latest edition - Westchester Community College

Published by the Westchester Community College Foundation
75 Grasslands Road
Valhalla, New York 10595
February, 2012
Two Alumni Named It’s Official: WCC Has an Alumni Association
On November 1, 2011 the Westchester Community
WCC Vice Presidents College
Alumni Association was officially established at a
The beginning of the new year brought with it the
promotions of two alumni to top administrative positions
at the college. Donald Weigand (class of 1972), has been
appointed Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs and
Anthony Scordino (class of 1987) has been promoted to
Vice President of Information Technology. The appointments were made by
the Board of Trustees at its
November, 2011 meeting.
Weigand and Scordino
both have a wealth of experience
at, and knowledge of, Westchester Community College. Don Weigand, who
holds a Master’s degree in
Guidance and Counseling,
Donald Weigand
came to WCC in 1975 as an
instructor in the department of Counseling and Student
Development. In 1996 he was
named Director of the department
and in 2010 he became acting Associate Dean. Don Weigand is well
known to many alumni because of
his heavy involvement in student
activities over the past 37 years. In
addition to working in the Financial Aid Office, he was Coordinator
of Veterans Affairs and managed
the WCC football team. He was
recently inducted into the WCC
Anthony Scordino
Sports Hall of Fame in recognition
of his work on behalf of the college’s sports program.
Anthony Scordino started his career at WCC in 1984 as
an evening lab technician while he was still a student here.
After graduating he attended Pace University and earned a
bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems, and
went on to Brooklyn Polytechnic for his Master’s degree in
Management of Technology. While furthering his education
he continued to work at WCC, moving to the day shift and
getting involved with the rapidly growing presence of PCs
on the campus. In 1994 he lead the computer networking
initiative at WCC and the following year he began teaching in the Computer Science curriculum, something he
still enjoys doing. In 2007 he was promoted to Assistant
Director of Information Technology, then to acting Vice
President in 2010.
Alumnews is proud to congratulate Don Weigand and
Tony Scordino in their new positions as Vice Presidents
of Westchester Community College. They not only chose
WCC as the place to begin their education; they also chose
to make it the focus of their lifelong careers. Together they
have given 65 years of service to WCC, and the College
is certainly a better place because of their efforts. We wish
them great success in the years to come.
special meeting held in The Gateway Center.
More than 100 alums attended the meeting and voted
to adopt a set of by-laws which had been drawn up by an
ad hoc committee of WCC graduates. With the adoption
of the by-laws, the association became an official entity.
Next on the agenda was the election of members to the
Alumni Council, which is the new governing body of the
Alumni Association. A slate of candidates was presented
to the attendees containing the names of alumni who had
informed the nominating committee of their desire to join
the Council. The entire slate was adopted by acclamation.
The members of the Alumni Council are
One year term:
Janice Adams, ‘98; Stephanie Borg, ‘09; Barbara Chesler,
‘70;
Michael Cubria, ‘05; Louis Pisciotta, ‘72.
Two year term:
Lisa Stamatelos, ‘01; Steve Heintz, ‘70; Katie Sullivan,
‘03; Mayra Rodriquez, ‘74; Dr. Stephen Baranowski, ‘79
Three year term:
Barbara Hutnik, ‘60; Alex Kajdi, ‘83; Ivan Cohen, ‘75;
Frank Re, ‘78; Sherice Hughey, ‘05.
The new Alumni Council held its first meeting on January 11 and held elections for officers.
The Alumni Association has wasted no time in sponsoring its first event, Financial Education Day, which will be
held on Saturday, March 10th. (See story below.) In addition, a comprehensive Alumni benefits program is being put
into place and will be rolled out within the next few months.
Membership in the Alumni Association is FREE and
Ivan Cohen, ‘75
President
Barbara Hutnik, ‘60
1st Vice President
Frank Re, ‘78
2nd Vice President
Stephanie Borg, ‘09
Treasurer
open to anyone who has taken at least 24 credits at WCC.
If you have taken fewer than 24 credits you can apply for
membership by calling 606-6505.
The best way to take advantage of all that will be offered to you as an alumnus/alumna is to register online at
www.mysunywcc.org. The Online Community will be
the preferred way for us to communicate with you and you
with us - so REGISTER TODAY.
Sports Hall of Fame Inducts Four New Members
The Sixth Annual Westchester Community College
Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner was
held on November 19, 2011 at Julianos in New Rochelle.
Established in 2006, the Hall of Fame honors outstanding student athletes who achieved greatness in their athletic
pursuits while attending school at WCC and/or who went
on to achieve national prominence in their respective sport.
New Hall of Famers, l. to r.: Michael Young, Kristine
Carosella, Donald Weigand, Dr. Joseph Hankin
In addition, individuals that have achieved greatness in their
positions here at the college and had a significant impact
on the athletic program are honored as well.
WCC’s Athletic Director, Larry Massaroni, served as
Master of Ceremonies to more than 100 guests who attended
the annual event. This year’s honorees were:
Dr. Joseph Hankin, President of Westchester Community College who recently celebrated his 40th year in office.
He has been a major supporter of the Athletic Department
for the past four decades.
Kristine Carosella, ‘81, Softball. Former All Star
pitcher for the softball team. Carosella, who pitched for
the 1980 Region XV championship team, went on to play
for Iona College.
Michael Young, ‘82, Basketball. Captain of the 1971
NYS Champion Mount Vernon High School team and also
a champion track athlete, Young’s basketball career at WCC
won him a full scholarship to Manhattan College. He later
returned to WCC as an Assistant Coach.
Donald Weigand, ‘72, Football. Recently appointed
as the College’s Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs,
Weigand was a key figure in the development of the College’s football team in the 1970s.
Join Us for Financial Education Day on March 10th
The first event sponsored by the new WCC Alumni
Association will be Financial Education Day, a FREE fourhour financial seminar to be held on Saturday, March 10th
at The Gateway Center on the Valhalla campus.
Produced in partnership with the United Way, the Financial Planning Association of the Greater Hudson Valley
(FPA) GreenPath Debt Solutions, and the Center for Financial and Economic Education, the seminar will attempt to
alleviate the money-related anxiety felt by many working
Americans in today’s uncertain economy. Open to all, Financial Education Day will give people the opportunity to
get financial advice from experts in the field, with no sales
pitches and absolutely no strings attached.
The four-hour financial seminar will feature workshops
on various aspects of money management, as well as individual consultations provided by experts in each field.
Eighteen workshops will be presented by financial professionals on topics that address a wide range of everyday
concerns, including income tax strategies, paying for college, insurance, retirement and estate planning, credit card
debt, reverse mortgages, investment basics, to name a few.
Of special interest to veterans will be a workshop
on veterans’ benefits presented by the Department of
Veterans Affairs. A comprehensive overview of benefits
and programs available to veterans will cover such topics
as financing an education, buying or refinancing a home,
obtaining VA loans, and exploring a new career. A team
of counselors will provide health care benefits information and eligibility counseling, , VA Hudson Valley Health
Care System registrations, free hypertension screening, and
photos for Veteran ID Cards.
Perhaps the most unique feature of Financial Education
Day is that, in addition to attending FREE workshops on
important financial issues, participants will have the opportunity for FREE private, one-on-one consultations with
experts from the Financial Planning Association and other
highly-qualified financial planning professionals. Those
who wish to speak privately to one of the financial experts
must reserve a time slot when they arrive.
The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration, and a
continental breakfast. At 9 a.m. the keynote address will
be given by Jean Chatzky, award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and financial editor for NBC’s Today Show.
Workshops will then be presented in three sessions,
beginning at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and
12 noon. Each session will have 6
workshops running concurrently,
and participants will be able to attend one workshop in each session.
For those who would rather speak
directly to a financial consultant, the
one-on-one consultations will also
begin at 10 a.m. and will continue
until 2 p.m. Remember, you must
sign up for these during the mornJean Chatzky
ing registration period and bring
Keynote Speaker
any relevant documents with you.
Early registration will ensure your seat in the workshops of your choice. Register online at www.mysunywcc.
org. Click on Financial Education Day in the Calendar on
the right and go to the event’s home page. You can select
your workshops now, or you can register without making
your selection. Remember, classroom space may be limited
and registering in advance may prevent you from being
“closed out” of the most popular workshops.
You may also register by phone at 914-606-5619.
Jock Garcia: Bringing Down the Mob
Courtesy of The Viking News
In 1971, Cuban-born Joaquin (“Jock”) Garcia was a
student at WCC and a member of the football team. After
completing his college education, Garcia decided to apply
for a job with the FBI.
“It was after watching the movie Serpico, I realized I
wanted to be an undercover agent,” Garcia says. He spent a
total of 26 years working as an agent, 24 of which he worked
as an undercover agent specializing in narcotics. Little did
he know when he began his career that he would become
famous as the man who took down one of the most notorious
crime families in America.
On November 9th, Jock Garcia spoke at WCC about
his career as an undercover FBI agent, and how he took
on the role of fictional character “Jack Falcone” in order to
infiltrate the inner circle of the mob
and helped take down the Gambino
crime family. The success of his performance is noteworthy because as
a Cuban-American, Jack Garcia was
trained to mimic the behavior of Italian mob members and almost received
the honor of becoming a “made” man.
In 2002, he was chosen by the
Jock Garcia
FBI to play the character Jack Falcone
in order to become part of the family and gather evidence
which could be used against them in court. For two years,
Garcia wore a recording device to listen in on conversations
between members of the mob family.
“Jack Falcone was the toughest character I had to play,”
he said, adding that none of his 100 undercover cases could
compare with this one. Born in Cuba, Jock had to erase all
traces of a Spanish accent and learn the ways of an ItalianAmerican in order to convince and hide his true identity.
Garcia says his greatest fear was, “being in a situation,
where I would have to stop violence. To be a mobster you
have to be an individual who is capable of making money,
willing to do jail time, and most importantly, prepared to do
violence”. He also had to be vigilant when it came to making
decisions. One minor fault could give away his identity and
that would be an automatic death sentence.
He befriended a captain of the Gambino family named
Greg DePalma. Garcia/Falcone supplied DePalma with
counterfeit cigarettes and an endless amount of high quality
stolen goods, all provided by the FBI.
He was so quickly seen as an “earner” by DePalma
that the captain suggested to the family that Falcone should
become a “made man”-- a very high honor that would make
him virtually untouchable among members of the mob.
Unfortunately, the case ended before Falcone could
reach this point. Within two years the FBI had gathered
enough evidence to make a case against the Gambino family,
and they arrested 31 of its members.
Dear Alum:
February, 2012
The Alumni Office suggested that I write to let you
know that if you were to visit the campus you might not
recognize parts of it since it has been undergoing extensive
renovation in the last year or two. Among the projects are:
Garcia displays “Jack Falcone’s” phony ID’s including
drivers license, social security card, medical insurance and
credit cards, all supplied to him by the mob
Garcia said that his most challenging obstacle was
“dealing with the bureaucracy of the FBI. They terminated
this case when they should have continued. Every case
goes to the point where you can’t go any further. With this
case I feel like we just grazed the surface. I should have
been afforded the opportunity to become a ‘made man’ to
see what the society is all about”.
Jock has also written a fascinating book entitled The
Making of Jack Falcone, in which he tells what it was like
to play his character for those two years, and what it took
to bring down the most feared crime family in America.
In February, 2009 CBS News ran a 13-minute profile
of Jock Garcia on 60 Minutes entitled “FBI Wise Guy
Fooled the Mob”. The following link will take you to this
segment:
http://youtu.be/QBxsJwLyL10
Follow WCC
on YouTube and Facebook
Westchester Community College has
its own YouTube channel:
www.sunywcc.edu/youtube
Check this site to catch the latest videos.
Facebook fans can find the WCC page at
www.facebook.com/sunywcc
Tons of good stuff can be found there!
Alpha SurFrat Reunion: John Lennon Had the Right Idea
By Ivan Cohen, ‘75
The year was 1971 and “Imagine” (the John Lennon
song whose lyrics in part said “you may say that I’m a
dreamer, but I’m not the only one, I hope some day you’ll
join us and the world will be as one”) was playing constantly on the radio. Coincidentally, it was also the year
a group of dreamers at Westchester Community College
conceived an idea to bring students together in a coed fraternal organization that would keep them “united together
through time”. They called it Alpha Sur-Frat.
Some forty years later, on September 30, 2011, thirtyfive members of Alpha Sur-Frat had a weekend reunion
in Westchester, an event that proved dreams can become
reality and the bonds of true friendship can last decades.
From as far away as Texas, California and Washington
State, brothers and sisters from 11 states came to reunite
and reminisce about that very special time we shared at a
very special place.
If you had happened to pass by, you probably wouldn’t
have known that many of us hadn’t seen each other in
20, 30 or even 40 years. It seemed as though it was just
yesterday...traveling back in time...the laughing and the
stories. We spent Friday night greeting one another and just
“hanging out” the way we used to do all those years ago. On
Saturday evening we had our dinner dance at the Crowne
Plaza in White
Plains, with 60
brothers and
sisters, spouses and significant others in
attendance. We
were truly one
extended family partying the
night away.
And of
course people
brought along
their old pictures. Oh,
the pictures!
Alpha SurFrat reunion attendees
They remindat the Crowne Plaza Hotel
ed us of how
young we once were and of all the things we did (and
maybe shouldn’t have done) at WCC: the football games
we attended together, the campus parades and the floats
The
President’s
Corner
we painstakingly built for them, the ongoing rivalry with
Kappa Sigma Kappa in football games and on parade floats,
the hours spent playing spades in the Student Center, and...
dare I say it?...the pine tree in the parking lot that one of
us cut down for the Student Center Christmas tree. It reminded us of our loves and our losses, of the laughter and
tears we shared as a close-knit group. It showed our loved
ones a part of our lives they didn’t really know about, or
didn’t understand--that is until that night. But after seeing
us together they knew, they understood, and they became
part of the Alpha Sur-Frat dream.
On Sunday, there was a brunch and a visit to WCC to
see all the changes that had been made to the campus since
we left. There were too many to count. But some things
don’t have to change if you don’t want them to.
And thank goodness for that.
·Student Center Improvement and Expansion-The
53,582 sq. ft. Student Center was originally constructed in
1961. According to New York State we have insufficient
student meeting and gathering space in that building. The
renovation which is currently under construction will add
about 8,000 sq. ft. to the building; improve the efficiency
of our boilers and HVAC equipment as well as provide
additional space.
Academic Arts Building Renovation-The 86,321 sq.
ft. Academic Arts Building was completed in 1980. This
building has had its boilers replaced. The renovations
included a new heating, ventilating and air conditioning
system with computerized controls; new fire alarm panels
and stage flooring have also been installed.
Physical Education Field Improvements-This project
is currently under design and would represent Phase 2 of 3
including upgrades of the fields on either side of the building. Upgrades include new drainage, an emergency access
road, and lighting and bleacher renovations.
Science Building-This 77,500 sq. ft. Science Building
was completed in 1973. It was designed as a two-building
complex with the Academic Arts Building and shares a
boiler plant and chiller with that edifice. These have been
replaced and laboratory tables and exhaust fume hoods have
also been replaced.
Administration Building Renovation-The project
currently under design will include upgrades to the building
lighting, floor surface, door hardware and interior signage
for American Disability Act compliance. An upgrade to the
fire alarm panel will also be included.
Hartford Hall Renovation-The 12,408 sq. foot Hartford Hall is the original estate home completed in 1932 and
placed on the national historic landmark register in 1978.
Internal renovations are limited to repair work and concealment of required mechanical and electrical systems as well
as a new fire alarm panel. The largest of the renovations
is to remove the window air conditioning units and replace
them with ductless split system unit; exterior rehabilitation
(repairing the tile roof system has also been authorized and
should be completed by May of 2012.
Physical Education Building Renovations-Extensive
mechanical upgrades including the installation of a buildingwide air conditioning system as well as upgrades to the
electrical services of the building and electrical distribution
throughout will bring this, one of our oldest structures up
to code.
So as you can see our Physical Plant department has
been very active and busy in improving the structures already available to our campus use. Why not come and pay
us a visit and see how well we’ve done? We look forward
to greeting you.
Cordially yours,
Joseph N. Hankin
President
WCC Alums Observe Veterans Day
Steve Heintz, Class of ‘70, was looking for a way to
bring back some old friends from his days at WCC. In
particular, Steve was interested in getting members of
the WCC Veterans Club back for a reunion at the College.
“The Veteran’s Club was a very active club at the College
in the 70’s,” Steve noted. “There was a lot of friendly
competition between the clubs back then and the Vets were
always the first to take the lead.” There seemed to be no
better occasion to launch the first reunion than by having
an event around Veteran’s Day.
Stepping up to the plate to help in organizing an event
was the Adolph Pfister American Legion Post 1038 in Valhalla. The post graciously offered to host a lunch for our
returning vets and take part in any ceremony we planned
on campus. Making the day complete was the involvement of the newly formed Student Veterans Club led by
President Jude Stenson. Jude played a very special part in
the ceremony by presenting the Legion with an American
flag which he carried on his tour of duty in Iraq.
About fifteen alums who had served in the U.S. armed
forces gathered at 11:30 AM by the flagpole in front of
Hartford Hall. Following a brief ceremony the attendees
were guests at a lunch reception at Valhalla Legion Hall.
Our special guest for the day was alumnus Gerald Culliton,
’72, who currently serves as director of the Veteran’s Administration Hudson Valley Health Care System. Gerald
spoke at the luncheon, telling stories about his father’s
army career and of his own days at WCC. He emphasized
the need to reach out to our new group of veterans and
provide them with the services available to them to help
them with the many issues they face.
Alumni who were members of the WCC Veterans Club in
the ‘70’s gathered by the flagpole in front of Hartford Hall
All in all it was a good first step and Steve says that he
hopes next year’s reunion will be bigger and better.
So all you veterans out there, mark your calendar for the
weekend of November 10 & 11, 2012 and plan to attend the
Second Annual WCC Alumni Veterans Day Ceremony.
1975
Alumnotes
KEVIN MORGAN was re-elected to the Greenburgh
Town Council last fall. During his first four years in office, Councilman Morgan interacted in budget processes
and worked as the liaison to the police departments, the
Department of Public Works,
the Greenburgh Nature Center,
and the Conservation Advisory
Council.
After an award-winning 21year career on the Greenburgh
police force, which included
arresting the Gypsy murderer
Larry Stevens and working on the
Carolyn Warmus “Fatal Attraction” case, and a 10-year run as a
volunteer firefighter with the Fairview Fire Department, Morgan
decided to run for Town Council
to put his extensive knowledge of
Kevin Morgan
the town to good use. His police
traits of research, mental sharpness and not jumping to
conclusions have come in handy as a councilman, he said.
“We’re trying to do the best we can for constituents,”
Morgan said. “You can’t stop getting excited about what
you do and helping people. It really is good.”
Upon retiring from the police department in 1998, Morgan became a criminal investigator for the Legal Aid Society
of Westchester. He also became a member of the Planning
Board before being elected councilman. Wearing many hats
in the Greenburgh community, he also served several years
in the town’s Comptroller’s office and engineering office.
He is a member and past president of the Elmsford Rotary
Club, and the founder of the Greenburgh Girl’s Fastpitch
Softball teams. In 2011, he was named the Lymphoma and
Leukemia Society’s “Man of the Year.”
Morgan has been married for over three decades and
has two children and two grandchildren.
“I love my community,” he said. “I’ve always been involved in something with the community. I just stay active.”
1979
KIMBERLY J. SHAW COTTRELL is Director of the
Academic Resource Center & Disability Services at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. She recently wrote to Dr. Hankin:
“I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a Round
Table Discussion – Access on
Success Meeting on the Valhalla
campus. All of the participants
enjoyed the hospitality of Westchester’s staff, and it was an
extremely enlightening and
interesting afternoon. I particularly appreciated of my visit to
the campus because I attended
and graduated from WCC back
Kimberly Cottrell
in 1979, a time of personal
tragedy. My dad had just passed
away, and I was completely lost. With the help and guidance of wonderful instructors at the College (in particular
Philip McInerny, of the Art Department), I stayed on track
and continued my education.
Now decades later, I have a Master’s degree in Counseling and an exciting and rewarding career in higher
education. I am truly grateful to our community college
for how it impacted my life, and I am sure I am just one of
thousands who have similar stories.
Congratulations on your 40th Anniversary at the College, and I wish you many more years of success at WCC.”
1983
CINDY ARGIENTO wants to share the news that
she has posted three YouTube videos. In each video she
reads a column from her book, “Deal With Life’s Stress
With A Little Humor,” which contains 50 of her newspaper
columns. She intends to post additional columns and invites
everyone to join her at http://www.youtube.com/user/CindyArgiento where you can relax and have a few laughs. You
can also check out her website at: www.cindyargiento.com.
1984
JOSEPH LIBURDI retired recently from the Bedford
Police Department and from a law enforcement career that
spanned 23 years and covered bike patrol, new officer training and emergency medical services.
Born and raised in Bedford,
Liburdi, 47, attended Fox Lane High
School and then completed a twoyear degree at Westchester Community College. He worked at some
“odd jobs” and started his police
career part-time with the Lewisboro
Police Department. He was hired permanently by the Bedford PD in 1988.
Liburdi said his strong work
ethic came from his parents, who
died in a car accident when he was
only 19. His father was a former chief
Joseph Liburdi
and member of the Bedford Hills Fire
Department, and Joe Liburdi and his brother are both exchiefs. Joe plans to maintain his close ties with the police
department, and also now serves as assistant chief in the
fire department.
1995
LORRAINE HUGHES recently wrote to Dr. Hankin to congratulate him on his fortieth anniversary as
president of WCC. As a student here some 15 years ago
Lorraine worked part-time in the President’s Office. Her
three daughters are all graduates of WCC and went on to
complete their educations in SUNY schools. One made a
career change and returned to complete the requirements
for her Radiology Degree last year. Lorraine wrote, “Thank
you for the wonderful Alumni newsletter. I always enjoy
keeping up with the latest news”.
1999
GIOVANNI FORMARO, a member of the Greenburgh Police Department since 2007, was promoted to
detective on December 14th. Formaro had served the town
on Greenburgh as both a paramedic and a police officer for
four years, after spending several years on the Larchmont
force.
“I like helping people,”
he said, “and the challenge of
figuring things out. I love my
job. I really love working as a
paramedic. I love working as a
cop. And having a dual role, I
really don’t know what I’m going to get.”
Greenburgh Police Sergeant
Anthony McVeigh said that
Giovanni Formaro
Formaro “has done excellent
work both as a police officer and
paramedic for the Town of Greenburgh. It is not an easy
task to balance both responsibilities.”
Formaro is also the newest addition to the department’s
Technical Rescue Team, beginning in late-October. The
all-volunteer, elite unit requires extensive training to meet
the requirements.
Formaro was born in Canada, and his family moved
to America when he was 5 years old. He graduated from
Mamaroneck High School before receiving his EMS-Paramedic Associate’s degree from Westchester Community
College and his bachelor’s from Pace University.
1999
DAVE ZIPPO has been promoted to Associate Head
Athletic Trainer at Fordham University in the Bronx. The
promotion was announced last October 18. He has been
a member of the Fordham Sports Medicine staff for seven
years, serving as an Assistant Athletic
Trainer for the first six. Dave is the
assistant athletic trainer for football
and head trainer for men’s basketball
and men’s tennis.
Prior to his move to Fordham,
Zippo served as an athletic training
intern at Iona College since 2002,
where he was responsible for prevention, evaluation and rehabilitation of
Dave Zippo
the Gaels’ student-athletes.
Zippo graduated from WCC in 1999 with an Associates degree in Math and Science and went on to Dominican
College, where he received his degree in Athletic Training
in 2004. He is a certified member of the National Athletic
Trainer’s Association (NATA) as well as a New York State
Licensed Athletic Trainer.
2003
SHEBNA OLSEN is Vice President- Financial Advisor at HSBC Securities (USA), Inc. She obtained her B.A.
at Columbia and recently finished her master’s degree in
International Finance and Management, also at Columbia.
According to Shebna, “It was a priceless experience and
people I met and the subjects we studied are so invaluable.
We studied investment strategies in emerging markets,
international banking along with crises, investment strategies in Latin America, Advanced Structured Credit, on an
on. All classes were so timely, in depth and I thoroughly
enjoyed them. I met people from diverse backgrounds
and all over the world! Some worked for central banks,
consulting companies, etc.
We have an international management program that I
would like to be a part of. Once selected, you are assigned
to a different country, different business segment every
few years. Otherwise, I’m a financial advisor and was the
financial advisor newcomer of the year for 2009 for NYC.
I’m living in New York City with my dog and doing lots
of competitive running in local races.
Shebna still keeps in touch with Professor Hugh McCabe and credits his classes for giving her a solid background in International Business.
2005
DANIEL PURCELL is a 25-year member and captain for the Scarsdale (NY) Fire Department. He is also a
paramedic. Daniel has an Associates degree in math and
science from Westchester Community College.
2009
KRISTA LEVITO, a graduate of WCC’s accounting
program, is completing her BBA/MBA at Pace and will go
to work for Ernst & Young upon graduation this coming
spring. At Pace, she is in charge of the accounting tutorial.
In a letter to WCC, Krista noted that two of the other three
tutors are WCC graduates: GABRIELA GONZALEZ
(2011) and JEN GALASSO (2008).
2011
HANNAH POWER was accepted to NYU’s Stern
School of Business which, according to professor Rick
Hyland, “is a difficult school for our students to transfer
to”. Hannah is now a student in Stern’s Advertising Management Program.
AMANDA SOULE graduated from WCC’s Fashion
design program last May and is now studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is also the recipient of an
honor that any fashion student would envy: an internship
at Ralph Lauren.
A native of Wapiti, Wyoming, Amanda graduated from
high school in 2009 and enrolled in Boise State University
in Idaho. While still a freshman she accepted an invitation
from her aunt, who had worked in the fashion industry, to
visit New York and tour several fashion companies. At
some of the largest clothing retailers in the country, Amanda
had her first experience with textiles
development - he
design and production of fabrics. It
made such an impression on her that
she left Boise State
and transferred to
Westchester Community College in
New York to study
fashion merchandising. During her
second year at WCC
she interned at Temperley London, a
fashion boutique,
and moved to Manhattan last August.
After completAmanda Soule (far right) attended
ing her associate’s
the
Playtime Paris fashion trade shows
degree at WCC last
last summer with a group of WCC
summer, she went
students. They were participants in
on to the Fashion
the
Fashion Department’s Summer 2011
Institute of TechnolStudy Abroad Trip to Paris,
ogy, one of the top
Milan and Barcelona.
five fashion schools
in the world, as a textile development student. Now, after
spending a semester at FIT, Amanda will intern this spring
in Ralph Lauren’s textiles department in New York. “It’s
a very hands-on internship,” Amanda said. “Every day we
will be working with a piece of fabric.”
Working in the women’s sweaters and knits department,
she will spend the bulk of her time analyzing and developing
fabrics, and ensuring standards are met for the company’s
Black and Purple Label lines. “I’m looking forward to what
I’m going to learn”, she said, “and I’m hoping I can work
up or into the company.”
She recently started a small leather project with her dad.
She designs hand bags, wallets and other leather products,
and he works in his Wapiti shop to put the pieces together.
Amanda is hoping to have some of the work featured at the
Fashion Institute’s student store and, possibly, back home
in Wyoming. Working with leather is something she hopes
to study in Italy one day.
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2005
HELIANA MEZZABOLTA
HIGBIE gave a lecture on Corporate
Social Responsibility on Tuesday,
November 29 in the Gateway Center’s
Davis Auditorium. Heliana is a GRIcertified Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist who has her own company,
Higbie Consulting Inc. In her closing
statement to the attendees, Heliana
said, “WCC really is the place where
success starts. By success, I don’t just mean the outcome
or the results of your journey, but who you become in the
process. Enjoy your journey, take advantage of the resources
here, treasure your professors, good luck!” After the lecture
Heliana stayed and talked to students, visited some of her
former professors, and spoke to the WCC Foundation.
WCC alums!
Write to:
Westchester Community College Foundation
Attention: Alumnews
75 Grasslands Road
Valhalla, NY 10595
story with other
or
Heliana Higbie
e-mail: [email protected]
We’re Looking For
These Alumni!
Graduates of the
Class of 1962
The 50th reunion of the Class of 1962 will be
held on Thursday, May 17th. It will be a day-long
celebration culminating in the “Golden Anniversary
Grads” participation in the 2012 WCC Commencement Ceremony. For more information contact
Barbara Christesen at (914) 606-6559 or e-mail wcc.
[email protected].
NOTE: If you graduated in 1962 and have NOT
received a “Save the Date” card for the Reunion, it’s
important that you call us.
Members of the
WCC Football Team
Alumnews is published by
Westchester Community College Foundation
75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, NY 10595
E-Mail: [email protected]
Barbara Christesen, Alumnews Editor
www.mysunywcc.org
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
White Plains, NY
Permit No. 9519
Change Service Requested
WCC Entrepreneurs: Ruth Ayala-Quezada
After coming to the U.S. from Peru in 1986, Ruth Ayala became the sole owner of the business. But by building
immediately started working for her father’s taxi company relationships with residents and clients, she said Carmel
in Mount Kisco, first as an office staffer and later as a driver Taxi was slowly but surely able to market itself.
For Ayala-Quezada, gaining the trust of clients was of
once she was old enough to get her license.
But after graduating from Westchester Community utmost importance. Because Putnam County has no Taxi
and Limousine Commission,
College with degrees in busishe requires all of her drivers to
ness administration and human
be licensed by the Westchester
services, she didn’t see herself
County TLC – that, in addition
remaining in the taxi business.
Graduates of the
to requiring that her drivers
“I hated it then,” she said.
have a clean driving record and
“But I guess it’s in my blood
Honors Program
a Social Security number and
because I got right back into it.”
The Honors Program celebrates its 25th Anniverare drug-tested each year.
Recognizing
the
need
for
sary in the Fall of 2012. If there is enough interest,
“We can bring that to the
a local taxi service in Carmel,
we would like to plan an event for those Alumni who
public – that reassurance that
Ayala-Quezada founded Carmel
participated in the program. If interested please call
you are getting into a car that is
Taxi and Car Service with her
John Fellas at (914) 606-6505 or e-mail wcc.alumni
fully insured and that the drivsister in 2006.
@sunywcc.edu.
ers are drivers – they’re not just
Now with a dozen cars, 14
anybody or somebody that has
drivers, three dispatchers and a
Members of the
two DWIs that is driving you
full-time office manager, AyalaRuth Ayala-Quezada is proud of her business policies
around,”
Ayala-Quezada said.
Quezada
says
she
is
looking
into
Italian Club
Shortly
after
taking
over
sole
ownership
of the business
buying
a
stretch
limousine
so
that
Carmel
Taxi
would
be
After more than 40 years of service to the College,
in 2007, the Putnam County Department of Social Services
able to expand into higher-revenue business areas.
Professor Carlo Sclafani will be retiring in May. ProThe process, however, has been far from easy, with approached Ayala-Quezada with a proposal – for Carmel
fessor Sclafani was the founder and advisor to both the
Ayala-Quezada
struggling to grow Carmel Taxi despite one Taxi to take on additional work as one of the county’s
Italian Society and Italian Club for most of those years.
of the worst economic periods in decades. In a tribute to her Medicaid transportation providers.
If you would be interested in participating in an Alumni
“Putnam County DSS gave me the opportunity to work
perseverance, the Putnam County Chambers of Commerce
reception in his honor, please call John Fellas at (914)
recently honored her as one of eight 2011 Entrepreneurial with them, and that gave people a way to try out our ser606-6505 or e-mail [email protected].
vices,” she said. Later, Carmel Taxi also began contracting
Spirit Award winners.
“What helped us out in this economy is the fact that for the American Cancer Society, transporting local residents
Brothers of
we are one of very few taxi companies in this area that are to the Putnam Hospital Center for treatments.
Even then, every day was a struggle to gain traction in
doing the right thing.”
Kappa Sigma Kappa
Before Ayala-Quezada and her sister founded Carmel a difficult market, particularly with payments for Carmel
KSK brothers Rich DeMuth and Gary Cotter are
Taxi, local residents were having to call for cabs from Brew- Taxi’s Medicaid transports slow to arrive.
in the process of organizing a reunion of fraternity
“My husband helped me – we worked together to grow
ster and were getting charged significantly more as a result.
members this year. KSK reunions which are held at
“So I figured, why don’t I open Carmel Taxi,” Ayala- this. When we started with Medicaid we didn’t get paid
WCC’s Valhalla campus, have been very well attended
at first and we were eating rice and beans for 30 days,”
Quezada said.
in the past and brothers DeMuth and Cotter are hoping
Making a name for themselves proved difficult. “For us Ayala-Quezada said. “When we finally got paid, instead
the 2012 reunion will be the biggest ever. If you are
it was very difficult because it was just us. We had to stay of going crazy, everything we made we invested back into
interested in attending a Kappa Sigma Kappa reunion,
up very late, work 16, 18-hour shifts between covering the the business.”
please e-mail [email protected] or gary@cotAlong the way, the process has been a case-study in
train station and driving the cars around. You had no calls,
terfinancial.com
entrepreneurship, she said, attributing her confidence to her
it was just getting the word out there,” she said.
In 2007, Ruth’s sister left the partnership and Ruth father and to the experience she was able to garner in the
taxi industry from an early age.
“Here I am, a Hispanic short girl, standing at the Southeast train station with a new taxi company and here are these
other taxi companies that have been in the area and they’re
looking at me thinking, ‘What is she doing here?’”
But by picking up the phone and talking with business
development advisers and insurance company representatives, Ayala-Quezada was able to build up a legitimate,
A Conference To Help You Navigate Through Life’s Challenges
competitive taxi company.
To register go to www.mysunywcc.org and click on Financial Education Day in the Calendar
“I went to college, I have a degree in business administration, so I think that helped me with learning how to
SATURDAY, March 10, 2012
pick up the phone and call people and say, ‘This is what I
Westchester Community College
FREE EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS
want to do; what do I need?’” Ayala-Quezada said. “I’m a
• Retirement Planning • Investing Basics
8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. (spend the entire morning
fighter – it’s just my character basically.”
(reprinted from Westfair Online, story by Paterick Gallagher)
or pick and choose the workshops you would like to
• Estate Planning • Financial Planning
• Insurance • Starting a Business
attend)
•
Income
Tax
Strategies
•
Paying for College
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jean Chatzky Award-winning
journalist, best-selling author,
FREE PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS
and financial editor for NBC’S
In today’s uncertain economy, planning for your
On January 1, 2012, the Valhalla campus of WestchesToday show.
financial future is more important than ever. Don’t miss
ter Community College officially became a smoke-free
this opportunity for a private consultation on financial
campus. The new ban on smoking was announced last NoEighteen workshops presented issues that matter to you with qualified experts from
vember in a statement released by the President’s Advisory
the Financial Planning Association. Whether you
Committee for a Tobacco-Free Campus.
by financial professionals on topics that address
need guidance with basic financial planning or more
“We are proud to announce our tobacco-free campus
your everyday questions:
specialized advice on retirement planning, investment
initiative which will be effective on January 1, 2012. We will
strategies, estate planning, tax issues, or insurance, our
be joining all CUNY colleges and more than 360 U.S. col•Do You Have Questions About Your Family’s
highly competent financial planners will be available to
leges and universities in providing a tobacco-free campus. In
Finances?
assist you.
enacting this initiative, the college is supporting a culture of
Registration is free and available online and onsite.
respect for all members of the campus community, visitors,
•Do You Want to Sharpen Your Money
Space is limited, so register early! Go to www.
the environment, and institutional sustainability efforts. We
Management Skills?
mysunywcc.org and click on Financial Education Day.
also hope to set an example that will encourage the college
•Do You Want to Invest in Your Financial
community to embrace a spirit of health and wellness.”
No consumption of tobacco, or tobacco products, is
Future?
The Westchester Community College Alumni Association would like to thank the Center for Financial and Ecopermitted anywhere on college property, whether indoors
nomic Education, the Financial Planners Association of the Greater Hudson Valley, the United Way, and GreenPath
or outdoors.
Debt Solutions for their efforts in planning this event. Special recognition goes to our sponsors for their financial
The College stated that smokers have until the end of
support of the event:
this semester to adjust to the new policy. Throughout this
spring individuals seen smoking will be informed of the
new policy and advised to comply with it, but no penalty
will be imposed. Beginning this summer, however, the
tobacco-free policy will be strictly enforced.
All former members of WCC’s football team are
invited to the Fifth Annual Football Team Reunion on
Saturday, June 2nd. Festivities begin at noon on the
Student Center patio. For more information please
contact Donald Weigand at (914) 606-6709 or email
[email protected].
Valhalla Campus Is Now
“Smoke-Free”