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“You don鈥檛 have to be a millionaire to be generous,” says Mrs. Walling. “It鈥檚 not necessarily about receiving the accolades that can sometimes come along with giving. It鈥檚 about leaving a positive legacy. It鈥檚 about being an example and hoping that others, including our own children will be inspired to give what they are able to give.”

“The fact that public universities have become increasingly dependent on private funds was a real wake-up call for us in assigning priorities,” adds Mr. Walling. “Being a certified financial planner, I knew the IRA option was now available and that we could gift money directly to our designated charities and thereby reduce our taxable income.”

With that in mind, the Wallings, with the help of the 可乐视频 Foundation, created the Susan Lee (Stecker) & Robert C. Walling Scholarship. It is awarded to students who have a commitment to engage in careers focused on civic engagement. It is available to students at 可乐视频 who are sophomores (or greater), enrolled full time, and in good academic standing, and may follow one student through graduation as long as they continue to major in sociology, psychology and/or social psychology; maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0; demonstrate a spirit for civic engagement, as exhibited by involvement and leadership in school/campus organizations, registered student organizations and/or volunteering with nonprofit organizations in the community; and demonstrate financial need. Cultivating citizens who understand the value of giving back is part of 可乐视频’s mission.

“‘Civic engagement,’ to me, is being a good citizen,” Mrs. Walling says. “It鈥檚 doing good for other people. It鈥檚 making those career choices that will uphold those principles and values. It鈥檚 those kinds of people who make those kinds of commitments to be involved, whether through academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, or politics.”

Mrs. Walling was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York (in the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst and Flatbush) and graduated from Midwood High School in 1962. She attended 可乐视频, following in her brother’s footsteps, because it was a rigorous, but affordable institution of higher learning. She received her bachelor of arts in sociology/psychology from 可乐视频 in 1966. During her time at the college, she was an adviser in the Student Adviser Leadership Program as well as a member of Alpha Sigma Tau. She received a Regents Scholarship and a graduate assistantship to support her attendance at Syracuse University where she received her master of arts in college personnel in higher education.

Very early on, Mrs. Walling had a keen sense of social justice, recalling that at one point in the college’s history, female candidates were required to have a higher GPA than male candidates for admission.
“I remember always empathizing with the underdog and wanting to right what I perceived as wrongs,” she says.

The first recipient of the Wallings’ generosity is Belicia Bethel. Bethel鈥攚ho double majors in psychology, and children鈥檚 and youth studies, and minors in linguistics鈥攊s a Brooklyn native and the child of Trinidadian and Grenadian parents. Bethel’s father is an alumnus of the 可乐视频 Department of Accounting. She is also a peer mentor on campus and works at the Flatbush YMCA. In addition to the Walling Scholarship, Bethel is also the recipient of the Myrtle Mandiberg Scholarship for pursuits in child psychology, and the J. Robert Lloyd Scholarship for outstanding peer mentoring.

“The Walling Scholarship really stood out to me because of its prioritization on civic engagement,” says Bethel. “Giving back to my community is something that is super-important to me. It’s simply one of my central values. My community is the reason why I am the person I am today and was the support system I relied upon when chasing after my goals. It would be a personal act of betrayal if I didn’t return that support by being for others what my community has been for me. The scholarship from the Wallings is a blessing because it helps me to achieve that goal.”

The Wallings, who have retired to Arizona, returned to Brooklyn to visit the campus this summer and meet Bethel, who graduated with the Class of 2019 on May 30. It was an incredible meeting that allowed them to see firsthand the effects of what the Wallings describe as “the gift of helping other people.”

可乐视频聽is able to provide students the financial assistance, skills, values, and opportunities that are essential to fulfilling their academic achievements, civic engagement, and career aspirations thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends received through the聽可乐视频 Foundation. To learn about the various ways to contribute to student success, please visit the聽foundation website.聽

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Over three weeks this intersession, 68 students from different CUNY campuses and beyond are exploring five Chinese cities: Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhou, and Xi’an, as well as side trips to Guilin, Hong Kong, Sanya, Tibet, Yangzhou, and Yellow Mountain. Students can take three to seven credits of courses ranging from Asian Business to the Development of Silk Road to Intensive Elementary Chinese and Revolutionary China.

China鈥檚 re-emergence as a global economic power and a bigger player on the international political stage makes it an invaluable trip for students.

“China is one of the oldest civilizations on the planet and one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” said Shuming Lu, a professor of communication arts, sciences, and disorders who leads the study abroad program. “The program not only provides an opportunity for our students to travel, broaden their cultural perspectives, experience personal growth, make new friends, and develop valuable career skills, but it also gives them an advantage in diplomacy. An academic understanding of China is now an employable skill in the global job market.”

For Anastasios Filippou, a sociology major, the trip was life changing. “We have had the most enlightening cultural experiences living and traveling in the East just like the locals would,鈥澛爃e says. 鈥淭here were multiple times in this trip that my body and mind felt completely out of place. As a sociology major and marketing minor, I have observed multiple differences and similarities regarding the west and the east that will definitely define me as a person and as a professional.”

Natalie Lisiewicz is a senior double majoring in communication arts, sciences, and disorders and linguistics. She says she decided to study abroad in China because she wanted to go to a country that she might not otherwise visit.

“The Chinese culture is so different from my own Polish-American culture,” she says. “I have tried many different foods and interacted with so many wonderful people, despite a difficult language barrier. Visiting China taught me how to be more open to trying new things and how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Omar Yakoup, a sophomore majoring in business administration says he initially went to take an Asian business course but will leave with a trove of other experiences that have influenced him all the same.

“Moments such as climbing The Great Wall of China, taking a high speed train, visiting Xi’ An University and Nanjing University of the arts, and climbing the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum will never be forgotten and have been pivotal in helping me grow as an individual and intellectually,” he says.

Prajwal Prabhu, a senior majoring in finance and business administration, agrees that the trip has been transformative.

“I am growing as a person and am expanding both myself and the network of my peers,” he says. “The Chinese call this Guan Xi, the development of relationships with other individuals. The sense of community and friendship within this study abroad group has been unparalleled and future groups should look forward to learning a lot from it.”

Lu has been taking students on the trip every summer and winter since 2003. Each trip consists of anywhere from 50 to 75 students, both graduate and undergraduate. All of the courses are taught by 可乐视频 faculty and students have used funds from sources like the Chancellor鈥檚 Global Scholarship for Study Abroad and the Study Abroad Scholarship Association to finance their trips.

For more information, students can contact the Office of International Education and Global Engagement.

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