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Dear Guttman Community,
As this new year begins and we reflect on 2025, I want to express my deep gratitude to every one of you for the warm welcome and the unmistakable Guttman‑strong embrace. Your commitment and care have made my transition into this community truly meaningful.
I am thrilled to introduce the inaugural Guttman CommUNITY newsletter! With featured stories from our very own students, faculty, and staff, our goal is to share the myriad ways in which the Guttman story is our story; Guttman impacts each one of us.
This year will be one of purpose and possibility. Hope and community‑building remain central to who we are at Guttman Community College. At a time when isolation and misinformation challenge our society, our work together becomes even more essential. As we continue to come together, think creatively, and demonstrate what is possible, the power of education shines.
Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of workers, leaders, and changemakers, empowering them with the skills and vision to address complex real-world challenges. This year, our #GuttmanGivingTuesday “Small College. Big Impact” campaign demonstrated the power of our community, raising $92,547 — nearly doubling our original $50,000 goal. This remarkable outpouring of donor support strengthens our mission and expands opportunities for every Guttman student. I look forward to connecting with you in the months ahead and stepping into this new year with purpose, resolve, and hope. Thank you to all who contributed.
In future editions, you’ll hear the voices of our alumni, Board members, internship supervisors, parents, donors, business partners, high school and transfer college leaders, CUNY leaders and the elected officials who fight for us!
I invite each of you to carry the Guttman spirit forward with curiosity, courage, and care. Together, we will continue building supportive, inclusive communities where every student can thrive.
Gratefully,
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Elizabeth de León Bhargava
Interim President
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Brad Lynch, Accounting ‘26
"I hold executive positions in student government and two honor societies, and I’m a member of the Abilities Club and Gaming Grizzlies. My leadership, service, and active participation give me the opportunity to feel like I truly belong to many different groups of students and staff alike. I enjoy being active in the Guttman community because I’m genuinely curious about new experiences and want healthy, close relationships with others. Plus, I gain professional skills like tracking and managing funds, planning all-inclusive events, and promoting accessibility for those who could use a helping hand.
My grandfather has always told me that hard work pays off in life, even in ways you don't expect. Seeing smiles on people's faces and feelings of acceptance spread are far more impactful to me than receiving praise or the pride that getting an award can offer. Others know I'm here for them every step of the way."
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Jana Seneviratne, Science & Katherine Rivera, Liberal Arts
"Our research began as a class project, where we examined our own households through a critical lens, learning more about our families and the everyday domestic and emotional labor that sustains our lives.
After the course ended, Professor karen williams invited us to continue the work by combining our research as case studies of social reproduction in immigrant households, which we presented at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education Conference in Philadelphia. Speaking with others in the academic community about our findings and receiving feedback has helped us improve as researchers and grow professionally toward our prospective careers as a nurse and child therapist."
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Ariba Sikder, V.P. Student Government Association, IT '26
"In today’s times, having a strong sense of community is essential for college students, especially given the challenges around us. The most rewarding part of serving in the Student Government Association has been seeing how raising student voices leads to real change and support across our campus. We're seeing increased student resources, political support discussions, immigrant success like the Klein Scholars, and how our degrees are a strong foundation for transferring to four-year colleges."
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Ria Banerjee, Professor of English
"I'm an only child and an immigrant so before joining Guttman, my sense of community was very limited — to my parents far away, and to my partner and tight circle of friends here in New York. At Guttman, I realized that our high-touch pedagogic model and very small size meant that I would need to adapt such notions of community and closeness. This is not a campus where you can come in for a few hours each week and leave quickly. This is a place where I know my colleagues' children's names and they know how much tea I drink. My students tell me where they live and work and where they want to travel. Such things feed their academic work, and knowing about them helps me better motivate them.
I started the Guttman Honors Program for this community of thinkers and new scholars. Students at Guttman are looking for ways to engage with academic communities beyond our college. They dream of working in science labs, attending academic conferences, working in library archives, creating serious art. Guttman changed me by inviting me into this warm, feisty, funny community. In turn, we in the Honors Program aim to change our students' sense of what academia is, what it can be."
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Meagan Lacey, Chief Librarian
"My idea of community was most shaped by my experience as an AmeriCorps volunteer after college. Although I was the poorest I’ve ever been, it was one of the happiest periods of my life because of the other volunteers and the community we formed living and working together. I mean, being so broke, we had to make our own fun! I miss that time, over 20 years ago, before the iPhone existed and social media became the primary way we communicate. There is just no substitute for real, human interaction or the serendipity that comes with being out in the world. The pandemic made that especially clear.
In fact, it’s because of the pandemic that Dr. Banerjee and I started the Big Read. After months of isolation, we wanted to help build back some of the campus community we lost. A common read provides an instant shared experience — a means of connecting and getting to know each other beyond our roles at Guttman. Relating to a book, which is filled with universal truths about being human, we can’t help relating to each other, and, for me, it’s in making those personal connections that community is built. Join Guttman for our next Big Read: 'Feel Free' by Zadie Smith."
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Tau Battice, Lecturer, Humanities & Social Sciences
Lecturer Tau Battice of Guttman's Humanities & Social Sciences program reminds us that photography isn’t just about images, it’s about perspective. In the classroom, Battice explores how photography can help us slow down and become more aware of our world, even discovering new things about ourselves.
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Maya Mason, Lecturer, Arts & Humanities
Art has the power to inspire — and so does Maya Mason, art and humanities lecturer. This video is a celebration of Mason's work at Guttman, where she’s not only teaching art techniques but also helping students discover their passion, build confidence in their creative journey and tell their stories through art.
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Campus Community Builders | | |
Melissa Arias, Asset Management Specialist, Business Office
"I grew up in Washington Heights, where everyone knows each other. I went to elementary and junior high school in the neighborhood. I’m still friends with some of my classmates today. To me, that is what community is — maintaining relationships with the people you grow up with and the people you see regularly.
My first 'serious' job was also in Washington Heights. I worked at a bank for about seven years, and then in 2014, I came to Guttman as a college assistant. Once I started making friends here, I realized that Guttman was its own tight community. I built a group of friends I would always hang out with, and still do, to this day. Working in the Facilities department allowed me to meet everyone, including faculty and staff. Everyone here is very welcoming. When I walk through the hallways, the people I run into are always friendly. Guttman has shown me that being part of a community can really impact your life.
This became even more meaningful to me after a life-changing experience in 2021. I survived a stroke that left the left side of my body completely paralyzed. I returned to work at the end of 2022, using a walker to get around. When I came back, my desk was exactly how I left it. And when I came back, everyone treated me normally, like nothing had happened. Even though I now have a physical disability, I still feel like the same part of this community as I was before."
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Rey Lynch, Assistant Director, United Men of Color
"On paper, my life is often positioned as proof that our society makes space for those who work hard and dedicate themselves to education, while implying that others simply chose poorly or were unfit. This framing distorts the truth. I grew up alongside friends who made genius feel commonplace in our schools — Black and Latino students who demonstrated practical mastery of the curriculum, yet whose futures were constrained by systems unwilling to recognize achievement beyond narrow academic norms. As a modestly performing student, what ultimately distinguished my path from that of many of my genius friends was community. For every accomplishment earned and every degree awarded, community was the sustaining force that carried me forward.
Historically, marginalized communities in America have survived through collective care, shared responsibility, and mutual investment. That truth shapes why I am deeply passionate about the community that United Men of Color (UMOC) offers Guttman students. As a direct beneficiary of communal care, I understand that community support is critical, often determining stability or poverty, survival or loss. At Guttman, community is not an assumption, but a responsibility — one that UMOC carries forward every day."
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Karla Fuller, Academic Dean
"The Division of Academic Affairs is thrilled to announce that in our initial year of fundraising for the new Academic Progression Scholarship, we raised $3,375 with 17 donors — exceeding our goal of $3,000. It is our hope that providing this bridge funding for students as they progress from the first to the second year will allow them to continue to focus on being successful in their classes without the worry of how to pay for it."
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This fundraising initiative was part of this year's
#GuttmanGivingTuesday campaign, "Small College. Big Impact"
Surpassing our $50,000 goal, we raised $92,547 total!
Thank you to all who contributed.
There's still time to give in support of student success.
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Marcia Edwards, Business Administration, Human Services & IT Chair
"Almost four years ago, the director of the AIDS Institute’s Metropolitan Area Regional Office for New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) approached me about forming a partnership that would offer Human Services students an opportunity to complete a paid practicum with specialized training, culminating in possible state employment. Since then, my Guttman colleagues Dr. Anya Spector, Dominique (Nancy) Dessables, and I formed a team with NYSDOH, the Albany Unit of the AIDS Institute, and Adelphi University to create the Academic Workforce Development Initiative (AWDI).
We see the project as a catalyst for change, igniting critical thinking, raising awareness, and challenging social injustices. AWDI provides meaningful professional development opportunities for aspiring public health and human services professionals who reflect the diversity of New York State, to enhance the health and well-being of underserved communities. We began the two-semester pilot in Fall 2025 with one Guttman student and are eager to grow it!"
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"Unapologetically Black: Voting, Voice & Visibility in 2026 and Beyond" will feature a powerful talk on 2/5, 5:30 p.m. at CUNY@Amazon, featuring L. Joy Williams, Letitia James, Adrienne Adams, Lurie Daniel-Favors and Ny Whitaker. The event has reached capacity; join the waitlist or stay tuned for future events!
- This spring's 5th annual Guttman Big Read will feature "Feel Free" by Zadie Smith.
The book will be available soon at the Guttman Library for CUNY students and employees and can be found at NYPL for anyone with a library card.
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Students interested in applying to Guttman for Spring or Fall 2026 can attend an upcoming Admissions Info Session: 2/10 on campus or 2/26 virtual.
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Student Life is hosting The Grizzly Jazz Club Black History Month Listening Experience on 2/18, 5:30 p.m. in Guttman's Atrium. No RSVP required.
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Guttman's Public Safety team organized a Super Smash Bros. Doubles Tournament in coordination with the Gaming Grizzlies student club on 12/2 in an effort to build rapport between Public Safety officers and the Guttman community.
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