Public Employee Press

College dreams become reality for 80 members at hooding ceremony



By ALFREDO ALVARADO
with DIANE S. WILLIAMS

For the 80 members who earned their bachelor's degrees at the District Council 37 Campus of the College of New Rochelle, their May 19 hooding ceremony was a moment of triumph - a celebration of dreams realized through dedication, hard work and strong support from families, faculty and the union. At the hooding - a symbol of academic achievement for almost 1,000 years - the candidates for graduation filed into the hall dressed in black gowns and blue and white hoods and were welcomed by Campus Director Dr. Stephen Greenfeld, who served as master of ceremonies. Campus Ministry Director Helen Wolf delivered the traditional invocation and Dr. Darryl E. Jones, dean of CNR's School of New Resources, congratulated the proud students.

Greenfeld pointed out that the Class of 2014 had overcome the extra adversity of attending classes and completing their course work at temporary and satellite campuses around the city while extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy closed the DC 37 building for more than a semester.

Life learners

"Now we have all returned to our home here at DC 37, and we have returned stronger than ever," said Greenfeld, who presented the candidates to applause and not a few tears of joy from their assembled families and friends.

"Education is a lifelong process. You can continue to grow and develop," said DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Dr. Barbara Kairson in her address to the graduates.

She reminded students that in addition to their families, "one of your biggest supporters is your union."

After the hooding ceremony, CNR celebrated the members' hard-earned accomplishments with a reception for family, friends and professors. The DC 37 Campus graduation candidates joined with students from other CNR campuses May 28 at Radio City Music Hall in the college's commencement ceremony, where they received their degrees.

The 2014 graduating class included members of 12 DC 37 locals, with the greatest numbers coming from Locals 372 and 1549. Women outnumbered men five to one, but the number of men graduating has grown over the last five years.

Bright future

Neville Waldron, a Local 372 Parent Coordinator in District 75, which provides services to children with special needs, graduated with honors. He read Rita Dove's poem, "Testimonial," which provides insight into life's transitions, from childhood, "when the earth was new," to mature achievement, when "The world called and I answered."

Another graduate, Lorenzo Johnson, a City Laborer in Local 924, told PEP, "When I started in 2010, I saw college as a monumental task. Now I've gained a newfound sense of accomplishment."

Honored as class speaker was Local 372 member Lisandra Perez. In her remarks the Brooklyn native shared the challenges she had faced and overcome to complete her degree. While she juggled her school work and her responsibilities as a paraprofessional Family Worker with the Dept. of Education, Perez and her husband, Eric, were raising their two teenagers and a nephew.

"I had spent my life taking care of others at the expense of my own needs and desires," Perez explained. "I kept coming up with excuses not to enroll in college. I was too old, I had too many responsibilities, and I found myself overwhelmed by feelings of selfishness. Then I discovered CNR's School of New Resources at DC 37."

"There is no expiration date for us," she told her classmates. "There is nothing we cannot accomplish, so let us celebrate this amazing day and continue our journey!"