and published author who brings more than three decades of public-school teaching experience to her work with pre-service and in-service educators at the college. Known for her deep commitment to justice-rooted, heart-centered pedagogy, Noble integrates contemplative practices, mindfulness, and equity-focused approaches into teacher education.

Ah! A Heartbook for Teaching | Learning with Love invites educators to reconnect with love, presence, and compassion as essential foundations for teaching and learning. Blending reflective practices with lived classroom wisdom, the book addresses educator well-being, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed teaching, and community care鈥攐ffering guidance for sustaining both teachers and students in complex educational environments.

Noble鈥檚 scholarship reflects 可乐视频鈥檚 mission to advance equity, educational leadership, and holistic learning. Her work contributes to ongoing conversations in teacher education around mindfulness, contemplative pedagogy, and the role of emotional and spiritual awareness in fostering just and humane classrooms.

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For Braine, teaching about consent is a vital issue within sexual education at all levels.

鈥淚t is often a neglected area of the curriculum in part because it is actually quite complex and teachers don鈥檛 have the tools to help students understand,鈥� said Braine. 鈥淛aela鈥檚 research enabled her to address consent at different age-appropriate levels and incorporate teaching strategies into her curriculum materials.鈥�

Williams was interested in the way consent changes when commerce is involved, and if sex workers are truly able to give an 鈥渆nthusiastic yes,鈥� beyond the accepted model of 鈥渆nthusiastic consent,” a modern and empowering approach to understanding sexual consent.聽Unlike older models that focused only on the absence of a 鈥渘o,鈥� this model emphasizes a clear, active, and positive expression of agreement.

鈥淚 wanted to meet with PROUD, a Dutch sex worker union, to interview someone about their experience in a country where sex work is legalized and regulated,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 would then use my findings to center sex workers鈥� experiences specifically in consent lessons in the curriculum.鈥�

Unable to speak with the union, Williams interviewed a sex worker and returned home with new insights and a plan to continue her research and earn her master鈥檚 in sociology at the University of Amsterdam. But along with her application, Williams needed to fund her time abroad due to student visa restrictions. So she applied for a Fulbright scholarship鈥攐verseen by the U.S. Department of State鈥攖o study abroad. Although she was accepted to the university in January, Williams only recently learned that she had been awarded the scholarship, which will provide her with a monthly stipend while she is abroad.

Williams notes that the kind of research she is doing requires an understanding that regardless of the protections and the regulations afforded sex workers in the Netherlands, the work is still stigmatized. 鈥淣evertheless, those protections were super important to make my research ethical. I think sex work, in general, is just very complicated, and you have to be very careful when you鈥檙e doing research.鈥�

With her yearlong sojourn beginning at the end of August, Williams insists that access to interdisciplinary studies at 可乐视频 has been key.

鈥淚 was able to minor in women鈥檚 and gender studies and sociology and realized that sociology was what I was looking for the whole time,鈥� says Williams. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in identity studies and education. Sociology is the place where these interests meet and a field in which I feel I can make an impact.鈥�

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We sat down with Galvis to hear his story.

What inspired you to pursue an education degree?

I attended a K-12 public school, Michael J. Petrides School, where I thankfully teach now. During high school, I was a part of a peer teaching class that involved high school students to help the elementary school teachers in their classrooms. This enlightened me that I wanted to connect my roots with teaching.

What are the skills you developed during your time at 可乐视频?

可乐视频 gave me the opportunity to explore my pedagogical ideologies. I鈥檓 a new teacher who is learning to be the best educator that I can be. During my undergrad and now in graduate school, my professors have helped me understand the importance of genuinely caring for my students and have guided me on my teaching journey.

How have you grown as a person or student in the last few years?

I鈥檝e grown to appreciate education much more. Doing a graduate program while teaching more than 100 students is a tough task, but furthering your education is so important. Education helps people learn how to best be part of our society. For this reason, I recommend college to all of my students.

Can you tell us about a time when it was hard to push through and who helped you get over the hump?

My family and I are survivors of Hurricane Sandy. We lived in a one-floor house right by the beach. We chose to stay, and because of this decision, our lives were almost taken. The amount of support that was provided by my community was tremendous and eye-opening for me. My school was there for me in so many ways. This was a reason why I wanted to give back to my community.

What鈥檚 most important to you and why?

It鈥檚 important for me to educate people on how to be more compassionate and inclusive. In a world where we are coexisting, it鈥檚 crucial for everyone to be respectful. I am grateful that 可乐视频 teaches this to its students.

Complete the sentence: 可乐视频鈥檚 biggest strength is 鈥�

Its diversity. Throughout my pedagogical research, I鈥檝e decided that diversity and exploring different perspectives is what can best teach people, especially teachers, to be more compassionate and understanding. I feel that this is best gained in a diverse community, and for that, I am thankful for 可乐视频.

What are your goals for after you finish your master鈥檚 program?

After earning my undergraduate degree, I was able to begin my journey as an official teacher. When I finish graduate school, my goals are to implement my findings from research projects, and overall create a classroom environment where my students are happy to be in and are happy to learn. I want to be able to give back to my community by creating an equitable class, and showing students that I genuinely care about them.

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Tell us a bit about your background.

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, did all of my schooling there, and earned my degrees, including my Ph.D., at the University of Puerto Rico, R铆o Piedras. My mother was an educator. She didn’t work as an educator in schools until later in life, but she was an educator at home from the beginning. She was very religious鈥攐ur family was conservative鈥攂ut my mother was shaped by liberation theology. That has been very much a part of my life since very early on: liberation theology and a socialist perspective. We all deserve access to benefits from the effort we put in as part of a larger society. My mother and father were avid readers and encouraged me to challenge the status quo. And I’m very grateful for that background. That allowed me to grasp everything I received in my university studies.

Your field, school counseling, and the need for more counselors in schools, particularly post-pandemic, have been widely reported in the media in recent years.

The profession has moved from the concept of 鈥済uidance鈥� and addressing mostly the things that students need to excel academically, to one that addresses schools and students in a more systemic and holistic way. Today鈥檚 counselors look at a student鈥檚 sense of belonging and emotional well-being. We train our school counselors to be agents of change with the recognition that we are living in a system that is still oppressive to people from marginalized communities, in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and special needs.

Regarding special needs, 可乐视频 has a new undergraduate program.

Yes, it鈥檚 a dual certification degree, a B.S. in childhood education teacher (1鈥�6) and special education (all grades). When students in the program graduate, they will be recommended for two certifications: childhood education (1-6) and special education (all grades). This is something that our faculty has been working on for a while. Special education in the United States remains an understaffed area鈥攖here are not enough qualified teachers to deliver services in the schools. Hopefully, this will make an impact in the community. Many of our teacher candidates are from Brooklyn and, after graduation, remain in Brooklyn to teach. And because our student body looks more like the New York City pre-kindergarten through grade 12 student population than current NYC DOE teachers, children, and their families will see teachers who look like them.

Inclusivity has long been a top priority at 可乐视频.

It is an area that has always been part of the conversation at the School of Education. Our school is guided by four themes: collaboration, critical self-reflection, social justice, and diversity. We have a long-standing bilingual program that resulted from student activism. When the Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Department was formed, there was also a need for bilingual teachers, and students demanded the creation of a bilingual education program. As a faculty member and scholar, I have been committed to advocacy at the intersections, not only in terms of race, ethnicity, and language, but also in terms of sexual orientation and gender identity. There are committed faculty and staff who strive to make 可乐视频 and the School of Education a welcoming place to underrepresented and marginalized populations, including LGBTQ+ people, and I have seen that grow since I’ve been here.

What does it mean to have a liberatory approach to education?

A liberatory approach requires us to understand where we were, where we are, and the systems we still need to dismantle. We do this as part of our training of educators, counselors, and psychologists. We look at the areas in which we experience oppression as well as the areas in which we benefit from privilege. We look at our identity and who we are, not as one-sided, but multidimensional and intersectional. That mix creates our realities. We need to be aware of how systems of privilege and oppression show up in our institutions, in our lives, and the lives of people who are marginalized. This work can be uncomfortable. Some vocal groups across this country say that this discomfort is a good reason not to engage in this type of education. These groups claim that that students who become aware of their privilege feel uncomfortable, and they should not have to feel this way.

There is a contentious debate about what should and should not be taught and why.

Discomfort is necessary for growth. Interestingly, some groups talk about this type of instruction being divisive, yet, time and time again, I saw it bring connection to my classroom. Students connected with each other, yes, and they also were able to better connect to themselves. This is what choosing connection in the classroom truly is. To fight for this freedom to teach in this way is to fight for our ability to grow and connect in ways that inspire our solidarity across differences. Part of the beauty of this transformative learning is that once you acknowledge your privilege you have the power to be a voice and to use your privilege for change. Our faculty works to make sure that our students have access to the content and resources they need to succeed as educators and as leaders in the schools. This is important. They provide the content and resources to their students so that we can end educational and academic disparities and close gaps. In addition, our faculty also supports our students to develop the skills to engage in the difficult conversations needed to dismantle the systems that fuel those same disparities. And that鈥檚 how we want to engage with our students. That鈥檚 what brings all of our programs and faculty in the School of Education together.

Do you think we, as a nation, have made progress?

We are always progressing, even if we don’t progress at the rate we would like. We had a burst of advancements in some areas regarding how we were addressing conversations around race and violence in a way that brought visibility to the violence endured by many marginalized communities. And visibility is so important. We also have advanced in relation to LGBTQ rights and affirming diversity along gender and sexual orientation. But the pendulum has swung back, and we are seeing a lot of anti-trans bills in legislatures across the United States and books being banned in schools that are mostly around issues of, again, race, sexuality, and gender identity. It is so important that those of us in positions of privilege or power be more visible for those whose safety is impacted. When you have been involved in advocacy, keeping a perspective of hope is essential. It is a romantic mandate in a sense, but it is a mandate. Whoever is committed to doing this work, one of their primary mandates needs to be that of replenishing hope.

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Nasim Almuntaser describes himself as a passionate public servant, educator, activist, and community organizer and has already dedicated much of his undergraduate career to working for organizations that focus on education and public policy.

可乐视频: What is your major and what inspired you to pursue that path?

NA: I am a double major in secondary education and history. I decided to pursue those fields because my entire life has been dedicated to public service. My father was a teacher in Yemen, and when he came to the United States, he did not have access to the credentials to continue his career. As the child of immigrants who did not speak English, I was tasked at a young age with responsibilities, such as translating important documents.

Often kids who are from marginalized backgrounds are written off as statistics; I see education as a way to help change lives for the better. I am currently a substitute teacher for the New York City Department of Education. I chose to pursue a career as a history teacher because I understand the need for history to be taught in a more engaging, more inclusive way than it has been in the past. As an educator, I want to play a role in uplifting the next generation through a message of hope and healing.

可乐视频: Why 可乐视频?

NA: 可乐视频 was my dream school because of the amazing education program it has. A lot of my own teachers and professors attended the institution. They, along with alums Shirley Chisholm and Bernie Sanders, were all people I looked up to and wanted to emulate.

可乐视频: What are some favorite memories?

NA: My fondest memory is tutoring students in the Center for Student Disability Services. I am a student with a disability myself and found my work as a note-taker for other students very rewarding, because it鈥檚 a way to provide access to education to a more inclusive student body. I believe anyone can become anything if the resources are there for them. I am also a College Now Ambassador under Program Director Pieranna Pieroni. She and the program were so influential in preparing me for my undergraduate degree. Now I return the favor by assisting high school students with their transition to college.

可乐视频: Is there anything you have accomplished of which you are especially proud?

NA: I was awarded the Myself Third: Spirit of New York Scholarship in 2019, which was established to pay tribute to workers who acted selflessly in the disaster of 9/11. It is given to those who are civically engaged and display a strong sense of citizenship. I was chosen because of my community organizing on campus. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I worked to provide PPE equipment to first responders and essential workers. I was given the New York State Senate Proclamation: Community Empowerment Award by Senator Roxanne Persaud for civil service during the pandemic.

I also assisted the New York State public school system during the pandemic. The language barrier faced by many students of immigrant backgrounds led them to be reported to child services for lack of attendance. In fact, the students did not have reliable technology or access to remote learning in their home environment. I supported the outreach to get tablets and computers to students. I was able to help hundreds of families bridge that gap and educate them on resources available. I wrote to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris about my perspective on the future of American democracy and received a response from them recognizing my service and leadership.

可乐视频: What are your plans for the future?

NA: I was accepted to a competitive internship program, and will be living in Washington, D.C. this summer. The program鈥檚 mission is to systematically change Congress by empowering a diverse, inclusive, and effective generation of public servants. I鈥檒l be working directly with members of Congress and the Senate. All my living expenses will be covered, and I鈥檒l be able to focus on learning and making connections in D.C. without the limitations of financial resources. My immediate goal is to become a teacher and, ultimately, I鈥檇 like to run for local office. I want to help New Yorkers fight for the voices that have been silenced and pushed to the sidelines for so long.

可乐视频: What is the most valuable lesson gained? Any advice for incoming students?

NA: There are so many exceptional educators at 可乐视频. My best advice for students is to seek them out and build relationships with them. It鈥檚 easy to feel like just a number, but they have information and knowledge that can be transformational for your life if you take the initiative to build that connection.

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One year earlier the young sailor had been a 19-year-old sophomore at 可乐视频 studying music and playing in a local jazz band. After the United States entered World War II in December 1941 to join its allies against Germany, Japan, and other Axis powers, Firstman suspected he would eventually be drafted into the armed forces. The Bronx native decided not to wait and went with a friend to a recruitment point. Within weeks, he was boarding a train at Penn Station and off to basic training.

Firstman took a military aptitude test and was assigned to a unit in the Army Airways Communications System. His first assignment was in Africa, off the coast of Algeria. It was there that he boarded the former British passenger and cargo liner, the HMT (His Majesty鈥檚 Transport) Rohna, that would soon have profound impact on his life, and the lives of countless others. Shortly after departing for Bombay, India, as part of a convoy, the ship was hit by a guided glide bomb dropped by the German Luftwaffe. After the initial impact, Firstman managed to drop into the water and swim away from the listing ship. He clung to an oil barrel with two others and was eventually rescued by the USS Pioneer 10 hours later.

鈥淭he sun was setting and the half-submerged Rohna became a burning silhouette against the sky,鈥� said Firstman in an account of the ordeal for an upcoming documentary called Rohna: Classified. 鈥淲e [survivors] stopped to look at it for a few minutes, then turned back to the business at hand. The biggest problem now was the descending moonless night. Until our godsend [the Pioneer] came quietly out of the dark.鈥�

Firstman, along with many of the survivors of his convoy, continued to Bombay before completing a full tour of duty in China, Burma, and India.

After the war, the young veteran returned to 可乐视频 and completed his bachelor鈥檚 degree in music. He graduated in 1947 and went on to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in music at Columbia University. He married and decided to leave music and go into the jewelry manufacturing business. He would not know until much later how many of his fellow military personnel had not made it. Although it remains the greatest loss of American troops at sea due to enemy action鈥�1,138 died that day鈥攖he loss of the HMT Rohna was little discussed or acknowledged until decades after the attack.

After the event, family members of the deceased received vague telegrams months after the ship was lost, informing them that their loved one was considered missing in action. Survivors were reportedly instructed not to discuss what happened during the failed mission. The details were even further obscured from the public, as no news media or government official acknowledged what had occurred. This was not unusual, as military actions during a war were often considered top secret to prevent leaks and security breaches.

That was to change. After 50 years, the information on the Rohna sinking was declassified, and in 1999 (TRSMA) was established to connect remaining survivors and family members of those who perished while also bringing the tragedy to light.

To publicize the story of the Rohna, the association launched a letter-writing campaign in 2000 to gain congressional recognition of the event. They succeeded in October of that year when the House of Representatives voted unanimously to recognize the loss of HMT Rohna as a part of U.S. history.

鈥淢y father, Anthony Pumelia, who was in the Army Air Corps, was a Rohna survivor,鈥� says Janice Pumelia, adjunct professor of secondary education at 可乐视频 and secretary and board member of TRSMA. 鈥淓very Thanksgiving he would begin his story again and say something like, 鈥楾his was the day I went into the water and almost lost my life.鈥� It was kind of vague, the way he described it, but he did say he was rescued in about an hour. Most of the men were brought to Phillipsville, South Africa, to recuperate. He spent most of the next two years in China and India and returned home on Christmas Eve 1945.鈥�

Many years later, in 2002, the family located in California a friend who was on the ship that fateful day, John Messina. The following year the two veterans met for the first time in 60 years at a Rohna survivors reunion in Oklahoma City. 鈥淲hen my father passed in 2004, I found it difficult to go to the reunions,鈥� says Pumelia. 鈥淏ut I kept in touch.鈥� In 2014, the then English teacher and assistant principal retired from Midwood High School. That鈥檚 when TRSMA asked her to join their board as secretary. Having attended many reunions since then, she has met many of the survivors.

Whether it was kismet or coincidence, having not one, but two members of the 可乐视频 family tied to a little-known, historic event that was kept quiet for so long is certainly out of the ordinary. And both the alumnus and the professor are continuing to tell the story.

In an interview for The Palm Beach Post, it was divulged that Firstman, who turns 99 this February, is writing his memoir at the urging of his son, Rick, who is a journalist, and currently the senior writer and podcast director at the City University of New York鈥檚 Office of Communications.

And Pumelia is the education outreach coordinator for Rohna: Classified, which is still in production.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at the future, and how the association is going to function as we go forward,鈥� says Pumelia. 鈥淐reating an archive and making it available to researchers and history buffs is definitely something we鈥檇 like to do. Most importantly, we want the younger generation to know the story of what happened on November 26, 1943, and to be the voice for those who lost their lives on that day and the survivors who lived to tell the story.鈥�

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This summer, Sasha Roopchand 鈥�16, a physical education teacher at the Brooklyn Green School won a Big Apple Award鈥攐ne of 20 exceptional teachers to receive the honor this year out of thousands nominated across the city. Her success can be tied to her effort to make sure that physical education and health are taught as core subject.

鈥淪asha is like no other physical education teacher I have ever met,鈥� Brooklyn Green School principal Marcella Carr-Gay said about the award. 鈥淪he works diligently to change the narrative that physical education teachers are focused solely on physical education. She is a teacher of math and literacy, a leader in social emotional learning, instructional-minded, and scholarly.鈥�

Roopchand is a member of the math, literacy, and school leadership teams at her school, among other roles. Her work with her students extends beyond the classroom to include their families, and for all of her experience she is clear about the fundamentals: 鈥淪tudents do not care about how much a teacher knows until they have learned how much a teacher cares.鈥�

可乐视频: Congratulations on your Big Apple Teaching Award. Can you tell us a bit about how you will use the grant money that comes with it?

SR: There are grants that come along with the award that I will be able to use to fund and enhance my students鈥� learning experience and continue to build a strong physical education program. The award has also brought more attention to the school, more parents and other folks are reaching out to become involved.

可乐视频: What do you like most about being a physical education teacher?

SR: Teaching the students about the importance of practicing healthy habits and fitness, along with math and literacy is something that I am very passionate about. I like the freedom, flexibility, and trust and the support that Principal Marcella Car-Gay has in me. She understands my vision, to change how people think of physical education. In the end, I want to make sure that my students have all the opportunities they can before they go off to high school and out into the world.

可乐视频: It must have been tough teaching physical education during the pandemic.

SR: No, but the kids rely on you to be reliable. Even during difficult times you have to be an example for them, show teamwork, be dependable, be open to their feedback. Working remotely and keeping my students鈥� wellbeing at the fore was at times hard work.

可乐视频: What made you decide to choose 可乐视频 and pursue physical education?

SR: In high school I studied architecture, and realized that it wasn鈥檛 for me, so that is when I decided to explore and change my career plans to physical education. I decided to attend Brooklyn college because the diversity and culture there is amazing! As a Trinidadian, 可乐视频 made me feel very at home. It has a great physical education teaching program, and that was something that I was interested in studying. I am a big fan of sports and was also given the opportunity to play volleyball for the school. And I enjoyed working with kids and was passionate about fitness.

Being a student-athlete taught me transferable skills, such as the importance of being reliable, resilient, being a team player, being able to juggle multiple tasks, showing up on time, and most of all discipline. These are all things that have helped me with my teaching career. My coaches gave me the opportunity to grow and shape who I am as a person.

Laura Blitzer [lecturer, secondary education] played an integral role throughout my time at 可乐视频. She would always tell me that I would excel in teaching, and has continued to encourage me and give me confidence. I was a volunteer in the Peer Health Exchange club at the college, which is a health-education program where we do volunteer work at different high schools throughout the city. In the physical education teaching program, I was trained in classroom management, and I have brought this all to my students and classroom. The program truly paved the way for me.

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