Monroe College Hosts HS Students for Female Empowerment

AP R I L, 2015
Inside
Observer
M O N T H L Y
Lunch and Learn With
an IT Leader
2
Job and
Internship Fair
3
Mustang Day of Service
4
“What you need to know…at Monroe”
Monroe College Hosts HS Students
for Female Empowerment
Sade Baderinwa of WABC-TV Delivers Keynote Address
O
n March 26, Monroe College held Inspire to Aspire, its
third annual female empowerment event, for more
than 300 high school girls in the Mintz Auditorium on
the Bronx campus. The girls were guided through empowering
activities like sharing
inspirations, setting
personal and educational
goals, and meeting with
women from a variety of
professions for intimate
discussions on staying
healthy, dealing with
personal setbacks, the
importance of education,
and how to ultimately
succeed in life.
The morning’s highlight
was the powerful keynote
address by WABC-TV
news anchor Sade
Baderinwa who talked about her
own achievements in the face of
adversity.
“Life is always going to give you
roadblocks and it is how you deal
with them and how you respond,”
she said. “You have to be nimble
and have some grit. Be daring and
be bold. It’s about your spirit and
your integrity. Trust the people who
encourage you and help you live
your dreams.” Afterwards she took questions from the girls and
generously spent time greeting them individually and taking
photos with them.
Participating high schools included Mott Hall High School,
Media and Communication, the College Academy, Truman
High School, Bronx Latin, New Visions Charter High School for
Humanities, High School for Contemporary Arts, BCC Prep,
and Brooklyn
Generations.
“Our team
did an amazing
job in setting
up and running
today’s event,”
said Dr. Cecil
Wright, Director
of Admissions.
“Because of
the range of
interactions with
role models, expressive activities, and certainly Ms.
Baderinwa’s impassioned keynote, the girls left with
an uplifting feeling, confident they will be able to
overcome anything that’s put in their way.”
Ms. Baderinwa said she would donate the
honorarium she received to “Get Reel with your
Dreams”, her foundation that provides scholarships
and opportunities in media, film, and the arts.
Monroe will host hundreds of high school boys on
April 23 for the annual Male Empowerment event,
Stand… for epic impact! g
© Monroe College 2015
Observer
M O N T H L Y
Monroe Culinary Rolls On
T
he Monroe Culinary Team scored four gold and six silver medals at the American
Culinary Federation competition sponsored by the ACF Professional Chefs of
Northeastern PA chapter at Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, PA.
Remarkably, out of 22 competitors, Monroe Culinary posted nine of the top ten scores
in the competition which included professional chefs from as far as Michigan, as well as
fellow students in the Luzerne Culinary program.
Senior Romario Henry, had high score on the day, and an ACF gold medal for an
entrée featuring Pork
Loin. Joining him
with gold medals
were two other
seniors and recent
alumni of the Study
Abroad program,
Sasha Gay Heslop
and Kenia Bonner,
both preparing
entrées featuring
farmed striped bass.
Freshman Yudelka
Torres also
scored a gold medal in pastry with her contemporary take on carrot cake. Silver medals
were earned by Christina Iarusso, Elle Abraham, Lisa Dorvilus, Sofia Mendoza,
Josseline Jimenez and Dejanee Archbold.
The competition pushed the medal count to over 60 for this academic year, and 561
total since Monroe Culinary’s first competition in April 2009. “It was great to see the
students compete with such poise and professionalism. They were impressive to watch
and many of the chefs in attendance were complimentary to the manner in which they
cooked, but more importantly, their deportment” commented Dean Frank Costantino.
The team was accompanied by Chef Michael Vignapiano, Chef Eric Pellizzari, and
Chef Shamel Donigan. It was a great weekend of cooking! The next stop is Hartford, CT
the weekend of April 11–12. g
Monroe Culinary Student Selected to
Compete for National Title
A
merican Culinary Federation national president, Chef
Thomas J. Macrina, announced some time ago that
he would be reviewing all applications submitted for
Student Chef of the Year 2015 in an effort to pick a “wild card”
candidate who did not get an opportunity to compete at the
regional level but who he felt was deserving of an opportunity.
Chef Macrina has chosen our own Rossella Cangialosi
as his pick. Rossella will be competing for the national title
of “Student Chef of the Year” at the 2015 ACF national
convention in Orlando, Florida the first week of August. Chef
Macrina has taken notice of our program’s accomplishments and was very impressed
with our students at the northeast regional championships this past January. He was
also extremely impressed with Rossella’s application. We were initially disappointed
that Rossella was not selected to compete at the regionals, but are elated that she will
have this opportunity to win a national championship. We will begin training camp for
this when the competition requirements are posted in May, after all of the regional
competitions are settled. g
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Lunch and Learn
with an IT Leader
T
wenty-five members of the New
Rochelle IT Students Association
(ITSA) were rewarded recently with a
double-dose of career-guiding information
in the Lunch and Learn with an IT Leader
program – gaining helpful insights from
David Rivera, a professional Web
Designer, and hearing a presentation from
Tekovery – a company that specializes in
helping businesses maximize returns on
end-of-life and obsolete equipment.
Tekovery is looking for IT interns because
it needs assistance in offering clients
piece of mind for data destruction, asset
valuation, refurbishment, remarketing,
and environmental compliance. Those
internships are likely to turn into part- or
full-time positions.
After the presentation from Tekovery,
students were treated to an interactive
session, learning how to easily create web
sites using Wix, an online program that
allows users to customize web sites using
software that is easy to manipulate.
David Rivera, the brother of Kevin
Rivera, an ITSA Club member, has
designed sites for several clients as well
as his church.
“Wix is a great program,” he told the
students, “because the software makes it
easy to get started creating web sites.” He
added that HTML5 (the software that is
taught in our IT-150 Web Design class) is
the industry standard and it powers all of
the Wiz templates.
The Wix website allows for drag n’ drop
technology, allowing the web designer to
easily place or rearrange content on the
screen. Wix will also allow users to take the
HTML5 code that they learn in the web
design class and embed it into the wix code
to increase a web site’s functionality.
“It’s important to maintain a professional
relationship with your clients,” Riviera
added. “No matter what the client wants,
or when the client wants it, you have to
deliver. Many times, clients don’t know
what they want and you have to show
them.”
At the end of the presentation, ITSA club
president Kevon Thompson thanked him
for taking time to come and talk to the
club and providing insight regarding web
development. g
M ON R OE C OL L E G E
Job and Internship Fair
T
he Career Services Office recently hosted the winter “Job and Internship
Fair,” which was held at the New Rochelle campus. There was a very
strong showing, with over 90 employers registering for the fair and
more than 250 students in attendance.
The decision to hold the Fair in New Rochelle gave students accessibility to
our many local and national employers and proved to be extremely popular
with all who attended. The event was held in our newest multipurpose
building the beautiful “Gaddy Hall,” which serves as a dormitory, classroom,
and office building. The facility where the Fair was held has state of the art
audio visual equipment, along with floor to ceiling glass walls that bring
sunlight into the room. They served
us well providing a very uplifting
atmosphere.
The Fair resulted in many new
job and internship opportunities for
our students and alumni, some of
whom received immediate offers of
employment. In addition, our Corporate
Partner staff was able to make several
new potential partner contacts.
Prior to the beginning of the Fair, staff
members from the NYS Department
of Labor’s “Task Force on Employment”
addressed the employers, announcing a new initiative to support increased
hiring by offering companies financial incentives to recruit residents of the
Bronx and Brooklyn. The news was well received by the representatives of
the organizations attending.
Career Services surveyed both the employers and students as they exited
the building and the comments were extremely favorable. All in all, the winter
Job Fair was a great success reflecting the efforts of the members of the
Career Services Office. g
Bronx High School Students Competed for
Culinary Scholarship
S
even local Bronx high school students competed for a full academic
scholarship for Monroe College’s Culinary Arts program during the
America’s Best High School Chef and Pastry Competition (ABHSC).
The competition was held at the College’s Culinary Arts Center on the New
Rochelle campus.
There were 33 students competing this year and the seven local students
from the Bronx attend Crotona International High School, Harry S. Truman
High School, and Food & Finance High School. One of the Bronx students,
Victoria Helwig, took first place in the culinary competition! She will receive
a full scholarship over the course of eight semesters. g
Our Wisest Alumni…
A
s all Northeasterners braved the coldest,
snowiest winter these past few months,
the intelligent Monroe College graduates,
who are from the Florida area, sailed together
on the Lady Delray in 80 degree weather under
picture perfect sunny skies. They might be on to
something…
On March 14, President and Mrs. Jerome
joined over 50 Florida alums for a cruise in Delray
Beach, Florida. Guests socialized over cocktails and
appetizers while taking in views of the Intercoastal
Waterway on the three hour cruise.
Ezra Walker ’84, a successful entrepreneur in
real estate and IT services, traveled with his wife
all the way from Jacksonville to attend the event.
“I owe my success to the computer education I
received at Monroe. I am so happy to meet the
other Monroe graduates.”
“I feel so lucky with how every Florida reunion
turns out,” says Leslie Jerome, as she recalls the
wonderful time everyone had at last year’s reunion
at Universal Studios in Orlando.
Sheneil Brown ’08, now the official Alumni
Coordinator for the College, is responsible for the
fabulous success of the reunions. She and fellow
graduates, originally from Jamaica, had a great time
socializing on deck and enjoying the night.
There are close to 850 alums living in Florida
and we can’t wait to see them again (and selfishly
escape from the cold) next year! g
FAFSA and TAP Deadlines
GET IT DONE!
All students who rely on financial aid (grants &
loans) to pay for their tuition MUST complete
their 2015–16 FAFSA & TAP applications before
Wednesday, April 28. Go to www.fafsa.gov
NEED HELP?
Download your 15–16 FAFSA & TAP guide from
MY Monroe, Student Financial Services gadgets,
today or call Student Financial Services at:
Bronx campus 646-393-8400/8500 or
New Rochelle campus 914-740-6849.
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Observer
M O N T H L Y
M ON ROE COLLEGE
Mustang Day of Service
T
he Mustang Day of Service was sponsored by the Office
of Residence Life to engage resident students in various
community service activities. It turned out to be a huge
success, thanks to all of the residents who came to support it.
While many students would
sleep in on a morning off from
classes, our students took
advantage of the opportunity
to give back to the local
community. On the day of the
event, 138 students showed up,
and were excited to give their
time to such a worthy project.
Students were volunteering at
a local nursing home, two Boys
and Girls Clubs, the Salvation
Army, and many other places.
During the day, our students
made over 100 bagged lunches
for the homeless, painted a
community room for children,
ran a sports clinic for students in the community, prepared 50
pounds of homemade chili for a shelter, and created “get well”
baskets for children in the hospital.
Staff and administrators of the facilities we visited were delighted
to have the Monroe students helping make life a bit better for the
people they serve. Our students represented Monroe very well.
The entire college community should be proud of their efforts.
Ricky Johns, Judith Redlenner, and Jonathan Garber
were all extremely helpful throughout the entire process. They
reached out to our community to identify where our students
could volunteer. They served as liaisons with the various
organizations and helped make
it a seamless process. Clair
Hicks and Mark Goodman
helped with the arrangement
of the transportation. Vincent
Comito helped our students
purchase food and use his
cooking facility to prepare it for
the shelter. His team was in the
kitchen helping our students with
the cooking. Lou Melendez,
Francis Santos, Terry Karg, and
Paula Green also were crucial
in reaching out to students, and
gave a significant amount of their
time to help make the day the
success it was.
Last, but certainly not least, the most important group, our
students. Again, they could have done anything else on that day,
but it was their choice to serve others. They did a phenomenal
job, and the most rewarding part was hearing our students ask
about the possibility of doing another Mustang Day of Service. It
was a heartwarming experience to see the joy they brought to our
community. g
Toastmasters
R
ichard Mushi did it again! At the recent Toastmasters Area 11 Speech Contest, Richard Mushi
from Monroe College’s Toastmasters won first place for both the Inspirational and Evaluation
competition.
His inspirational speech titled “Yes, You Can Make That Decision” took the audience on an emotional
rollercoaster ride that exemplified how daily decisions influence our lives. His delivery left his fellow
Toastmasters and guests motivated and energized. As if that was not enough, each contestant in the
Evaluation competition had to evaluate a prepared speech that was delivered by a guest speaker.
Richard skillfully provided
constructive feedback
on how the speech
could be improved.
After the judges
deliberated, Richard was
clearly their top pick
for Analytical Quality,
Recommendations
(Positive, Specific, Helpful), Technique (Sympathetic, Sensitive,
Motivational), and Summation (Concise and Encouraging).
Please join us in cheering on Richard as he enters the
next round of the Toastmasters Inspirational and Evaluation
competition on March 30 at BASF in Tarrytown.
“Yes You Can! Make that decision!” g
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