Monroe Culinary Wins Second Straight State

DECEM B ER, 2015
Inside
Microsoft Cloud Roadshow 2
Observer
M O N T H L Y
Student Veterans of America
3
Monroe’s Got Talent 4
Susan Ejore Sets the Pace 4
“What you need to know…at Monroe”
Monroe Culinary Wins Second
Straight State Championship!
T
he Monroe Culinary
Team outpointed the
team from SUNY Delhi
on its way to its second
consecutive American
Culinary Federation New
York State Championship
hosted by Schenectady
County Community College.
The team, led by its captain,
junior Yudi Torres, performed exceptionally well, earning
five gold medals. Joining Yudi, were fellow juniors Erika
Hernandez, Dejanee Archbold, and Hipolito Torres.
Nicholas Giambrone, a culinary arts freshman, rounded
out the 5-person team. The team prepared a four-course
contemporary signature menu that drew many compliments
from the ACF certified judges who formed the competition jury.
Prior to the menu round, the
team performed exceptionally
well in the skills salon where
they had to demonstrate
chicken, fish, pastry, and
vegetable fabrication skills in
a relay format. An apprentice
team that included all freshmen
assisted the team. It was
composed of Sidney Rubinos,
Luis Mendez, Victoria Helwig, Emily Caraballo, Alissa Merino
and Vanessa Munoz. The five medals bring the total to 589 and the
state champions look forward to the regionals to be held in Lancaster,
PA in February 2016. Dean Frank C. Costantino and Chef Eric
Pellizzari coached the team. The team represented the ACF Long
Island Chapter, and Chef Gerard Molloy, the chapter president, was
on hand to support the Monroe team.
SHMCA Student Selected to Compete for
NE Regional Student Chef of the Year
C
ongratulations to culinary senior Denise Aguayo, a 4.0 GPA C-CAP
student from Arizona, who was selected from a vast pool of applicants
from the Northeast to compete for the ACF Northeast regional student
chef of the year in Lancaster, PA on February 19. Denise follows in the footsteps
of Gabriela Grande and Rossella Cangialosi. The School of Hospitality
and the Culinary Arts faculty and students are delighted that the team will join
her in Lancaster, competing for the NE regional student team. The team has
spent countless hours developing a dish that will highlight aspects of Denise’s
Mexican-American heritage along with her outstanding cooking skills, and then
they will set up training camp to prepare for February.
© Monroe College 2015
Observer
M O N T H L Y
Microsoft Cloud Road Show
T
he New Rochelle ITSA Club students had their heads in the Cloud as they
attended the Microsoft Cloud Road Show at the Jacob Javits Center.
Accompanied by Professors Bhagoji, Brozo, Marx, and Shaw, the students
spent the day attending presentations by Microsoft professionals. They learned
about new technology that is on the horizon at Microsoft and participated in several
question and answer sessions during the presentations.
The Microsoft Cloud Roadshow was a free, two-day technical training event for IT
Professionals and Developers that provided best practices and insight directly from
the experts who built and run the cloud services.
The sessions included topics like empowering your journey to the cloud, Skype
for business, building and deploying applications with the Microsoft App Platform,
learning Office 365 developer, deploying virtual machines in the cloud, SharePoint,
Azure, Windows 10, developing apps for the internet of things, and transforming big
data into intelligent action with advanced analytics and the Cortana Analytics Suite.
Microsoft Azure, the big draw at the show, is a growing collection of integrated
cloud services—analytics, computing, database, mobile, networking, storage, and
web—for moving faster, achieving more, and saving corporations money.
Cortana, another big draw during the show, is the Windows 10 Personal Assistant
that is installed when you install Windows 10 on your PC. Think of it as Siri and OK
Google for your PC instead of your phone.
Students pre-registered for the event and were able to select which of the
presentations they wanted to attend. The Road Show brought top engineers
from Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington to share expert tips and
techniques, with over 80 technical training sessions in the two-day event. The Road
Show is travelling all over the world, including stops in Dallas, Toronto, Singapore,
Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Dubai, Bangalore, London, Copenhagen, and
Hong Kong as well as New York.
In addition to attending the Road Show, students now have access to Hands-on
Labs that are specific and supportive of the sessions and breakouts they attended.
The Hands-on Labs are a “take home” so that attendees could experience them at
their own pace.
PCMA Club Gives Back To The Community
As part of its community outreach program, the Professional Convention
Management Association (PCMA) Club, comprised of hospitality and culinary
students, prepared and served breakfast to over 50 people from nearby shelters. In
addition, members distributed self-packaged hygiene kits and clothing items from
the PCMA coat drive. According to Colin Redhead, president of the club, “Our
community outreach project allowed the members to give back to the neediest
individuals in society,” leaving students with a sense of accomplishment.
We are extremely grateful to Dean Costantino, Chef Molloy, the Baking Club,
the Office of Student Activities, individuals who donated clothing items, and Baldwin
Formals for providing hygiene care products. We look forward to our continued
“community outreach program” partnerships as we prepare for 2016.
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Honors
F
ive students and Professor Kathryn
MacDonald attended the National
Collegiate Honors Council Conference
in Chicago in November. The group made
a total of five presentations, including two
student-researched projects. The students
did a wonderful job representing the Honors
Program and Monroe College, bringing back
many stellar ideas that can be implemented in
our own program! In addition to all the work
accomplished, the group got to see many
Chicago sites, including the infamous Bean!
To all Fall 2015 Graduates:
Federal Loan Exit
Counseling
Hearty congratulations on your
upcoming graduation!
Federal regulations mandate student loan
borrowers to complete Exit Counseling shortly
before leaving school. Please visit the Office
of Loan Management (no appointment
necessary) to complete this important
requirement located at:
• Bronx Campus: King Hall Room 219
• New Rochelle Campus: Financial Aid
Department- Milavec Hall
Please note that Student Loan Exit
Counseling consists of a two-part session:
online counseling at www.studentloans.gov
followed by a one-to-one meeting with an
OLM counselor. Average completion time
is 20 minutes. To expedite the process
please have your Federal PIN and contact
information of three references handy.
M ON R OE C OL L E G E
Monroe Makes Thanksgiving More Enjoyable
M
ost people think about turkey when they think about Thanksgiving. At
Monroe College on the days before Thanksgiving, 1,300 fruit and custard
pies were delivered to the Bronx and New Rochelle campuses as part of a
holiday gesture to its staff and faculty. The decades-long tradition means every full-time
employee is invited to pick out a pie.
The pie distribution represents the school’s commitment to individual attention. “In
a world that has become so impersonal, it means something personal,” said Marc
Jerome, Executive Vice President of the College. “With all the changes brought about by
technology and the world moving forward, we believe, especially with staff and faculty,
that the personal touch is essential to establishing and maintaining a relationship.”
Jerome said the College’s commitment also extends to supporting local, small
businesses, which is why Monroe hired the Fleetwood Pastry Shop for the job.
The pie bounty radiates from Monroe’s buildings throughout the communities
where its faculty and staff live. Monroe President Stephen J. Jerome enjoys knowing
that across the metropolitan area people are concluding their Thanksgiving dinners
with pie provided by the College. “In a way, he noted, “it helps people realize how
important it is for the College to maintain a personal connection to every member of
the Monroe community. The annual Thanksgiving Day parade might begin with a turkey
and conclude with Santa Claus, but the day would be incomplete for members of the
Monroe College family without a holiday pie.”
Student Veterans Pep Rally
A
pep rally was held on Tuesday, November
10th in honor of our Monroe College
Student Veterans. The ceremony, which
took place in the Mintz Auditorium, was well
attended by students, faculty, and staff. The
Veterans listened to remarks from President
Jerome and Senior Vice President Roberta
Greenberg. They both thanked the Veterans for
their service to our country and for setting a good
example to the other students on campus. The
advisor of the Student Veterans Club, Professor
Gregory Cassiere, thanked the Monroe College
community for its support. He also urged all
Student Veterans to
join the club.
The club creates
a supportive
environment where
veterans can bond
and build comradery.
Chief Allen Hansen,
who is the Director
of Veteran Services,
thanked the veterans
for their services and
encouraged them
to continue striving
for success. Monroe is proud to have over 300
student veterans enrolled at the College. On behalf
of the Student Activities Office and the entire
Monroe College community, we thank all veterans
for their service.
Veterans Day Parade
O
nce again, the Monroe College chapter of the
Student Veterans of America participated in the
Veterans Day Parade in New York City. This year
the veterans were accompanied by the Monroe College
Marching Band, which drew favorable responses from
the spectators along the route.
The 2015 parade featured thousands of marchers,
600,000 parade spectators, and many parade-related
events throughout the city. The parade route on Fifth
Avenue began following a wreath-laying ceremony at the
Eternal Light Monument in Madison Square Park.
The Parade honors all eras and branches of service.
America’s Parade plays a critical role in raising awareness of the issues faced by
all veterans – especially our most recent generation of veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan
and other Post-9/11 operations. By telling their story on the nation’s largest stage, the
Parade reminds Americans everywhere of the service and sacrifice of those who have
defended our freedoms, and mobilizes the public to support those organizations that
are working tirelessly to serve their needs. The College’s student veterans and band
members were proud to be a part of this celebration.
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Observer
M O N T H L Y
M ON ROE COLLEGE
Susan Ejore Sets the Pace
I
n just her first semester as a freshman, Susan Ejore from Nakuru, Kenya, has elevated Monroe
College’s cross-country team to a dominant position. In October, the Mustangs won the Region 15
Championship as Ejore set her third course record of the season—an incredible accomplishment for
someone who has only been running competitively for about four years and who never competed in a
race longer than three kilometers before arriving in New Rochelle (cross-country courses are 5K).
“She’s very goal oriented,” said Mustangs coach Shirvon Greene. “She’s like a fanatic of technique
execution. She’s very driven to achieve what’s out in front of her. She has been setting records to the
point where the program is now getting a lot of potential athletes from Kenya, other African countries,
and locally as well.”
Ejore, 19, said throughout high school she dreamed of attending nursing school in the United States.
When she met a coach who introduced her to Monroe, she decided to attend. Mostly a middle-distance
runner, she quickly saw she could adapt to longer distances when she began training for cross-country.
“In New Rochelle, the altitude is lower than Kenya,” said Ejore. “Now it’s cold. I’m putting on warm stuff.”
Greene, who came from the Caribbean country of St. Kitts-Nevis to attend Monroe, understands what
it’s like to experience cold weather for the first time. With that in mind, he has devoted time and thought
to acclimating Ejore and teammate Nokuthula Dlamini, who comes from South Africa, to their new
surroundings.
“It takes 21 days to adjust to your environment,” Greene said. “What I normally do is have them train
early mornings so we can get the feel of the cold. That way they can begin to adjust to it. I also tell them
to eat proper foods and to wear layers of clothing.”
Ejore plans to begin training for indoor track season, where she will run the mile and the 3,000 meters.
In outdoor season next spring, she will run the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters, which is actually her
best race.
Monroe’s Got Talent!
O
n Thursday, November 19th, Monroe College
students, staff, and faculty got the opportunity to
witness the talents of a dynamic group of students.
The Mintz Auditorium came alive as students, Taina Arce,
Andreene Campbell, Michael Faloye, Charmello
Nisbeth, Shanakay Reynolds, Katheryne Rios, and Luis
Rojas, showcased their talents.
The contestants had all
made it through the auditions,
but it was time to convince
the judges and the audience
that they were the best of
the best. They all had one
goal, to capture the $150.00
grand prize. From the loud
applause and standing
ovations, it was evident that the
contestants had the audience’s
support. Charmello Nisbeth’s
outstanding rendition of Celine Dion’s, The Power of Love,
was outstanding and she was declared the winner. Luis
Rojas, who was the Winter 2015 semester’s Talent Show
winner came in second place with his lively beat-boxing
skills, and first semester student Katheryn Rios came in third
with her mellow singing skills.
Monroe College has many talented students. This show
was definitely a treat for the Monroe community, and it
proved that Monroe surely has talent.
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Leadership on the Move
T
hirty-two students, all of whom are candidates for the National
Society of Leadership and Success, attended New Jersey
City University’s leadership seminar featuring Al Roker. The
theme of his speech was Heroism in Disaster, focusing on the
hubris of mankind and how not learning from history makes us
bound to repeat it.
The students listened to Al Roker speak about the qualities of
leadership and how life, despite our best efforts, cannot always be
planned. He discussed his first interview for a newscaster position,
which unexpectedly resulted in a career-launching weatherman
position. His speech ended with a quote from Pope Francis, who
admits that no man is infallible, and no one is better than the
person who walks next to him.
The seminar helped to inspire our students from the National
Society of Leadership and Success on the New Rochelle Campus,
who are all working hard to be inducted into the National Society
on March 22, 2016. These students will be required to host
discussions on leadership, work cumulatively in success networking
teams, and are mandated to do six hours of community service.
Professor Harvey Gilmore
Speaks at Duke University
P
rofessor Harvey Gilmore of the School of Business and
Accounting was at the Duke University Law School in
Durham, North Carolina, to speak on “The Present and
Future of Civil Rights Movements: Race and Reform in 21st
Century America.”