucracy. Most important- demic, and financial support our programs provide. ly, early studies suggest that students who access Sin- Looking back, a reality we share is the 50 year annual gle Stop services will be more likely to persist and struggle we’ve faced to ensure that legislators contin- ultimately earn a degree. ue to provide funding for our programs. TRiO and As you will see on the following pages, our programs Special Programs professionals now swap war stories and students are thriving. I invite you to read and about experiences lobbying elected officials, whether enjoy! on Capitol Hill for TRiO, in Albany for SEEK, or the NYC City Council for College Discovery. Neverthe- Inside this Issue Page less, we go armed each year knowing we are engaged College Discovery Celebrates 50 Years…………..2 in a just fight, drawing strength from the joy we get Speaking of Her Honor………………………….....3 helping our students shine. NY/NJ Metro McNair Poster Conference……....3 Looking forward, we are encouraged to see the atten- tion being given to increasing college enrollment of SEEK Math Support at Baruch College…….…..4 low income, first generation students. It’s been quite SEEK & CD City Council Hearing……………....5 some time since the National, State, and Local higher Remembering the Time at Queens College……...6 education agendas have come into alignment to focus Single Stop Statistics………………………………7 so explicitly on this population. The most recent and United Leaders of CUNY at Somos…………..….8 powerful example came with the passing of the NYS Tri-State Consortium Conference………………...9 budget which included a 20% increase for State op- portunity programs. We applaud the new Assembly Upcoming Events………………………...………..10 Speaker’s “Higher Education Road to Success,” and SEEK/CD Assessment Committee Update…….11 Page 2 College Discovery Celebrates 50 Years son, University Relations and Board Secretary, Vice Chancellor Frank Sanchez (Student Affairs), and Dean Cheryl William from th the Office of Special Programs, and Trustee Rita On Friday, December 12 , 2014, which has Dimartino supported the occasion with her pres- been proclaimed “CUNY”s College Discov- ence. ery Day” by the proclamation received from the Office of the Mayor of the City of New The entertainment for the evening included a pi- York, a standing room only crowd of two ano selection played by Isaac Lopez, a student at hundred students, alumni, faculty and staff Hostos Community College, and the unveiling of came together in the Atrium of the Graduate the winning CD logo designed by Raymond School to celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary Lopez, a Borough of Manhattan Community Col- of the College Discovery Program. Dr. Ped- lege student. ro Perez, the moderator and chair of the event committee began the celebration with Of special note were the reflections shared by words of welcome and introduced the Col- alumni Dr. Milga Morales , Vice President for lege Discovery Parade of Alumni. As shared Student Affairs at Brooklyn College by Dr. Perez, these individuals represented (Queensborough Community College CD Class of only a small portion of the incredible 1967) and Mr. Robert Hill, former Vice Chancel- achievements College Discovery participants lor for Public Affairs, University of Pittsburgh have made. A glimpse of their individual (Borough of Manhattan Community College CD stories collectively presented in the program Class of 1967). Their reminiscing allowed us to may be viewed at http://www.cuny.edu/ venture back in time and to connect to how the academics/programs/seekcd/Archived/ program has consistently created access and op- CD50thGalaProgramBook- portunity for students over the last fifty years. let_12_8_2014.pdf, along with other infor- Maria Grieco, the Chair of the University Council mation about the celebration. of CD Directors closed out the celebration with remarks which were followed by a musical selec- During her remarks NYC Councilmember tion by the Taiko Drummers. Everyone who at- Inez Barron acknowledged the efforts of her tended left with a sense of the transformative val- CUNY Liaison, Legislative Director Ndigo ue that the College Discovery Program continues Washington (LaGuardia Community College to add to the City University of New York, our CD Class of 1991), and her special connec- students, and our broader community and city. tion to the program through her husband, Continue on pg. 12 Councilman Charles Barron, (New York City Technical College CD Class of 1976 & Hunter SEEK Class of 1988). Other words of encouragement and support were also spo- ken by Senior Vice Chancellor Jay Hershen- Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 3 Speaking of Her Honor While in John Jay Ms. The Percy Sutton SEEK Club of the Department of Velasquez was elected SEEK Counseling and Student Support Services, to many positions and and the Undergraduate Student Government of The the City University of City College of New York hosted a conversation New York recognized with the Honorable Carmen Velasquez, NYS Su- her contributions and preme Court Justice on March 5th 2015. Honorable conferred upon her “The Belle Judge Velasquez emigrated from her native country Zeller Scholarship”. Ms. Velasquez also received of Ecuador at the age of fourteen (14). She began the Counsel for Legal Education Opportunity Fel- her formal studies with a goal towards becoming an lowship (CLEO) as well as the Temple University attorney even though she did not initially have the Graduate Fellowship which paid for her entire legal ability to speak a word in English. While she was a education and living expenses allowing her to suc- student, many advisers tried to dissuade her from cessful obtain a Juris Doctor degree from Temple pursuing a legal career, suggesting that she should Law School. become a secretary instead. However, her strong Ms. Carmen R. Velasquez was elected to the Civil will and determination proved skeptics wrong. She Court bench in New York on November 4, 2008. In completed her early education at Long Island City November 2014, after six years of service, she High School and entered John Jay College of Crim- made history as the first Ecuadorian American to be inal Justice as a SEEK student to pursue her higher elected to the Supreme Court of any state in the education degree. United States. NY/NJ Metro McNair Poster Conference The first annual NY/NJ Met- Master of Science Candi- ro McNair Poster conference date in Information Sys- was held at John Jay College tems at New Jersey Insti- on Friday, February 13, 2015 tute of Technology; Ni- and included poster presenta- koleta Despodova, (John tions of students from CUNY (Hunter and John Jay Jay College Alum and Colleges), St. Johns University and Bloomfield NSF Awardee) Doctoral College in New Jersey. Candidate in Psychology and Law at The CUNY Graduate Center; and Dr. John Jay's President Jeremy Travis opened the pro- Charles Barrett (St. John’s McNair Alum) Ph.D. in gram and Dr. Andre McKenzie, Vice President for School Psychology Lehigh University, Pennsylva- Academic Support Services at St. John's University nia. moderated the graduate alumni panel at lunch. The Luncheon Alumni Panelists included Ms. Estefania Congratulations to all for a successful event and the Ponti (Hunter College & Macaulay Honors Pro- anticipated ex- gram & McNair Alum), Doctoral Candidate in An- pansion to in- thropology at The CUNY Graduate Center; Mr. clude more col- Isaac Clarke (Bloomfield College McNair Alum) leges. Page 4 SEEK Math Support at Baruch College Achieve Student Success by David Rosen Under the excellent leadership of Dr. Angela An- In addition, our tutors who are well prepared and selmo and Acting Director Kristy Clementina Pe- intrinsically motivated have often received SEEK rez, SEEK students at Baruch College did very tutoring themselves, are part of a community, re- well in gateway math classes compared to regularly ceive feedback, update their styles and skills, dif- admitted students in fall 2013. This success was ferentiate instruction, collaborate with professors, based on a variety of interacting factors and multi- work as a team, interact freely with counselors, and ple initiatives (some academic in nature, others de- are highly respected. signed to increase engagement) which interacted to promote student success. Finally, we piloted a new program where tutors check the math work of the students they tutor, and In the fall of 2013, the pass rate for gateway math share these results with their counselors.