QView #191 | Novenber, 12

On Sunday, November 3, Montréal-based Cirque Kalabanté put on a show of breathtaking acrobatics and live music, drawing nearly 1,700 attendees to Colden Auditorium. The next day, the troupe presented a schooltime performance for more than 1,700 local students. Cirque Kalabanté artists also led a workshop for QC students in Dance 151: Dancing Culture/Dancing Values, held at Rathaus Dance Studio 101A.

From left: Lecturer Jimmy Vacca, City Council Member James Gennaro, Assembly Member Sam Berger

New York State Assembly Member Sam Berger and New York City Council Member James Gennaro were guests of honor at QC’s annual Veterans Day Luncheon on November 6. Urban Studies Lecturer Jimmy Vacca emceed the event; Stacey Romano, director of the Office of the President, spoke in place of President Frank H. Wu.

During the luncheon, Stacey Romano presented a certificate of appreciation to her father, Frank P. Romano.

The luncheon opened with military ceremony.

From left: Bain, Decatur, and Wu got into the picture with Louis Armstrong and a listener in Egypt.

Yesterday—Monday, November 11—Sean Decatur, president of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), toured the Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) with Executive Director Regina Bain, President Frank H. Wu, and Vice President for Communications and Marketing & Senior Advisor to the President Jay Hershenson.

That afternoon, President Decatur met with two groups of faculty and senior administrators invited by President Wu.

John Chin, interim dean of the Asian American / Asian Research Institute (second from left), joined (from left) Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez, director of Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies, and New York State Assembly Members Grace Lee, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, and Steven Raga on a panel—Legacies of U.S. Presence: Historical Impacts and Future Pathways in Puerto Rico and Asia—at the annual SOMOS conference in Puerto Rico.

Grace Lee and John Chin in casual mode.

The Godwin-Ternbach Museum welcomed more than 70 participants of all ages and abilities to Fall Family Day on Saturday, November 9. The program included a scavenger hunt of the exhibition and two activities: creating a sculpture inspired by the Louise Nevelson work in the museum’s current show, and making leaf-printed portraits.

Soccer Stars Win All-ECC Honors; Volleyball Looks Ahead to ECC Tourney

The men’s and women’s soccer programs season concluded on Sunday in the East Coast Conference Semifinals round. Both programs posted double-digit wins this season and combined for 13 All-ECC honors.

Men’s cross country senior John Ray placed 21st in the 10K NCAA East Regional Championship and earned All-Regions honors.

Women’s volleyball is in the hunt to earn the top seed in the upcoming ECC tournament. The team has two matches left in their regular season schedule this week.

Lastly, both men’s and women’s basketball programs opened the season, competing in conference challenges over the weekend against tough East Region competition. 

What’s in Store for the U.S.

Donald Trump’s presidential victory has major implications for the United States and all the people, documented or otherwise, who live here. Political Science faculty will analyze the results in Elections: Unpacking the Results, a roundtable taking place tomorrow—Wednesday, November 13—from 12:15 to 1:30 pm in Kiely Hall 264. Light refreshments will be served.

Open Mic Night November 15

Students will flex their talents when the Aaron Copland School of Music (ACSM) Student Faculty Committee hosts Open Mic Night on Friday, November 15, at 7 pm in ACSM Room 270. Expect the menu to include music, poetry, art, dance, and food. All welcome.

The ABCs of College Budgeting

Wondering how the campus operates despite difficult economic circumstances? QC’s Budget Office, led by Joseph Loughren, has put together Budget 101, a virtual class on the fiscal environment and how the college navigates it. If you haven’t yet seen this presentation, the last opportunity this year will be on Monday, November 18, 12:30-1:30 pm over Zoom. To reserve a place, register here. 

QC Selected for Prestigious Transfer Program

Queens College, in partnership with LaGuardia Community College and Queensboro Community College, has been chosen to participate in the next cohort of the Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success Intensive (Transfer Intensive). Supported by Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy and jointly led by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Transfer Intensive is a virtual year-long initiative designed to enhance transfer student outcomes.

Through the transfer intensive initiative, presidents and their teams of cabinet-level leaders and practitioners learn to collect and utilize data for their institutional partnership; engage in a community of practice with 200 U.S. education leaders focused on elevating excellence in transfer reform; receive up to four hours of individual expert consultation; develop a strategic transfer excellence plan (STEP); and receive guidance for sharing success stories on Aspen and AASCU media and communication platforms.

“Queens College is thrilled to participate in this prestigious initiative,” says President Frank H. Wu. “Many students transfer to Queens College from LaGuardia and Queensborough. We look forward to developing data-informed strategies for improving their transition and helping them complete four-year degrees.”

“After working with my counterparts at LaGuardia and Queensborough through the Better Neighbors Initiative, I look forward to building on our success and strengthening our partnership,” says Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Price.

The Aspen College Excellence Program focuses on how colleges improve student outcomes. The AASCU, representing 350 institutions in most of the United States as well as in the Bahamas, Canada, and Mexico, seeks to intensify the impact of state colleges and universities as engines of opportunity.

Through her Writing, Amber Sayer ’10 Helps Others Overcome Challenges

After battling her own life challenges, Amber Sayer (MS ’10) decided to use her love for writing to help others battle theirs. Sayer is a professional health and fitness writer who has also published books that tackle topics such as autism and anorexia.

Helping Children on the Spectrum

Last month, Sayer published a middle-grade novel titled Finally Found, which tells the story of a 12-year-old girl struggling with a late autism diagnosis while navigating the everyday challenges of middle school.

Sayer’s inspiration for this book comes from her own life experiences. Just like the book’s protagonist, Sayer received a late autism diagnosis, but not until the age of 30.

“I didn’t know I was autistic as a kid,” explained Sayer. “There is a broader understanding about the presentation of autism in girls and how it tends to differ from classic symptoms exhibited by boys on the spectrum. Once I got diagnosed, I went through some of the same feelings the protagonist in the book goes through. It’s not a factual story, but I pull from the feelings and thoughts I had at that time.”

Sayer feels the book can be helpful to neurodivergent and neurotypical children.

“I think it’s helpful in both directions. For kids who are autistic, it’s really cool to see main characters whom they can identify with, and it helps to see that their peers are also going through identity issues,” noted Sayer. “It’s also helpful for neurotypical people to see how someone who is autistic isn’t all that different. With that said, they can see what an autistic person might be thinking or feeling.”

Off and Running at Queens College

Sayer earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2008 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she was a highly recruited cross country runner. After graduation, she moved to New York City to pursue a personal training career, enrolling in graduate school at Queens College to further her education in exercise science. With one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, she also competed for the Knights cross country team in 2009, leading the squad to an East Coast Conference (ECC) title after a fourth-place individual finish at the ECC Championship meet.

While studying at Queens, she shifted away from working directly in fitness to an administrative job, working full time as a surgical coordinator to make ends meet, all while managing a hefty five graduate courses per semester. She earned her MS in exercise science and nutrition in 2010 after just three semesters.

As part of her course requirements, Sayer also interned at a boutique fitness studio as a personal trainer, which set her down her current career path.

“The internship inspired me to get back into fitness work because I had been working more on the administrative side of health care,” Sayer explained. “That internship program turned into a paid job and set me on a trajectory back into exercise science. I owe that all to Queens College.”

Sayer still offers personal training and coaches running on the side. But in recent years she transitioned into primarily writing health and fitness articles for prominent online magazines such as Well and Good, GoodRX, Health, Yoga Journal, and many more. She has more than 2,500 articles in her portfolio.

“Writing is sort of my autistic special interest,” Sayer added. “I love writing because it helps me connect with myself in the world and gives me a sense of purpose.”

Helping Battle Anorexia

Sayer also published a memoir back in 2013 titled PR: A Personal Record of Running from Anorexia, which details her struggles with anorexia as a teenager and the pressures of being a nationally ranked runner in high school. The book gives an honest account of a distressingly common problem among high school and collegiate athletes.

“I didn’t know at the time I wrote the book, but there is a very strong likelihood that girls on the spectrum develop eating disorders,” Sayer noted (according to recent studies, roughly 20-30 percent of people with anorexia are autistic). “One of the reasons I shifted away from personal training was because I kept getting injured, and I started seeing the physical consequences of anorexia. So, I thought writing the memoir would be helpful for parents and coaches of young teenage girl runners to look for the signs of eating disorders. That book was my way of giving back to future runners.”

The memoir was well received, and over the years, Sayer has received many notes from parents, coaches, and runners who found the memoir helpful and inspiring.

Sayer also has two other books in the Finally Found series in the works, with the second book slated to be released in December. You can learn more about Sayer on her website. Her books are available on Amazon.

Circuses Come to Town

With several troupes making stops in Queens, no one needs to run away to see the circus.

Flip Circus, performing at the Cricket Ground in Forest Park through November 26, fields a roster of Chilean jugglers, Ukrainian acrobats, and other amazing artists from around the world. Working on a smaller scale, The Circus Of Second Chances_NYC, at the 3AM Theatre November 13-17, will showcase a three-person team from Acrobatic Conundrum in a program of rope acrobatics, Cyr wheel, hand balancing, live baking, and clowning. Circus Vazquez, parent of Flip Circus, will camp out on Citi Field from November 15 through December 15. Mexican juggler José Alberto Vazquez; Liazeed Angels, led by former tightrope walker Zaida Liazeed and featuring Natalia Kapitonova, who won Olympic gold in artistic gymnastics; and the Bone Breakers, four contortionists from Guinea, will be on the lineup.

Magnus Bassey (SEYS) has published a book, Student Activism in 1960s America: Stories from Queens College . . . . Anna Bounds (Sociology) is quoted in “The Americans Prepping for a Second Civil War,” published in the New Yorker . . . . Abhinandan Gaba and Janice Rateshwar have been chosen for Belle Zeller Scholarship Awards. The scholarship honors Zeller, the founding president of the PSC and a long-term memory of the political science faculty at Brooklyn College. She passed away in 1998 . . . . Patricia Greenberg ’85, a pro-aging advocate, is holding the New York kickoff of It’s OK To Be Old on Sunday, November 17, 11:30 am-4 pm, at the NYC Seminar and Conference Center. Speakers include Sebastian Alvarado (Biology) and Dominick Yezzo ’75 (profiled in QView 157. Use this link for discounted admission . . . . Stephanie Lee (Godwin-Ternbach) curated The World's Borough Exhibition at Flushing Town Hall. The show, which features more than 70 New York City-based artists, can be viewed for free through November 25 . . . .

Francesc Ortega (Economics) has been selected as a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation for academic 2025-2026. He will develop a research project aimed at improving financial resilience to flood risk in coastal communities. Ortega is the third QC social science faculty member to receive this appointment in recent years, following Nuria Rodriguez-Planas (Economics) and Amy Hsin (Sociology) . . . . Beatriz Carolina Peña (HLL) received the Gold Medal for Best Academic Themed Book, College Level, and Honorable Mention, Best History Book, at the 26th International Latino Book Awards (2024) for Manuel Jala: un afrocampechano ataca la esclavitud en la Boston Colonial. As a BRESI award recipient, Pena was allowed to take a reduced course load for a semester in 2023, giving her more time to devote to her book. “I am very grateful to BRESI for the support of my project last year,” she says . . . . Ed Smaldone (ACSM) is among the composers whose music will be performed by cellist Bartosz Koziak and pianist Monika Gardoń-Preinl tonight—November 12—at Elebash Recital Hall at 7:30 pm and tomorrow at 12:15 pm at LeFrak Hall . . . .

Maral Tajerian (Biology), a recipient of CUNY’s Feliks Gross/Henry Wasser award for outstanding research, will give a talk alongside other honorees on Friday, November 22, at 1 pm in the Segal Theater at the Graduate Center . . . . President Frank H. Wu published an op-ed, “Supporting immigrants is the key to our success,” in the Queens Eagle. He is also quoted in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article, “What Trump’s Threats of Mass Deportation Could Mean for Higher Ed.”