Newswise — Brooklyn, NY – New York City College of Technology (City Tech) will mark the annual rite of passage for graduating students at its 71st Commencement Exercises on Friday, June 3, beginning at 10:30 a.m., at the Municipal Credit Union (MCU) Park (formerly Keyspan), 1904 Surf Avenue, Coney Island, rain or shine. Editors’ note: This is the first graduation ceremony ever held at this facility.
President Russell K. Hotzler is expected to confer 2,000 degrees, including 1,150 associate and 850 baccalaureate, both of which are the highest since the imposition of tuition in 1976. This is the first time the College has held its commencement exercises in Brooklyn in many years, and the first time in decades that the event, expected to draw 6,000 people, is being held outdoors.
"We are a Brooklyn institution and have long wanted a Brooklyn graduation,” says Dr. Marcela Armoza, City Tech's vice president of enrollment and student affairs. "MCU Park is a beautiful venue, with the beach and the ocean as a backdrop. And, it's in Coney Island. What could be more representative of the great history of Brooklyn than that!"
Delivering the commencement address is Lisa P. Jackson, the first African-American to serve as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, who will receive City Tech’s President’s Award.
Lisa P. Jackson, Commencement Speaker
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson leads the EPA’s efforts to protect the health and environment for all Americans. She and a staff of more than 17,000 professionals are working across the nation to usher in a green economy, address health threats from toxins and pollution, and renew public trust in the EPA’s work.
As administrator, Jackson has pledged to focus on core issues of protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination in our communities, and reducing greenhouse gases. She has promised that all of EPA’s efforts will follow the best science, adhere to the rule of law and be implemented with unparalleled transparency.
She has made it a priority to focus on such vulnerable groups as children, the elderly and low-income communities, which are particularly susceptible to environmental and health threats. In addressing these and other issues, she has promised all stakeholders a place at the decision-making table.
Before becoming EPA’s Administrator, Jackson served as Chief of Staff to New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and Commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Prior to joining DEP, she worked for 16 years as an employee of the U.S. EPA.
Jackson is a summa cum laude graduate of Tulane University and earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. The daughter of a postal worker, she was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward.
Theresa Evans, Valedictorian
Growing up in the small town of Hays, Kansas -- population 20,000 -- Theresa Evans treasured the time she spent with her grandparents on their farm. Eating meals that came straight from the land to their table sparked her interest in pursuing a career in the food and wine world.
Her odyssey from a town where eating out meant fast food to New York City, one of the culinary capitals of the world, was not without its challenges. But Evans held fast to her goals and excelled. On Friday, June 3, Evans, who will turn 30 later that month, will deliver the valedictory address at City Tech’s commencement.
“My fondest memories are of my grandparents and their farm,” says Evans, who will be receiving a bachelor of technology degree in hospitality management. “My grandmother was a great influence. She helped shape me and instill my love for food.”
Those lessons proved important for Evans, an only child whose father had passed away when she was three years old. “My mother’s inner strength showed me how to overcome challenges by believing in myself,” she said.
Evans proved to be resilient and learned to be self-reliant, moving to Florida to attend the Walt Disney World College Program in Orlando after briefly attending Fort Hays State University in her hometown. At Disney, she completed the semester-long paid internship program, earning a certificate in basic food safety training.
She then headed for New York City, where she attended the French Culinary Institute and earned a diploma in Culinary Arts. “I knew I wanted a more formal, broader education,” says Evans, who now lives in South Park Slope, Brooklyn. “After researching many colleges, I chose City Tech. The College has professors who have extensive hospitality experience and a passion to educate the future leaders of our industry. I got the sense they really cared about their students. It was the only place where I knew I’d feel comfortable, at home.”
Since arriving in New York in 2005, Evans has worked in a series of well-known establishments, including the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, and Abigail Kirsch’s catering operations at Pier Sixty and The Lighthouse. Currently, she is a sommelier at Porter House New York at Time Warner Center, where celebrity chef Michael Lomonaco (’84) is a managing partner.
According to Evans, who is graduating with a grade point average of 3.988 out of a possible 4.0, “In life, you’re six people away from whatever you want. At City Tech, the degree of separation is even less. Doors opened for me. The faculty here is very supportive and will give you lots of guidance. Once you tell them what you want to become, they will help you every step of the way.”
Evans’ current goals are clear: “I can see myself having a small restaurant, using farm-to-table ingredients, where I can be creative with the dishes and find the hidden gems of wine.” She made the most of opportunities presented to her at City Tech, volunteering at hospitality-related events like the Société Culinaire Philanthropique Home Picnic, and participating in the College’s study abroad programs in Paris, Alsace, Vienna and Florence.
In her last semester, she took five classes, held down three jobs and did an internship. “I’m good at time management,” she explains. “Yes, the schedule was grueling, but because I have such a passion for food and wine, I prioritized my wants and needs. You learn to make sacrifices.”
Her perseverance paid off -- in the past two years, Evans has won seven scholarships, including those from Brooklyn Eats, the Food and Beverage Association of America’s Food and Beverage Scholarship Foundation, and the American Institute of Wine and Food’s André and Simone Soltner Food Education Scholarship.
Now, she is pursuing a higher level of sommelier certification (level II), through the Court of Master Sommeliers. She also is planning to apply for master of business administration (MBA) programs so she can hone her entrepreneurial skills and move one step closer to her goal of having her own eatery. “I want my place to cater to everyone who appreciates good food and wine,” she says. “People mistakenly believe you have to spend a lot of money to eat well. I hope to prove otherwise.”
Ryan Jaipaul, Salutatorian
In spring 1994, when eight-year-old Ryan Jaipaul, his parents, and his little sister arrived in New York City from tropical Guyana, he had his first encounter with snow--they landed in a blizzard.
“I wasn’t at all thrilled to leave behind my friends and relatives to live in a country where I knew not a single soul,” says Jaipaul, who lives with his family in Richmond Hill, Queens. Then, too, the family had to adjust to a different pace of life. “It’s so different here from back home in the Caribbean,” he explains. “The day goes by so fast here, but in Guyana days took forever to end.”
Fast forward 17 years -- that little sister is a pre-med student and Jaipaul is graduating this June with a bachelor’s degree in computer systems technology. His participation in the June 3 commencement exercises will be especially meaningful for his family, as he will be acknowledged as the salutatorian (second in his class) for City Tech’s Class of 2011.
Like many City Tech students, Jaipaul, 25, is from a working class family. “Growing up I didn’t see my parents,” he says. “One worked in the afternoons, one at night. Everyone was busy. My family instilled in me that hard work, determination and making education a top priority were the keys to becoming successful in this country. I was not praised or promised new toys if I received good grades; it was just what was expected of me.”
Jaipaul developed an interest in engineering at Brooklyn Technical High School and entered the City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering. In his second year, he took a robotics engineering class that proved to be a turning point for him. His assignment was to program a robot to do a task; Jaipaul programmed his to use a toothbrush to clean his sneakers.
“That was my first experience dealing with computers,” he says, “and I was intrigued by the computer technology components of my engineering courses. I saw how rapidly the technology changed and that textbooks in that field had to be updated every couple of years. I knew I wanted to change my focus from engineering to technology to be part of a fast-changing field.” An older cousin, who majored in electrical engineering technology at City Tech and landed a job with Panasonic, told Jaipaul about the College. “He said that City Tech prepares students for entering the job market right away by providing hands-on experience, and that was important to me.” So Jaipaul transferred to City Tech.
A second turning point came during his first semester, when his technical writing teacher (Dr. Reneta Lansiquot) mentioned a research opportunity at Columbia University's NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA GISS) that was spearheaded by Dr. Reginald Blake, City Tech physics professor and director of its Black Male Initiative (BMI) program, in which Jaipaul participated as an Honors Scholar.
“At the time, I was working to pay tuition,” says Jaipaul, who received a Peter F. Vallone Scholarship and a National Science Foundation Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM). “But I thought this opportunity might lead to bigger things, so I volunteered to participate.”
At NASA GISS, Jaipaul worked with two other City Tech students on a project that assessed global climate change impacts on urban cities. “This was my first research experience, and I worked with Columbia University graduate school mentors and Professor Blake at every meeting,” Jaipaul says. He later published a research paper in City Tech Writer, a publication devoted to students’ writing. “Doing research at Columbia motivated me to do a lot of other projects that broadened my experience,” says Jaipaul.
Jaipaul was one of ten CUNY students chosen for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) program also directed by Dr. Blake. This project in Satellite and Ground-Based Remote Sensing was conducted at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (NOAA-CREST) at City College’s Optical Remote Sensing Lab.
There, Jaipaul used state-of-the-art remote sensing techniques to study atmospheric aerosols in the northeast region of the U.S., including factory emissions from New Jersey, to ascertain if the city was being unfairly blamed for pollution coming from elsewhere. He presented his research at national conferences held at Howard University, Princeton and the University of Texas.
As a participant in City Tech’s Technology Bridge Program, Jaipaul interned at Goldman Sachs and was then offered a full-time job as an application developer in the company’s Equities Trading Division. He will start there shortly after graduating from City Tech.
“When I started college, I thought I just had to make A’s,” reflects Jaipaul, whose grade point average of 3.951 out of a possible 4.0 earned him the departmental award for the computer systems technology major. “But I realized that getting high grades isn't enough. While I needed a job to pay the bills, I also needed to participate in extracurricular activities, both to achieve my goals and to give back to help others achieve theirs.”
Jaipaul currently works with City Tech’s BMI and its Science & Technology Scholars Program to mentor students, and this past year was a First Year Learning Community Peer Advisor. “Education used to be a path to success, but now it’s a prerequisite,” he states. “I have done my best to represent City Tech and its students’ legacy of determination, resilience and dedication to exceeding expectations.” In February, Jaipaul gave public testimony on behalf of City Tech students at a Brooklyn Borough Hearing, speaking about the invaluable research opportunities the College offers to its students.
The largest public college of technology in New York State, New York City College of Technology (City Tech) enrolls more than 15,400 students in 62 baccalaureate, associate and specialized certificate programs. Located at 300 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn, City Tech is at the MetroTech Center academic and commercial complex, convenient to public transportation.
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