Monthly Archives: April 2018

News, Student and Alumni News

On the Ground: Examining the Opioid Crisis

A group of fourteen Macaulay Honors College students recently returned from a week-long program in western New York state where they gained a better understanding of that region’s opioid addiction crisis—and of themselves. The goal of the contemplative service learning trip was to bring students inside a current phenomenon so that they could see it firsthand, hear from people directly affected, speak with experts in the field, and examine the issue from several critical vantages.

But the program has another experiential component, beyond academic learning. The trip integrated mental health and wellness activities—yoga and daily periods of guided meditation—to help develop students into compassionate, thoughtful, and effective leaders.

“I was eager to learn more about the opioid crisis while serving a community affected by this epidemic, but I couldn’t fully understand the incorporation of meditative practices into our agenda” confessed Paula Bongiovanni ’19 (College of Staten Island). “After a 3-day silent-retreat, it became apparent that the skills attained from mindfulness training would become essential tools for our service trip and for the rest of our lives.”  

The opioid crisis comprises many different disciplines, so the students visited Buffalo City Court, the Buffalo VA Medical Center, Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo City Mission, a homeless services organization, and a substance abuse treatment center to witness the breadth of the problem and meet a wide variety of affected people.

The results: “life-changing,” “astounding,” and “beyond anything I could have imagined” are words students used when reflecting on the experience.  

“I feel more aware about the crises others face and it has allowed me to become more empathetic and hopeful towards creating a brighter future for those affected,” reported Shavana Singh ’19 (College of Staten Island).

Students may also benefit from deeper, longterm outcomes from the trip, which generated camaraderie, provided out-of-classroom learning, and encouraged a more holistic approach to their academic concentrations.

The contemplative service travel program was organized by the Macaulay Honors College Mental Health & Wellness Center and pre-health advising program; it is made possible through a generous grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.

Photos: Chantal Heijnen

News, Student and Alumni News

Leading the Charge

Macaulay Alumna Creates a New, Named Scholarship
to Support Opportunities for Students

Macaulay Honors College is pleased to announce that senior Lisa Dazzell is the 2018 recipient of the Kat Mateo Lead the Charge scholarship. The scholarship was created by one of Macaulay’s most passionate graduates, Kat Mateo ‘11 (Lehman), to fund transformative experiential learning. It is one of several recent, scholarship gifts by Macaulay graduates including Yosef Ibrahimi ‘05, Adam Dayan ‘05, Penny Phillips ‘10, and Jason Cohen ‘07. As the alumni establish themselves professionally and are inspired to support current students, these gifts represent a turning point for Macaulay, whose first class graduated in 2005.

The gift came as no surprise to Dean Mary C. Pearl, who said: “Kat showed the strength of her leadership skills as a Macaulay student, and has continued to generously give back in ways that empower the organization and support our students. Her commitment will help future generations of Macaulay students to graduate debt free.”

Lisa, whose home campus is Lehman College, was selected to receive the award for her academic excellence, leadership potential and expressed motivation to affect the world around her. The Kat Mateo Lead the Charge scholarship funded Lisa’s study abroad trip to Morocco in January 2018, where she explored the social and cultural construction of gender and other topics closely related to her studies as a Psychology and Africana Studies double major.

“It was an amazing opportunity for me,” says Lisa. “It made me more openminded and culturally aware of the relationship between religion and gender.”

Lisa hopes to one day to open a clinic that serves a diverse client base, specifically people of color, and credits her trip to Morocco with helping her sharpen that vision. “I learned about different ways to empower communities and people at an individual level,” said Lisa. “It is important to evaluate people based on the values they hold.”

“The importance of investing in youth is more relevant today, as political and social resistance is being fueled by our youngest leaders. Macaulay is a mecca for these change agents,” said Kat. “This is why I give. This is why I care. This is why my gift matters.”

Learn more about how you can support the Macaulay Opportunities Fund.

News, Student and Alumni News

Karishma Malhotra ’21 (Baruch College)

Major: Financial Mathematics

“I want to write something that makes people feel supported- to make them see how much beauty really surrounds them. Life can be messy, but I want to show them that their struggles are perfectly human. I’ve always written, but I guess my goal is to have the courage to share my writing…”

Interviewer: Sherry Chen ’21 (Baruch College)
Photographer: Sherry Chen ’21 (Baruch College)

 Special thanks to student group Humans of Macaulay for this Macaulay student story. Read more.

News, Student and Alumni News

Schwarzman Scholars – Application Now Open 

Schwarzman Scholars has opened their global application for the third cohort of young leaders. The highly-selective, fully-funded international scholarship program is designed to prepare future leaders for success in a world where China plays a key global role.

Anchored in an 11-month professional Master’s Degree in Global Affairs at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, the program provides Scholars with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, engage in high-level interactions with Chinese leaders and  visiting speakers, and learn from world-class faculty through a dynamic core curriculum and concentrations in public policy, international studies, or business and economics. The Schwarzman Scholars experience also includes unparalleled opportunities outside of the classroom, including internships, senior mentors, and travel seminars around China.

MORE

College News, News, Student and Alumni News

2018 Student and Alumni Awards

Student Awards

Thamara Jean, above, ’18 (Hunter) won a Rhodes Scholarship. READ

Elliot David ’19 and Joy Nuga ’17 were named Schwarzman Scholars, a prestigious designation that will help them develop their leadership skills while pursuing a master’s degree in global affairs at one of the top universities in China. READ

CUNY has announced that four of the eight recipients of the Jonas E. Salk Scholarships for the study of medicine and biomedical sciences are Macaulay students. The award provides $8,000 to each student to defray the cost of their medical and graduate research studies.

Lisset A. Duran ’18 (John Jay) will go to Princeton

Anan Kazi ’18 (City) will go to SUNY Downstate College of Medicine

Daniela Mikhaylov ’17 (Hunter) will go to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Lily Lee ’18 (Brooklyn) will go to SUNY Downstate College of Medicine

Karishma Malhotra (Baruch), Isabel Gouse (Hunter), and Melissa Lent (Hunter), all class of 2020, won Jeannette K. Watson Fellowships. READ

Claire Lynch (City), Victoria DiTomasso (Hunter), Michael Mazzeo (Hunter), and Marielle Ray (Hunter), all class of 2018, have received Fulbright English Teaching grants. READ ABOUT THEM

Janice Lee ’18 (Baruch) won a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

Libby Ho ’18 (City) will head to Changchun, China for two months this summer as a Critical Language Scholar. READ Saim Siddiqui ’18 (Hunter) is also a CLS winner.

Campus Valedictorians & Salutatorians

Baruch College: Kevin Savarese, salutatorian

Brooklyn College: Margaret Iuni, valedictorian

City College: Nicolas Yehya, valedictorian of City’s science division

Hunter College: Edward Friedman, Marie Mazzeo and Michael Mazzeo, valedictorians. Kristen Albanese, Karan Chachlani, Justin Chen, Kendra Cornelis, Hope Glassman, Lindsay Griffiths, Adam Hobbins, Charlie Houlton-Vinyl, Monica Huzinec, Arianna James, Thamara Jean, Seung Hee Kim, Slade Koval, Nicole Krishtul, Alec Levine, Emily Losi, Thomas Newman, Austen Rerick, Jennifer Shmukler, Saim Siddiqui, Yelena Suponya, salutatorians.

Alumni Awards

Tamar Lichter ’17 (Queens) has won a National Science Foundation Award in algebra, number theory and combinatorics; she received an NSF honorable mention in 2017 and is also the winner of a 2016 federal Goldwater Scholarship.

Allegra N. DePasquale has won a NSF Honorable Mention in biological anthropology.

Matthew LoCastro ’17 (Hunter) won a Luce Scholarship for Economic Development and Infrastructure READ

Class of 2018 Senior Awards

Macaulay Legacy Award

Recognizing exceptional co-curricular contributions to the Macaulay community that have provided a template for future student activities and outreach.

Jessica Castro, City College

Karan Chachlani, Hunter College

Alexandra Ehrreich, John Jay College

Robert Ferrando, College Of Staten Island

Max Fruchter, Queens College

Saumik Islam, Brooklyn College

Jacqueline Muallem, Lehman College

Michelle Sheu, Baruch College

Holden Stein, Baruch College

Christina Young, Baruch College

 

Macaulay Community Service Award

Recognizing outstanding volunteer service work that exemplifies Macaulay’s belief that every student must challenge him or herself to improve the lives of others

Lisa Dazzell, Lehman College

Nicolette Guida, College Of Staten Island

Elizabeth Higgins, College Of Staten Island

Libby Ho, City College

Margaret Iuni, Brooklyn College

Marina Juan, Baruch College

Mariyanthie Linaris, Queens College

Arlene Lopez, Queens College

Veena Mehta, John Jay College

Alexandra Montesinos, Hunter College

Kristian Mosquito, City College

 

Spirit of Macaulay Award

Recognizing a graduating senior whose outstanding leadership and overall contributions to Macaulay, CUNY, and beyond have created transformative experiences for students, faculty, and administrators.

Christopher Cali, Brooklyn College

Mitasha Palha, Lehman College

 

The Bruno Salazar Alumni Network Award

Named in honor of Bruno Salazar ’10, City College, for his courageous tenacity in the face of challenging circumstances.

Joshua Cutler, City College

 

The Dean’s Award for Civic Engagement

Edward Friedman, Hunter College

The Provost’s Award

The Macaulay Honors College Provost’s Award recognizes a graduating senior who has shown exceptional academic achievement, and has been granted significant opportunities after graduation.

Lindsay Griffiths, Hunter College

The Macaulay Pioneer Award

The Macaulay Honors College Pioneer Alumni Award recognizes a Macaulay Honors College alumnus/a who is courageously taking a unique path to success.

Christine Curella, Hunter College

CLASS OF 2018 Springboard Awards

The Macaulay Springboard Award recognizes students who have taken the idea of a thesis or capstone project in new directions. By reimagining the final project, pushing the boundaries of what research and scholarship can achieve, these students have launched new models, new ways of looking at their world, their studies, their communities, and their futures.

Alexandria Brown-Panisse, Lehman College
“When Crazy Isn’t Crazy Enough: Son of Sam and the Insanity Defense”

Samantha Dauer, City College
“‘Out of Character’: Fandom Roleplay, Character Identification, and Processes of Queer, Trans, and Nonbinary Becoming”

Haley Dobson, John Jay College
“Fit To Be Healthy: The Need for Customized Exercise”

Sophia Ebanks, City College
“To Be Young, Gifted, and a Black Girl: How Black Girls Build Resistance and Find Belonging in School”

Casey Goedtel, John Jay College
“Ted Bundy’s Media Presence: Then and Now”

Sayema Islam, Hunter College
“My Body, My Choice?: The Internet of Healthcare and the Need for a Standardized Ethical Code”

Nancy Larcher, City College
“The Geography of LGBTQ Collective Memory in New York City, 1945-1968”

Emily Kaye Mclane, John Jay College
“Why Return Man’s Best Friend? Shelter Strategies for Dog Adoption”

Alexander Robateau, City College
“Shouganai and its Implications in Clinical Psychology”

Katherine Sandomirsky, Hunter College
“Unveiling Soviet Lies: An Analysis of Chernobyl in the Media”

Martin Tang, Hunter College
“Can I Eat That?: Wild Plants and Urban Life”

Katherine Virgino, Hunter College
“Birds of a Feather: The Impact of Homophily on Female Entrepreneurship”

Kaitlyn Zhou, Hunter College
“In Pursuit of Cute: Genetics, Ethics, and Dog Breeding”

Is there a Macaulay award we should know about? Tell us!

 

View 2017 awards.

View 2018 awards.

College News, News

Three Macaulay Honors College Students Win the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship

Macaulay Honors College sophomores Isabel Gouse, Melissa Lent and Karishma Malhotra are winners of the 2018 Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship. Three of fifteen winners chosen after a lengthy national selection process, the fellowship program will provide them with three years of personal, professional and cultural immersions in the U.S. and abroad.

Isabel Gouse, whose home campus is Hunter College, plans to explore her passion for human rights, public health, and refugee rights by working with organizations dedicated to those areas. “The fellowship provides me with the opportunity to explore various career paths that I may not have considered if it was not for the mentorship it provided.”

Melissa Lent, also at Hunter, plans to develop technical skills, learn more about cultural and educational sectors, and seize opportunities to contribute to lasting social change. “I’m double majoring in Media and Creative Writing,” she explains. “There are a multitude of paths I would consider taking— journalism, production, marketing, event planning, and many more.” She expects the experience to help her hone her aspirations and focus her efforts where she can have the greatest impact.

Karishma Malhotra, whose home campus is Baruch College, is looking forward to an academic journey that channels her passions for positive change. “Being a Financial Mathematics major, many people assume that I have set career path and job description,” she explains. “I am excited to learn the different ways I can apply myself to the world and come back with a new perspective that would be impossible to gain by sitting in a classroom.”

The fellowship includes work in non-profit, for-profit and governmental organizations, spending two summers in New York and a third overseas.

Watson fellows are represented in top graduate programs and go on to become leaders in the fields of law, medicine, public policy, business, and the arts. They earn numerous Fulbright, Truman, Coro, Urban Fellow, and other prestigious awards.

The Watson Foundation was created in 1961 in the name of Thomas J. Watson Sr., the founder of IBM. In 1999, the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship was created to engage undergraduate students early in their college career, and expose them to the world of work through challenging, cross sector internships and mentorship.

About Macaulay Honors College

Ranked as one of the top ten honors colleges in the nation, Macaulay provides exceptional students with a rigorous education drawing on the vast academic resources of the nation’s largest urban university and the rich cultural diversity of New York City. Our students represent the top 4% of the 13,000+ incoming freshmen on eight CUNY campuses, including Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, and Queens Colleges, and the College of Staten Island.

With close guidance from a team of dedicated advisors, Macaulay students design a highly personalized academic program with access to classes in more than 400 majors across the CUNY system. All Macaulay students must either study abroad, participate in an approved internship, or conduct independent research. Underwritten entirely by private philanthropy, Opportunities Funds support these activities by providing students with dedicated travel and fellowship funds. In addition, Macaulay students who are residents of New York State receive a full-tuition merit scholarship.macaulay.cuny.edu.

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