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Yes, this June issue is late. Sorry about that. No, it wasn’t the heat. Your scribe took time off after graduation and fell behind in his obligations. Turns out this thing doesn’t write itself. I hope that you – friend of LaGuardia, donor, loyal reader – will also find time to take a break and have some summer fun.
| | Notes from Commencement 2025 | | |
It had been a wet spring, so we sprang for a tent, a decision that pleased approximately 1,200 graduates of the LaGuardia Class of 2025 who were thus shaded from the hot sun that was baking the Queens College Quad on the morning of Friday, June 20. Because we have no outdoor space on our campus, save a couple of parking lots, and our theater is too small to accommodate five thousand of our closest friends, we find ourselves obligated to take our commencement on the road. Since restoring in-person graduations in 2022, following the pandemic, we’ve held our big event of the year at Queens College, whose 80-acre campus in Flushing provides a fitting site for the sort of traditional ceremony we like to hold for our graduates.
It also is the case that Queens College is the senior college in CUNY to which the greatest number of our students transfer. And, as I like to remind Queens College President Frank Wu, it was none other than our namesake, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who launched Queens College when he gave Judge Charles S. Colden an old children’s hospital and the land around it on Christmas Day 1936. Colden, a NYS Supreme Court Justice from Whitestone, had been advocating for the creation of a college on the grounds of the New York Parental School, which was shuttered in 1934 due to abuse of students. I do not make this stuff up.
Organizing a graduation on someone else’s campus is a significant undertaking. Our event is a success thanks to more than one hundred LaGuardia faculty and staff who schlep out to Flushing at dawn to set things up, welcome, direct, and support the graduates and their families, and do everything else required to ensure a safe, smooth, and joyful celebration. Queens College provides the lawn, LaGuardia the brawn.
A feature of LaGuardia’s graduation is that we don’t bother with special guest speakers—no “Reach for the stars!,” “Commencement means beginning!,” “Follow your passion!.” Instead, we pass the mic to students. After all, this is about them and their achievements. It’s their show. This year, two class representatives, Nancy Avila (Early Childhood Education) and Jonathan Machado (Biotechnology), shared their LaGuardia stories. Big thanks to Dr. Shaunee Wallace of our communications studies program for helping Nancy and Jonathan to refine and practice their speeches.
| | | | Nancy, 46, arrived in New York ten years ago with her four children. Inspired by her daughters who both graduated from LaGuardia, Nancy enrolled in free English courses through the New York City Adult Literacy ESOL Civics Program offered through LaGuardia’s Adult and Continuing Education Division, and gradually progressed to advanced English language courses, all while working as a home attendant. Nancy completed her associate degree in December and is already working towards her bachelor’s degree at York College. | | Before enrolling at LaGuardia in 2023, Jonathan, 33, worked as a professional chef in kitchens across New York City. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the restaurant industry, he found himself out of work. That pause gave him time to reflect and ultimately led him to trade his chef’s coat for a lab coat—eager to pursue a new path in science and research. At LaGuardia, Jonathan joined the ASAP program and connected with the Office of Accessibility for personalized academic support, which helped him thrive in a rigorous STEM curriculum. Jonathan has served as a President’s Society ambassador, president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and completed several research-based projects and internships along the way. | | | Salute to Students Who Earn Credit for Prior Learning | | |
Some of you may recall that three years ago we launched the Credit for Prior Learning Office thanks to generous support from The Robin Hood Foundation. Led by Director Marsha Oropeza and Coordinator Christine Pardo, the Credit for Prior Learning Office awards college credit for learning gained outside the classroom—such as through military service, professional certifications, and industry experience. The goal is to give students academic credit for previous learning (often on the job or in non-traditional educational settings) so that they can save money and time as they pursue their associate degrees. Community colleges that do this well increase their relevance and appeal to adult learners. For LaGuardia this is an important goal of our new Strategic Plan.
On Friday, June 6, Marsha and Christine hosted a dinner to salute Class of 2025 graduates who were awarded Credit for Prior Learning credits. Among the honorees was Kenny Larson, 62, a former professional ballet dancer turned dance instructor. When the pandemic disrupted his teaching career, Kenny enrolled in LaGuardia to broaden his options. He connected with the Credit for Prior Learning Office and demonstrated his professional experience through a portfolio that included his resume, recommendations, performance videos, and live work. He earned twelve credits toward his Theater degree (the equivalent of four courses), which enabled him to graduate two and a half years earlier than he would have as a part-time student juggling school and work. Kenny missed Commencement due to teaching commitments in Tokyo, but he’s looking forward to the fall, when he begins his bachelor’s degree in arts administration at Baruch College.
| | | | As part of our effort to de-map 29th Street and turn it into a block-long public plaza (the way Baruch College did with East 25th Street in Manhattan) the NYC Department of Transportation gives us homework. The assignments are typically events and activities meant to build community support. This summer DOT has given us the green light (heh-heh) to paint a giant mural on the road surface. While DOT officials likely assumed we’d turn to professional artists to bring the mural to life, we of course insisted on making it a student project. | | Given the abundance of talent in our Fine Arts program we organized a competition back in the spring to select a design for the mural. Students submitted twenty-nine entries that were evaluated and ranked by more than 2,500 students, faculty, staff, and friends of the college. Fine Arts student Fernanda Contreras won First Place with her design, Keep It Movin’!! Fernanda’s image features colorful walking symbols, emphasizing New York’s walkability, and the six subway lines—the E, M, G, 7, N, and W—that run through Long Island City. DOT is kindly milling and repaving the road surface to prep it for painting. Participants in our Summer Youth Employment Program, along with LaGuardia students, faculty, staff, and community volunteers, will complete the mural in the next few weeks. Imagine a block-long, colorful, paint-by-numbers affair with dozens of young artists following Fernanda’s direction under the warm July sun. Heart-felt shout-outs to Fine Arts professors Dahlia Elsayed and Arianne Fernandez for their guidance, enthusiasm, and support. | | Nursing Graduates Celebrated at Pinning Ceremonies | | | | Graduates from our Registered Nursing and Licensed Practical Nursing programs were honored at their respective pinning ceremonies last month. The RN pinning ceremony (at top left) was held on June 18, celebrating the fifty-two students who completed the program this year. Graduates and their families gathered in the Mainstage Theater. Paul J. Dolan, Class of 2010, gave the keynote address. On June 24, forty-six students from the LPN program convened in the Little Theater for their pinning ceremony (at bottom left). Many grads from both programs will take their licensing exams and start working immediately as RNs or LPNs. Others will pursue bachelor’s degrees in nursing at senior colleges. Some will do both. LaGuardia’s Nursing programs continue to be ranked #1 in New York state. Going to the hospital? Insist on a LaGuardia trained nurse. | | LaGuardia Hosts CUNY-Wide Student Research Showcase and Takes Home Big Prize | | Last week, we were again proud to host the annual CUNY Research Scholars Program Symposium at which more than 170 students from across CUNY presented their research projects. Presented over two days by the CUNY Office of Research, the symposium provided students from eighteen CUNY campuses and many disciplines with the chance to share their work with peers, faculty, and guests. Twenty-six LaGuardia students displayed their project posters and described their research to the curious. (LaGuardia was pleasantly overrepresented.) Our own Ei Paing Paing Htwe won Best Overall Presentation and Best Visual Presentation for her research on keystroke dynamics authentication, conducted under the watchful eye of computer science professor Dr. Alaa Darabseh. | | |
On June 6, La Casa de las Américas hosted a celebration to recognize the achievements and dedication of its Student Ambassadors. The event highlighted the Student Ambassador Program’s mission: to provide mentorship, leadership, and civic engagement opportunities for students of Hispanic, Latin American, and Caribbean descent. Attendees reflected on how the initiative has helped create a sense of belonging for participants while empowering them to become active on campus and in the community.
| | 179 Students Complete Paid Internships | The Center for Career and Professional Development recently hosted its third SOAR Recognition Ceremony, celebrating the accomplishments of 179 students who participated in the SOAR (Succeed, Observe, Achieve, Rise) internship program this year. The program provides 12-week paid internships thanks to generous support from the LaGuardia Foundation and the Elmezzi Foundation. Students intern at community-based organizations, government agencies, and businesses of all types and sizes. The assignments, connected to students’ fields of interest, strengthen their professional skills, increase their career readiness, and deepen their commitment to serving their communities. This year, students interned at more than seventy-five sites, completed monthly professional development training, and met regularly with their advisors. | | Engineering Students Examine JFK's New Solar Canopy | | On June 6, ten students in our Careers in Engineering program met execs of the New York Power Authority at JFK Airport to check out the construction of JFK’s new solar canopy, the largest solar project in New York State. When it’s finished the canopy will include 20,000 panels mounted in arrays over several of the airport’s long-term parking lots. It will produce electricity for the airport and surrounding neighborhoods (and allow travelers to park in the shade). The NYPA engineers who led the tour shared career insights with students interested in renewable energy infrastructure. The LaGuardia Careers in Engineering program provides career exploration opportunities to engineering majors, with a focus on hands-on experiential learning through employer events, including site visits like this one, along with job and career roundtables. | | | | |
