Skip to main content

Five RCC Students Honored

Image
By
Each year the Chancellor of the State University of New York recognizes exceptional students from all sixty five SUNY colleges and universities. The following RCC students are the 2013 recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

Melissa Dimataris of Congers graduated Tappan Zee High School in 2009. Dreaming of Broadway, she enrolled in the Performing Arts program. In Spring ’10, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “I had to stop going to work and school, and avoid crowds.” She went into remission within the first two months, but continued the grueling treatment for over two years. She found new hope when she was invited to sing the national anthem at Madison Square Garden in 2011 before a New York Rangers hockey game. “I was no longer performing for my own pleasure, but I wanted to inspire others not to give up on their dream.

Navid Safaie of Suffern, AS Liberal Arts and Sciences: Mathematics and Science, was pleased to discover that his academic apathy in high school dissipated at RCC. “By enrolling in the M/TS Honors Program and dropping in to a Student Government Association meeting, I found myself absolutely inspired.” Now SGA President and vice president of Leadership for honor society Phi Theta Kappa, he credits his professors for helping him recognize his love of mathematics and science. He received the Helen Siner Memorial Award for Excellence in Mathematics from the NYS Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges.

Kechan St. Clair of Brooklyn, an international student from St. Lucia, is earning an AS degree in Computer Information Systems. Growing up with no father and very little money, her options were limited. Her uncle, who recognized her potential, offered to fund her education in the US. After her first semester, however, he died of cancer. A government minister, impressed by her 4.0 GPA, offered some limited help, which she supplements by working at the Tutoring Center as a computer lab proctor. She is a peer mentor, vice president of the Women in Computing Club, and teaches children computer skills at the Unity East Church Center in Brooklyn.

Mohammad Zaid of Spring Valley, an international student from Yemen, is an M/TS Honors student earning an AS in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Mathematics and Science. He was chosen among thousands of applicants to exhibit his solar panel purification project at the Clinton Global Initiative University (Spring 2011). His varied work and volunteer experiences range from supervising crews in Yemen inserting underwater cameras into wells and distributing food to his country’s poor, to delivering bread for Rockland Bakery. An athlete, he was awarded Academic All Region Award while playing on RCC’s soccer team. He is Phi Theta Kappa vice president of Fellowship and Sophomore Senator of Student Government Association. His older brother, Marwan Zaid ‘12, won the Chancellor’s Award last year.

Jordan Zuber-Banks of Pomona, AA Liberal Arts and Sciences: Humanities and Social Science, enrolled as an Early Admit Student in the M/TS Honors Program. An aspiring lawyer, Zuber-Banks founded the Young Scholars Honors Group, which inspires middle school students to make presentations, read books and seek challenging academic initiatives. He is president of the RCC Debate Team, the Pre-Law and Political Science Association and vice president of Scholarship for Phi Theta Kappa. His internships include public relations for Senator David Carlucci.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Honoring Distinguished Faculty

By
Retired Science Professors Phyllis Krasnow and George Krasilovsky with Dr. Cliff L. Wood at the Beta, Beta, Beta Induction Ceremonies Professors of Science Phyllis Krasnow and George Krasilovsky , PhD, were honored at the recent Beta Beta Beta induction for decades of dedicated service to the RCC Biology community. Both professors served as mentors to science students in the Sam Draper M/TS Honors Program . Professor Krasnow began teaching at RCC in 1969, and served as a mentor in the Honors Program from 1980-2000. She was known for her student-centered approach. Beyond her work in the classroom and with advisement, she founded the Biology Club, and created a Biology Scholarship offered through the RCC Foundation . She was instrumental in helping many students transfer to Cornell. Even after she retired and move to south New Jersey in 1998, she drove more than two hours each way to continue to teach and mentor part-time. She received the Chancellor’s Award for Exc...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dr. Sonya Shapiro Memorial Scholarship Program

By
It’s been more than a year since the Board of Trustees lost one of its most loyal members, Sonya Shapiro , EdD, distinguished educator and community activist. Dr. Shapiro, who died in May 2014 at the age of 87, served on the Board from August 2001 until her passing, holding leadership positions as Secretary and Vice Chair during her nearly 14-year tenure. Dr. Shapiro’s lifetime commitment to education and her long-term support of Rockland Community College and its students continue through an extraordinary gift of $100,000 from her estate to create the “Dr. Sonya Shapiro Memorial Scholarship Program.” Each year, the scholarship program, administered by the Rockland Community College Foundation , will provide five scholarships for “returning adult students (21 years or older)” who have the motivation and determination to pursue careers, enabling them to fulfill their aspirations and goals for a better life. Students may be enrolled either full-time or part-time at RCC...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Special Holiday Gift from the Riversville Foundation

By
On Tuesday, December 6, RCC and BOCES administrators gathered for a luncheon with this year's student recipients of the Riversville Foundation scholarship awards. The Riversville Foundation was founded in 2006 by Barton Biggs, a former partner at Morgan Stanley and founder of Traxis Partners, a hedge-fund based in Greenwich, CT.  Biggs, who died in 2012, believed in the power of education, and particularly the importance of a college degree. While Riversville has primarily worked with four-year institutions, beginning in 2014, the Riversville Foundation began a collaboration with Rockland Community College. This year, full one-year scholarships were awarded to 21 RCC students, a commitment of more than $95,000. Under the direction of the Riversville Foundation's Executive Director, Bruno Casolari, a former Director of Resource Development at RCC , the Foundation has awarded more than $135,000 in need-based scholarships to more than 25 Rockland Community College ...
Post a Comment
Read more