The psychology major has taken full advantage of the academic and experiential opportunities available to him. Through The Tow Mentoring and Research Program, which pairs students with faculty mentors to conduct scholarship, Shaad worked in a biochemistry lab studying the link between bone health and diabetes.

Through Global Medical Brigades, he volunteered in rural clinics in Panama and Belize. He later interned in Morocco through a study-abroad internship, observing surgeries and shadowing physicians. He most recently spent a summer in Kenya through Columbia University鈥檚 ICAP Next Generation Internship, an initiative funded by The Tow Foundation that provides students with opportunities in global public health. In addition to the internship, he worked alongside a doctor building a new hospital鈥攕omething he dreams of doing in his native Bangladesh.

Shaad鈥檚 engagement extends far beyond the classroom. He has served as president of the Philosophy Society, competed internationally with the Speech and Debate Team, and played on the 可乐视频 tennis team, helping lead them to two City University of New York Athletic Conference finals. These experiences strengthened his leadership skills while reinforcing a sense of belonging and purpose.

鈥溈衫质悠� has so many opportunities,鈥� Shaad says. 鈥淚f you reach out, the people and resources here can truly change your life.鈥�

He is on track to graduate in spring 2026 and is applying to medical school, carrying forward the impact of an education designed to open doors and transform lives.

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As the nation鈥檚 first state鈥慺unded academic opportunity initiative, SEEK has opened doors to higher education for more than 100,000 CUNY students from underrepresented communities, helping generations of 可乐视频 students achieve academic success, leadership excellence, and lifelong impact.

鈥淪EEK has not only opened doors to higher education, but it has also transformed lives,鈥� said 可乐视频 President Michelle J. Anderson. 鈥淗ere at 可乐视频, we see every day how this program empowers students. Celebrating this anniversary reaffirms our commitment to access, equity, and opportunity for generations to come.鈥�

Reflecting on the strength of the SEEK community at 可乐视频, SEEK Director Randall Clarke said: 鈥淓very day in SEEK, we see students push boundaries, discover new strengths, and build futures they once thought were out of reach. This anniversary honors not just six decades of history, but the resilience, dedication, and brilliance of our students and alumni. We are proud to be part of their journeys and to continue supporting their success.鈥�

A Legacy Born from the Civil Rights Era

SEEK was born out of the Civil Rights movement and student activism of the 1960s, responding to calls for greater equity in higher education. Initially piloted at City College in 1965 to increase enrollment of Black and Hispanic students, SEEK provided individualized courses, specialized academic support, and mentorship from trained educators.

In 1966, the program became the nation鈥檚 first state鈥慺unded academic opportunity initiative, thanks to the legislative leadership of Assembly Members Percy E. Sutton and Shirley Chisholm, a 可乐视频 alumna and trailblazing congresswoman. SEEK鈥檚 success inspired similar programs, including the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at SUNY, and laid the foundation for expanded access at 可乐视频 and across CUNY.

Celebrating 鈥淪EEK at 60!鈥� at 可乐视频

可乐视频鈥檚 anniversary series honors six decades of achievement and community impact:

• February 24: Tribute to the legacies of Percy E. Sutton and Shirley Chisholm, featuring alumni reflections on how SEEK shaped their journeys.
• March 17: 鈥淭hey Lead! Celebrating Women鈥檚 Strength and Success鈥� panel, featuring accomplished SEEK alumnae discussing mentorship, representation, and resilience.
• April 23: Quilt鈥慚aking Marathon Workshop, an intergenerational collaboration between students and alumni creating a visual tribute to SEEK鈥檚 vibrant community.
• May 11: 鈥淪EEK Day鈥� officially recognized by the Brooklyn Borough President鈥檚 Office, celebrating the program鈥檚 transformative role in higher education and public service.
• All the information and registration for these events are .

Transforming Lives Across Generations

At 可乐视频, SEEK continues to provide academic support, tutoring, financial assistance, counseling, and career guidance, helping students overcome barriers and realize their full potential. Since 1990, CUNY-wide SEEK participants have earned over 60,000 associate and bachelor鈥檚 degrees, 可乐视频 recently launched the Innovative Career Opportunity and Research Program, providing research experience and graduate school preparation for up to 150 students each year.

可乐视频 is proud to sustain SEEK鈥檚 mission for the next generation. Through continued access, academic support, mentorship, and community engagement, the College ensures that students from all backgrounds can thrive academically, professionally, and personally. SEEK remains at the heart of 可乐视频鈥檚 commitment to opportunity, excellence, and social mobility.

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Jacques decided there may be something to his late-night thought. In spring 2023, after a year-and-a-half hiatus from school, the sophomore returned to 可乐视频, where he received an invitation to participate in an arranged by the Koppelman School of Business. The contest required students to come up with an idea for a business, pitch it, and create a business plan. He kept reading: Faculty and alumni judges would be critiquing his work, helping him to fine-tune his idea. He didn鈥檛 want to miss this unique mentorship opportunity.

How did you go from idea to pitching your concept to entrepreneurs?

I鈥檓 constantly thinking about all kinds of things: fashion, finance, entrepreneurship, storytelling. The pandemic took away get-togethers and group experiences. People were not meeting in person, in real-time, as much as we had before. We had lost the opportunities to socialize face-to-face in groups while we isolated. In 2022, I was falling asleep in my bedroom, and the idea just came to me: Good Time Cinema.

How would Good Time Cinema work?

I鈥檓 looking to bring back the experience of movie-going with a twist. Theatergoers would reserve one of several screening rooms in the theater for a specific time of day to watch a film of their choice鈥攑rovided by a partnered streaming service鈥攚ith family and friends. The concept is about bringing people together.

How did you decide to pitch the idea to your peers, professors, and fellow entrepreneurs?

My minor is business, so I enrolled in a business marketing class taught by Assistant Professor of Business Management Laura Rifkin and heard about the competition. I thought it would be a cool way to promote my idea. I sent a six-minute YouTube pitch to the Idea Competition judges, who were faculty and alumni. The video was pretty rough, but I was allowed to enter the next stage, the Pitch Competition. This is where you present a more polished version of your idea. The next and final stage was the Business Plan Competition, where I came in third.

So, the Business Plan Competition allowed you to fine-tune your idea with experts.

Yes. The competition was great because the judges gave me constructive criticism; it was more than just 鈥渢hat鈥檚 a good idea.鈥� I got some very helpful feedback from alumnus Ted Liebowitz 鈥�79, who has been a mentor at 可乐视频 for quite some time. I wouldn鈥檛 have gotten as far as I did without the help of Mr. Liebowitz and Roger Gonzalez, director of the Entrepreneurship Lab here. The same goes for Douglas Adams, director of the CUNY Technology Commercialization Office. He connected me with people who helped me flesh out my idea even further. And Associate Professor Veronica Manlow was key in running the competition and mentoring students.

Professor Rifkin鈥檚 course also helped me understand the nuts and bolts of creating a business plan and about partnerships. In my case, I鈥檇 need to partner with a streaming service, such as Netflix or other services, to make as much content available to customers as possible. And then there鈥檚 marketing. I鈥檓 looking to market Good Time Cinema as an authentic experience, but also an experience that鈥檚 not available anywhere else. Something exclusive. I鈥檝e done the research and there are few, if any, theaters in the United States that would offer a unique experience such as mine.

What progress have you made since the competition?

Last spring, I was able to set up a screening in the West End Building of an episode of HBO鈥檚 The Last of Us, and the turnout was very good. There were shared laughs, cries, and jokes. It was the type of experience I鈥檓 looking to provide鈥攆un among friends and peers at the movies. I learned the mechanics of how to work with a streaming service. This past summer, I had Zoom calls and exchanged e-mails with an executive director from a movie theater company, learning how to make my plan a reality. I鈥檓 grateful for that.

So 可乐视频 has delivered for you as a place to find support toward your career goals?

Yes, and I hadn鈥檛 planned to attend 可乐视频! I wanted to go upstate, like my brother and a couple of my friends. But I got into SEEK (the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge Program), which is an incredibly supportive program for someone like me, who was a first-time college student. SEEK got me to 可乐视频, Koppelman, the competition, and a chance to incubate more ideas using the resources the school offers. I鈥檓 looking forward to the rest of my time here.

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None of his friends wanted to go, but he saw a day off from classes and thought, why not? He ended up with a full ride to study at Queens to become a math teacher. After graduation, a fortuitous invitation to visit the Red Cross landed him a job as a youth coordinator. Just over a year later, an administrator at Queens, remembering that Clarke had tutored in the college鈥檚 Upward Bound program as an undergraduate, invited him to apply to be its assistant director.

鈥淚 just go where I鈥檓 invited,鈥� says Clarke, who came to 可乐视频 in 2012 and now serves as director of the Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK Program, which is funded by New York state and provides increased access to higher education for students who are considered economically disadvantaged and academically underprepared. 鈥淚t has worked out for me.鈥�

Clarke talks about his work with his students, his love for soca music, and why he knows he鈥檚 exactly where he was meant to be despite life鈥檚 detours.

You鈥檝e managed to create an intimate, niche community with the SEEK Program. How has that come together?

I start that from Day One, when the first-year students come in for our summer program. It鈥檚 important to me to get to know their names. And once they see I鈥檓 trying, they start testing me and are always pleasantly surprised that I remember. I am very purposeful about trying to create a community feeling. I want them to see me on the quad and say hello, which they do. Or if they鈥檙e going through a crisis and need someone to speak to, they feel comfortable enough to say, 鈥淢r. Clarke, can I talk to you for a minute?鈥�

I like to talk about the things that impact their education. I don鈥檛 tell them that they have to work hard. That鈥檚 not tangible. I need to engage them in what they physically need to do. So we talk about what time they go to sleep. I ask questions: Are you drinking water? Are you eating meals? Do you exercise? What are your goals? Why are you here? Who is supporting you, and who are you supporting?

You refer to their start in the summer program as Day One, but lately you鈥檝e been doing a lot of work to plant the seed before students even get here.

听Well, with my background with TRIO Talent Search and Upward Bound, where I had to do recruitment to make sure we had our numbers to keep our funding, I connected with many high schools. So I had contacts that allowed me to do presentations about the program. I saw that there was a stigma attached to SEEK, like it was a program for students who are not smart, so they need SEEK. In actuality, it鈥檚 not that eligible students are not smart, they just haven鈥檛 had a chance to demonstrate their academic abilities. So we give them the opportunity in an intentional space to demonstrate that they can do the work.

I kind of jumped in the recruitment game on my own. I saw a lot of young Black males in some of the schools who wanted mentorship, so I started inviting [Black and Latino Male Initiative Director] David [Wells] ’08, ’20 M.S., to come along. I saw many undocumented students who needed that support, so I invited Jesus [Perez 鈥�95, director of the Immigrant Student Success Office]. And then we started thinking about programming and trying to design different interactions that will keep us engaged with a variety of schools.

听And recruitment isn鈥檛 the only thing you鈥檙e moonlighting!

听I DJ with my brother from time to time. I love soca music. He鈥檚 actually the DJ and I鈥檓 the emcee, and I mostly just help at family gatherings. I鈥檓 also working on a novel that I hope to get published. It鈥檚 a fantasy kind of thing, mixing aspects of Christian history with fantasy. It鈥檚 cool. It鈥檚 something that has been on my bucket list. And I want to get my doctorate in higher education leadership.

听That all sounds like more than enough to keep you busy.

听The work is a blessing. I am happiest when I get to work with students. I get to help young people realize their potential. I get to advocate for them. And I get to see the students who say, 鈥淚 am so grateful for you. Thank you for doing this. I owe this degree to you.鈥�

And I tell them, 鈥淚鈥檓 but a passenger in the car. You鈥檙e driving. And I鈥檓 humbled that I get to be along for the ride.鈥�

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