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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鈥淎nnette is the backbone of the SEEK program,鈥� says Clarke. 鈥淪he has uplifted several directors, a long list of advisers, and countless students. Her support often transcends her position as she has filled gaps helping with advisement and assisting with recruitment and enrollment efforts鈥攁nd the list goes on.鈥�

Nesbit, who earned a master鈥檚 degree in math education while working at 可乐视频, finds connecting with students especially rewarding. From among the countless students she has assisted over the years, two particular encounters stand out.

鈥淭here was a student who came to me crying because she was told not to take a certain course because she would fail it,鈥� says Nesbit. 鈥淚 told her to prove the person wrong by doing her best to pass the course. She came back at the end of the term; she passed with an A. 鈥�

Nesbit recalls that another student had a math phobia. 鈥淚 worked with her from freshman year until she graduated to overcome that fear,鈥� she says. 鈥淪he contacted me this month to let me know she completed her first semester in nursing school and to thank me for helping her conquer her fear of math.鈥�

A commitment to students is clearly at the foundation of Nesbit鈥檚 work at 可乐视频, where she has been an adjunct lecturer in the Math Department, teaching SEEK students, and an academic adviser for the 可乐视频 Bound program, which allows qualified students who have earned their GED or TASC high school equivalency certification to enter 可乐视频 as full-time freshmen.

When not on campus, she enjoys watching basketball, traveling, and spending time with her family, including her two sons鈥斺�渂oth college graduates,鈥� she proudly shares.

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可乐视频: When did you get bitten by the theater bug?

FV: My passion for theater started way back in middle and high school when I always joined the drama clubs, even if it was only after school. I remember being Mary Warren in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, in high school and feeling like I was forever changed after performing. I immersed myself in the drama, so theater was rightfully my first option for my major.

可乐视频: Why 可乐视频?

FV: I never thought I would land in Brooklyn, but then one day my English teacher, who was also the drama director, invited a former student who was pursuing a B.F.A. in acting from 可乐视频, and she spoke to me about her experience. At the time I was still deciding whether to attend college. She said, 鈥淚gnore every other school offer you get and go straight to 可乐视频.鈥� I am glad I listened.

可乐视频: What were some challenges for you?

FV: 可乐视频 taught me to be a better person. I gained social and leadership skills鈥攖hings that helped me to build my confidence, to be a person who can succeed in the real world. Because I come from a strict family, I never had opportunities to learn from people my age and to build on my character from socializing with my peers. So, it took some courage at first, but that soon changed. Many of the courses I took made socializing and project collaboration unavoidable, which helped me sharpen my iron.

可乐视频: You sharpened it enough to become a peer mentor for the SEEK program. What was that experience like?

FV: I like being a mentor to students. This summer, SEEK will have a new roster of peer mentors who were once students I mentored. I can鈥檛 help to be proud of myself and them, because it was a learning experience for us all.

可乐视频: What is your advice for future theater majors?

FV: In the first couple of years, I did not think the program was meant for me. It鈥檚 hard ignoring that the typical character on Broadway and even Off-Broadway is usually straight, White, and attractive. I began thinking that I would not be able to find a good job in theater and even contemplated changing my major to forensic anthropology at one point.

FV: But then I took a course called Devising and Collaborative Creation in fall 2020. It was a magnificent class because my professors, Emmanuel Simmons and Ralf Jean-Pierre, would always encourage us and repeatedly taught the class to be faster than our critics and louder than our worries. It made me realize that I do not have to be a certain way to be an effective member of a theater environment. I want newer theater majors to know this and to self-actualize in their space early on, to capitalize more on this program as much as possible. Also, they should not hesitate to confide their worries in the department鈥檚 chair, Laura Tesman, because she is like a mother to everyone!

可乐视频: What鈥檚 next for you?

First, I鈥檓 waiting to hear back from the Public Theater about a showcase of new work by recent graduates of the 可乐视频 Theater Department. Next, I want to take a break. When I started school in the Dominican Republic, I was only two years old. I have been attending educational institutions for two decades. I will go to grad school for playwriting in about a year or two. Further down the line, I am hoping to become a well-known professional in the theater world to push for inclusivity of race and gender at the vanguard of the industry.

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So, he hid them. The first in his family to attempt to navigate the American higher education system, he didn鈥檛 know to apply for financial aid. After a gap year, a taste of the workforce, and a renewed commitment to his education, he applied to 可乐视频.

This time, because he applied through the Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge program鈥攂etter known as SEEK鈥攈is acceptance letter came with an offer to help fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

It changed the course of his life. While studying in the Television and Radio Department,听he received a federal Work-Study grant and began what would turn out to be a 10-year stint in the college鈥檚 Office of Financial Aid, where he worked his way up to director before being named the college鈥檚 executive director of strategic initiatives two years ago.

可乐视频: You were offered a job in the Financial Aid Office, but you had been planning for a career as a documentary filmmaker. What made you switch the trajectory of your career?

MR: When I started working here, I realized I loved what I was doing. Because of my own experience trying to finance my education, I loved what financial aid did for students. I loved what it stood for. I knew the system and I was good at talking to students.

That all translated to me being good at my job, so I was offered a full-time position before I finished my master鈥檚 degree. And I never left.

可乐视频: How did your experience in that office impact your outlook and shape what you do now?

MR: I loved those early days. I could have stayed in financial aid, but it鈥檚 an area that has lots of rules and regulations. I saw how things that were completely out of our hands had an impact on a student鈥檚 aid. I saw students with $3,000 bills because their New York State Tuition Assistance Program funding fell through. Maybe they weren鈥檛 taking the right courses that led to graduation and they wasted their time and their money. It was heartbreaking. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch did an interview once at the end of his term where he said, 鈥淚f I knew I wanted to be mayor, I should have run for governor of New York.鈥� So much was decided at the state level. That鈥檚 how I was starting to feel about financial aid. We were the last car in the train. Some of the problems started far back and we weren鈥檛 in a position to rectify them.

I began my Ph.D. in leadership and policy in urban education in 2016 at the CUNY Graduate Center and it allowed me to take a step back and think about where I could have an impact. I realized that I needed to be on the other side. I wanted to work on issues like student success, graduation and retention, curriculum alignment. I wanted to work on big projects that were more strategic.

可乐视频: What kind of projects?

MR: In my new job, I look at things like how you connect something happening in purchasing or facilities to the goal of the college. We want to tie everything in finance and administration into the mission so that every unit is working toward the goal of the college itself.

I want to take this portfolio, at the direction of the senior vice president for finance and administration, build large cross-pillar initiatives, and work with various finance and administration cabinet areas to address concerns such as divisional assessments and tightening processes. I鈥檝e worked on everything from making sure that reentry goes smoothly to helping shape and coordinate the open forums so that we could be transparent within the college community.

I will also work to bring back the administration of the Performing Arts Center at 可乐视频. That鈥檚 a good fit for me because I have a background in musical theater. I remember big shows there when I was growing up. Central Brooklyn has very few venues of this size supporting the arts.

The exciting part is that every time I finish a project, I can move on to something else, so my job keeps changing.

可乐视频: Do you get as much satisfaction since you are not working as directly with students?

MR: Accrediting bodies used to focus more on academics, but now everything at the college needs to support the mission. Colleges and universities haven鈥檛 traditionally looked at student success from a money perspective. That鈥檚 part of what I am doing. I don鈥檛 want to see students in good academic standing drop out because of a snag on the financial side.

It all comes back to our core purpose of access to education. It鈥檚 all related to graduation and retention. So, working on these things gives me a lot of satisfaction. It makes me feel useful. It鈥檚 my 鈥渨hy.鈥�

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Photography by Craig Stokle.

On November 27, 可乐视频, and the nation, celebrated Shirley Chisholm Day 2018, which came in the same month as the 50th anniversary of Chisholm’s historic election to the U.S. Congress. The Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism and its director Zinga A. Fraser Ph.D. held a day-long symposium on campus featuring a keynote dialogue with activist, American Book Award- and Academy of American Poets’ Wallace Stevens Lifetime Achievement Award-winning poet Sonia Sanchez Ph.D.

Sanchez remembered Chisholm as “someone who dressed for the establishment but spoke for the people. She taught us to speak out. And she never neglected to mention the shoulders she stood upon, clearing a path for those who stand upon her shoulders.”

The standing-room-only event also featured local and state politicians, as well as two of the preeminent black women scholars in the field of political science: Christina Greer of Fordham University and Niambi Carter of Howard University.

“One of the things that really stood out to me about Chisholm was that she was early to the conversation about the racism inherent in U.S. immigration policy,” said Carter. “That critique is really important and prescient now when we’re talking about refugees at the border who are being tear-gassed, arrested, and turned away for seeking relief from political and other kinds of persecution.”

“We have Andrea Stewart Cousins as the first African-American woman New York Senate Democratic Leader, and Tish James, the first African-American woman elected statewide as Attorney General,” added Greer. “That’s only possible because of the work Chisholm did in Albany and the foundation she laid. Those women have a real, direct lineage tracing right back to her.”

贵谤补蝉别谤鈥攚丑辞 and is currently working on听the book, Sister Insider/ Sister Outsider: Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan Black Women’s Politics in the Post-Civil Rights Era, which will be the first comparative study of black congressional women鈥攎oderated the day’s events and spoke of Chisholm’s lasting influence on politics.

“Chisholm’s political legacy is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago because it not only allowed a nation and the world to imagine a black woman as a participant in American Democracy, but also identify her as a leader that transformed Congress and democratic institutions from the inside,” Fraser said. “Chisholm’s is a story of resilience and her political career serves as a strategy for a new generation of leaders who are no longer asking for a seat at the table, but bringing their own folding chair, as Chisholm once instructed. We can see this in the new class of diverse women entering Congress in January. Because Chisholm brought a chair, they can now have a seat.”

Shirley Chisholm graduated cum laude from 可乐视频 in 1946 with a bachelor of arts in sociology and anthropology. She was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968. In 1972, she became first major-party black candidate for president of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Chisholm’s iconic “Unbought and Unbossed” and “Catalyst for Change” and campaigns united women, the working class, and racial minorities in a diverse coalition of voters. Far more than just a symbolic figure, Chisholm was a vociferous champion for policies that improved the lives of marginalized people. In the NY legislature, she pioneered the Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) program. The program is funded by New York State to provide financial support and individualized counseling low-income students who enroll in the CUNY system. To this day, students at all CUNY member colleges have greater access to higher education as a result of her legislative work.

She also fought for unemployment benefits for domestic workers鈥攁 measure which she considered among her proudest achievements. Later, she would also champion this issue in the U.S. House of Representatives, sponsoring a bill to ensure minimum wage to domestic workers. As a national figure, she opposed the massive war spending in Vietnam in the face of significant poverty in the United States. She advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment, enlisting more women into positions of political power, publicly funded daycare, parental leave, civil rights and political autonomy for black people, voting rights for all, and women’s reproductive freedom. Further, she was deeply concerned with issues of hunger, lending her influence to the expansion of food stamps and acting as a key architect of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

Chisholm passed away in 2005 at the age of 80. That same year, Shirley Chisholm Day, which generally falls on or near her November 30 birthday, was created to remember and celebrate her life and achievements. In 2015, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama. Earlier this year, it was announced that a massive would be , with the park’s amphitheater to be named after her. The first phase of the space is set to open in the summer of 2019. In 2020, a . Keeping Chisholm’s enduring legacy safe, the Shirley Chisholm Project maintains the world’s largest collection of Chisholm-related artifacts, archived at the .

Information on how to support the Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism is available on the .

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The day of events will be headlined by award-winning poet and author Sonia Sanchez in a keynote dialogue with Chisholm Project Director听Zinga A. Fraser, Ph.D.听Sanchez is a towering figure in the Civil Rights and Black Arts movement, an international lecturer on racial justice, women鈥檚 liberation, and human rights, as well as the author of over 20 books of poetry. In addition to her long list of accolades, she was recently awarded the Wallace Stevens Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Academy of American Poets. As keynote speaker for the 50th anniversary celebration of Chisholm鈥檚 election to Congress, Sanchez will speak at length on Chisholm鈥檚 legacy and the black freedom movement, in addition to her activism and art during oppressive political times.

The symposium will also include a panel discussion entitled, 鈥淭he State of Black Women鈥檚 Politics.鈥� Assembled for the roundtable will be some of the eminent black women scholars in the field of political science, as well as one of New York鈥檚 most influential grassroots strategists for social justice. They include: Christina Greer of Fordham University; Monica Dennis, coordinator of Black Lives Matter NYC and co-founder of Move to End Violence; Nadia Brown of Purdue University; and Niambi Carter of Howard University. Fraser will serve as moderator. Together, these strategists and scholars will delve into the promise and perils that face black women in 2018 and beyond as they follow in Chisholm鈥檚 footsteps as catalysts for change in the political system and broader society.

Shirley St. Hill Chisholm is one of 可乐视频鈥檚 most illustrious and influential alumni. Her iconic 鈥淯nbossed and Unbought鈥� campaign united women, the working class, and racial minorities in a diverse coalition of voters to secure her rise to national prominence in 1968. Far more than just a symbolic figure, Chisholm was a vociferous champion for policies that improved the lives of marginalized people on both the state and national level. In the New York legislature, she pioneered the Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) program to expand educational opportunities for low-income students as well as unemployment benefits for domestic workers. As a national figure, she fought against the massive war spending in Vietnam in the face of significant poverty in the United States. She fought for the Equal Rights Amendment, enlisting more women into positions of political power, and publicly funded daycare, parental leave, civil rights, and political autonomy for black people, voting rights for all, and women鈥檚 reproductive freedom. Further, she was deeply concerned with issues of hunger, lending her influence to the expansion of food stamps and acting as a key architect of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

Now, decades after 鈥楩ighting鈥� Shirley Chisholm鈥檚 campaign for justice on the national stage began, women like her remain at its vanguard against all odds. Chisholm Day will not only honor the history that was made in years past, but also the strides that women are making today in the #MeToo movement, the Women鈥檚 March, the movement for Black Lives, and in the contemporary works of women of color like Ayanna Pressley, Stacy Abrams, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, London Breed, and Letitia James鈥攁ll of whom are marching towards the halls of power and renewing Chisholm鈥檚 mandate for social and political transformation.

For more information on the Chisholm Project, visit our听website. For more details on this historic event, contact the Project via e-mail at听chisholmproject@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

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Margaret Iuni is the valedictorian of the 可乐视频 Class of 2018.

She was born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn surrounded by a large family of Irish and Italian heritage. Before coming to 可乐视频, she attended Bishop Kearney High School where she took classes through St. Joseph’s College.

A William E. Macaulay Honors College student, Iuni majored in English education for grades 7鈥�12 and minored in history with a focus on New York City studies. She chose 可乐视频 because of its affordability, diversity, and outstanding reputation in education and the humanities. She has a 4.00 grade point average and has made the Dean’s List every semester she has attended 可乐视频.

Iuni is a very active scholar. She interned for Professor Roni Natov in the English Majors’ Counseling Office, where she advised students on program requirements and helped publish the Department of English student magazine, The Junction. She also contributed to the office’s blog. She was president of the Macaulay Creative Writing Club and a member of 可乐视频’s Eta Theta Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society for education. She was the recipient of the 2017 Herb Berman Memorial Scholarship for academic merit and civic service, the 2017 Special Merit Award for Outstanding Contribution to the English Department, and served as the Lisa Goldberg/Revson Scholar in 2016 for her service to New York City. She indicates that 可乐视频 faculty have been essential to her success, noting that Professor Natov, Professor Priya Parmar, and Adjunct Professors Sivan Butler-Rotholz and Janice Pumelia have profoundly affected her life both academically and personally.

In classic 可乐视频 spirit, Iuni has dedicated her life to the education, advancement, and empowerment of younger generations. She is a student teacher at Brooklyn Collegiate Preparatory High School, and assistant coach and team judge of the forensics (speech and debate) team at Xaverian High School. Previously, she was a summer supplemental music history instructor and English tutor for the 可乐视频 Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK Program, assistant teacher at the Buckley School of Irish Dance, and a peer mentor for her fellow students at 可乐视频. She serves as a research assistant on Professor Parmar’s upcoming publication focused on dismantling the school to prison pipeline through hip-hop pedagogy. Iuni’s civic engagement extends to the nonprofit sector; in 2014, she founded the 可乐视频 Relay for Life Club to raise money for the . Just recently, she from the City of New York for outstanding volunteer efforts.

Next year, she plans to attend New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Science Program for English and Comparative Literature, with the goal of becoming a full-time high school teacher. She hopes to continue to guide young adults toward a more empathetic and tolerant worldview through literary studies and mentor students in need of academic guidance.

In that vein, Iuni was asked her thoughts on solutions to some of the biggest problems young people receiving a public education face as it relates to equity and resources. This is what she had to say.

“With the caveat that there are scholars and policymakers who have researched this topic extensively and are much better equipped to address the multifaceted problem of inequity in the public education system than I am, I believe that incorporating critical pedagogy in a classroom would be a great place to begin. Critical pedagogues aim to provide a democratic, relevant, and experience-inclusive education to all students despite differences in race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, language, ability, age, class, or any other element of a student’s identity. It extends beyond the formal curriculum and empowers all students to develop strong individual and group identities by questioning hegemonic (social hierarchical) powers within cultures and subcultures that are relevant to them. Incorporating critical theory and multiple literacies in a high school English classroom may at first seem like a difficult task because many schools still subscribe to the literary canon of books written by typically white Western men. However, by incorporating students’ experiences and cultures, and by diversifying course materials, students can contextualize and engage with traditional texts more effectively, while becoming empowered to question and incite change.

My experiences as a student of an English secondary education program have framed my desire to place the field of literature in dialogue with student experiences as a way to examine the human condition without excluding narratives curated for younger audiences. I believe the introduction of the intersection of literary studies and youth studies in my own classroom could spark the formation of political, social, and economic thought in young readers. Critically reading literature is vital to the creation of well-rounded, well-adjusted global citizens. In a diverse city such as New York, wherein dozens of cultures collide on a daily basis, it simply does not make sense to perpetuate a single-culture environment. The study of literature within the context of students’ experiences can pedagogically shape attitudes towards students’ own identities as well as to those that are different from theirs. I am a firm believer that valuing students’ experiences from all backgrounds and instilling a culture of respect within a classroom can help positively shape students’ lives and those whom they come in contact with. I have personally witnessed the positive effects that critical reading can have on the lives of students whose cultures are often forgotten or have been actively removed from the curriculum and who hide parts of themselves to ‘fit in.'”

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“Kudos to President Obama for recognizing Shirley Chisholm and what she represents,” said 可乐视频 President Karen L. Gould at the 2015 Shirley Chisholm Day program, held on Nov. 17 in the 可乐视频 Student Center. Keynoting the annual event in honor of Chisholm was Robin D.G. Kelley, the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at the University of California-Los Angeles.

“The college has a very long history of graduating students who go on to serve in public office and do amazing things. We say in our mission statement that one of the things we want our students to acquire is the ability to think critically, a quality exemplified in the work and continuing significance of Shirley Chisholm,” added President Gould.

“At 可乐视频 and the Shirley Chisholm Project, we’re already aware of how great Chisholm was. We’re very pleased that President Obama and the White House have also acknowledged that greatness鈥攁nd with one of the highest honors in the land,” says Fraser. “It’s a testament to Chisholm’s enduring legacy and lasting impact.”

Chisholm ’46, the first African American woman elected to Congress, representing Brooklyn’s 12th congressional district, is best known for being the first major-party black candidate for president of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. She was instrumental in the creation of SEEK, cofounding the National Political Congress of Black Women, and also helping to found the .

Chisholm’s memoir Unbought and Unbossed details her grassroots, community-building efforts among a wide variety of constituencies, including blacks, whites, Latinos, lower-income and middle-class families, women across demographics, and the LGBT community. Her work with the last group, Fraser says, was ahead of its time and often overlooked by scholars. It also illustrates how difficult forging these alliances can be, even in a place like Brooklyn, which, according to Fraser, has one of the highest numbers of black women elected to public office in the country.

“Her ability to create coalitions that transcended gender, race and class is what makes Chisholm’s political career admirable, revolutionary and radical,” says Jenna Carter Johnson, a student majoring in sociology, who spoke at the Chisholm Day event. “Today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement was created by three women of color in 2012 and seems to mirror Chisholm’s strategy of inclusion as it wishes to affirm the existence of all black people, including the disabled, incarcerated, undocumented and all of those along the gender spectrum.”

“Chisholm also tells us a great deal about the possibility and importance of learning from political failures,” says Fraser, a former endowed post-doctoral fellow in women’s and gender studies and recipient of the ‘s 2014 Byran Jackson Dissertation Research on Minority Politics Award. “As much as her story is about the aspirational, groundbreaking work that she did, it’s also about the constraints in coalition building. In the end, it wasn’t her ability to connect these groups, but the inability of these groups to work together for a common cause. But even in her failure to get various coalitions to work collectively, she provides us with some of the playbook that would later be utilized by our current president.” Fraser is currently writing a book that is a comparative study of Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan, as well as other black women political figures, in the context of examining their political genius, the different strategies they used to affect change.

The Shirley Chisholm Project maintains听the world’s largest听collection听of Chisholm-related artifacts, archived at the . Fraser took over the role of director from Barbara Winslow and is very excited about the efforts to raise Chisholm’s profile as a central and influential figure in the contemporary political landscape. Fraser also hopes to raise awareness and funds to accomplish things like bolstering the archive, creating paid internships that will allow students to work on Chisholm-related projects and conferences, and perhaps even financing scholarships in Chisholm’s name.

The is “presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Visit the Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 a true honor and privilege to be the college鈥檚 valedictorian,鈥� Kurian says. 鈥淚鈥檓 extremely grateful to the school鈥檚 administration for giving me the opportunity to address my fellow graduates at commencement.鈥�

Kurian is the son of immigrants from Kerala, India, who came to the United States in the 1980s. He grew up in Yonkers, N.Y., and moved, with his family, to White Plains, N.Y. when he was in high school. While he is from a family that is no stranger to the field of medicine (his mother and one of his sisters are nurses; another sister is a pharmacist), he will be the first doctor. Kurian鈥檚 mother was the inspiration for his medical aspirations.

鈥淚 was able to see what nurses did and how people appreciated them,鈥� he says about observing his mother in her workplace. 鈥淎side from a certain level of respect and job stability, medical care is something that all people need, and usually in a moment of desperation. I like being able to help people, especially when they need it most.鈥�

In order to make certain his path to medical school was a sure and steady one, Kurian applied to 可乐视频, which offers the Coordinated B.A.鈥揗.D. Program, guaranteeing students acceptance into SUNY Downstate Medical Center鈥檚 College of Medicine, provided they maintain a high level of academic excellence. While the program allows for students to select any major, it also encourages them to major in the humanities and social sciences so that they are able to take a holistic approach to medicine.

鈥淎 guaranteed spot in medical school is very appealing,鈥� Kurian notes. 鈥淎lso, 可乐视频 isn鈥檛 too far from home and is a prime location for students like me, who are not from the city proper, to explore and enjoy Brooklyn, as well as the rest of New York City.鈥�

Another aspect of the 可乐视频 experience that Kurian found invaluable was the opportunity to study abroad. As treasurer of the Study Abroad Scholarship Association (SASA), Kurian believes that it is essential for students to broaden their horizons outside of the classroom, use their strengths to help others, and most importantly, have the financial means to be able to make the journey. In 2013, he joined the Global Medical Brigades, where he traveled to Estel铆, Nicaragua to set up a medical center and build latrines for the citizens there. The experience had a lasting impact on him.

鈥淎fter my team had built a latrine for one of the houses, the oldest son of the house was very grateful for our work,鈥� Kurian recalls. 鈥淚 saw him connect the running water and felt humbled by the fact that I had grown up with a bathroom in my house鈥攁 basic hygienic necessity鈥攚ithout even thinking about who had built it or where it came from. Although the latrine was not luxurious by any means, he was thrilled by it. That really struck me and made me feel like I made a difference in someone’s life.鈥�

In addition to helping those abroad, Kurian enjoys helping those at home. As president of the 可乐视频 chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, he spearheaded several community service projects that included helping to build a playground in Breezy Point, N.Y., and raising funds for the Military Heroes Campaign and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.听 And he tutors students in the sciences, both privately and at the SEEK Learning and Study Center.

鈥淚鈥檓 confident that my education at 可乐视频 has set me up to do well in medical school,鈥� Kurian says. 鈥淎side from what I learned in class, I learned how to engage with a diverse group of people, which I believe is a necessary and valuable skill for a physician.鈥�

Kurian, a student with a cumulative 4.00 GPA and recipient of the Christoph M. Kimmich Award for Academic Excellence, is receiving his bachelor of arts degree in psychology at the baccalaureate commencement ceremony on May 28, where he will also give the valedictory address to an audience of thousands.

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