Friends,
Happy 2024!
The New Year is a time to reflect on past achievements, while making new commitments to our students and their families. Last year at this time, I shared my resolution to make a difference in the life of every one of our students. I am proud to share that — thanks to the efforts of our dedicated faculty and staff — we are caring for and supporting our students every day of the year.
This year, I am highlighting our promises to our current and prospective students:
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We will provide you with “Access to an Affordable” education
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We will guide and mentor Student Success inside the classroom
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We will strive for the “Best Four Years of Your Life” outside the classroom
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We will provide Experiential Learning opportunities to launch your career
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We will start you on a Lifelong Learning journey with pipelines to advanced degrees
I look forward to welcoming our students back for the Spring semester on January 22. Mostly, I look forward to working together to again deliver on our promises to students in 2024.
Please read below to learn how our students are turning our promises into their passions.
Regards,
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Students Present at MSCHE Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA |
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Kayla Cordero '24 and Kayla Lemus Marroquin '24, students in our School of Education, presented their research at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Annual Conference in Philadelphia this past December. They were joined by Dr. Nydia Prishker, and presented a poster on their descriptive investigation titled "Exploring the Support Systems for English Language Learners in New York State." The duo also presented their findings to the College's Board of Trustees in December 2023. Great work, Spartans!
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Making History Come Alive Through Generous Grant |
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St. Thomas Aquinas College has received a $229,624 two-year grant from The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to establish The St. Thomas Aquinas Institute for the Study of Loyalists in the American Revolution.
Leading up to the Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the Declaration of Independence, The Institute will include the work of faculty, students, and external academic partners to develop an online educational resource and digital center with extensive text and photographs related to the American Revolution.
Leading the project are co-directors St. Thomas Aquinas College Dean of Arts and Social Sciences Heath Bowen, Ph.D. and external academic partner Christopher F. Minty, Ph.D., FRHistS.
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Students Participate in the National College Fed Challenge |
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Congratulations to our student team who recently participated in the College Fed Challenge — a national competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve System. The team was asked to perform the task of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC): provide an economic analysis, create a forecast, identify and explain risks to their forecast, and ultimately make a monetary policy decision. This year, the competition was virtual and the team had just 15 minutes to present this work.
Students spent a significant amount of time in the Bloomberg Lab identifying economic indicators of interest, writing their script, debating with each other on the “right” policy recommendation, and diving into the analysis about upside and downside risks to their forecast. The class conducts real-time analysis and data releases to see how this will impact the story they are trying to tell with the data. This experience allows students to put their classroom skills in action.
This is the College’s eighth year participating in the Fed Challenge. Dr. Meghan Mihal and Dr. Rossen Trendafilov team teach and co-lead students in preparation for the national competition. In addition, the team presented to the College's Board of Trustees in December 2023. You make us proud, Spartans!
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Future Focused: Upcoming Skills Immersion Program |
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St. Thomas Aquinas College's Skills Immersion Program is a multi-day, interactive, professional development program designed to provide key insights for current undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the Class of 2023. It will take place on January 16-19 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM and will be meeting remotely via Zoom. (Register for our Program here.)
Participants develop their professional brand, and learn communication, technology, team building, and leadership (taught by President Daly) skills — all, while working in small teams to prepare and present a company profile of an organization from Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Guest speakers guide participants through topics such as resume/cover letter writing, updating LinkedIn profiles, business communication, data visualization, job search strategies, networking, interviewing, and elevator pitch delivery.
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As part of our commitment to Experiential Learning, we will be launching STAC 102 "Introduction to Career Exploration and Life Planning" for all freshmen in the Spring semester in order to embed career planning and preparation into the curriculum right from the start. Students engage in community-based learning experiences to connect, engage, and reflect on their goals and strengths, strategically assess the many opportunities on campus, and articulate their goals while enrolled at the College. This new course will be followed by STAC 201 in the Fall semester, whereby students will develop and enhance the key communications skills needed for career success.
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Save the Date: STEM Panel on Artificial Intelligence |
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The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on STEM: A Panel Discussion
Join us on Wednesday, February 7 at 5:00 PM for an interactive panel discussion about the impact of artificial intelligence on the STEM field. Panelists include industry experts and leaders and will be moderated by St. Thomas Aquinas College Lecturer of Professional Practice in Computer Science, Brett Karopczyc. A Q&A session will follow the panel.
Interested in the exciting world of Machine Learning? Wanting to challenge yourself to learn Python programming? Then our Data Science program could be the perfect fit for you! Offered by our highly regarded School of STEM, our program is purposefully designed for students with strong calculus/mathematics and communication skills.
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Check out St. Thomas Aquinas College's feature stories!
We are delighted and proud to introduce you to the following individuals:
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Meet Faculty member,
James Muckell, CPA, MBA
Associate Professor of Accounting
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Meet student,
Rachelle Durandisse '24, Marketing Major
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Meet alumnus,
Brad Sarno '06,
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and WSTK Radio Station Advisor at
St. Thomas Aquinas College
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