Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.
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SOUL Gains Global Following
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International journalists are sold on Soul. The animated movie about a junior high school music teacher—a character the filmmakers created in consultation with ACSM alumnus Peter Archer ’85, recently retired from Nathanial Hawthorne Middle School 74 in Bayside—was nominated for Golden Globes in the categories of Best Motion Picture—Animated and Best Original Score. CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez tweeted congratulations to Archer, who discussed his experience as a QC student and New York City public school teacher on Thursday, January 28, in an Alumni Sharing Knowledge program moderated by his former teacher, Edward Smaldone (ACSM). President Frank H. Wu shared greetings with all in attendance. The event was presented by ACSM and the Office of Alumni Relations.
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This Week in Black History Month |
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Activists and academics will address the QC community virtually as Sankofa, the college’s celebration of Black History Month, enters its second week. Among the featured speakers are historian and photographer Fiona Compton, presenting Resistance and Rebellion, the Importance of Decolonizing our History, today, Tuesday, February 9, at 5 pm; Lorgia Garcia Peña, a scholar of Latino and Caribbean studies, lecturing on Black Latinidad: From Arthur Schomburg to Cardi B, on Wednesday, February 10, at 12:15 pm; and David P. Rivera (ECP) and Ruth Jean-Marie, founder and executive director of The August Project, discussing Mental Health and the Black Community, on Thursday, February 11, at 4 pm. For the complete schedule, click here.
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“Big Ideas” Hits the Small Screen
To publicize significant research conducted by QC faculty, the Office of Communications and Marketing has created the online video series Big Ideas.
The series debuts this Thursday, February 11, at 7 pm, with a visit to Lenwood Gibson (ECP), who discusses racial disproportionality among students as well as teachers in special education. Subsequent episodes will air on Thursdays at 7 pm through May 6—with the exception of April 1—on the college’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
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Some Are Thinking about Summer
Snow what? It’s never too soon to make plans for warmer weather. The QC Summer Camp will be holding programs from June 28 through August 20 (not counting July 5). Discounts are available to those who register before March 8. Learn more at the virtual open house taking place this Saturday, February 13, from 10 am to noon. Register to attend.
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Basketball Alumna Gets “Super” Recognition
Former Queens College women’s basketball star Madison Rowland ’17 was named one of the “Super 75 Wings” by b-ball fansite d2easthoops.org, which compiled a list of the best wings in NCAA Division II East Region history. (Wings play both the forward and guard position.)
Rowland led the Knights to a regional championship during the 2016-2017 season, claiming All-American and National Player of the Year honors in the process. She is the only women’s player in NCAA history to amass at least 2,000 points (2,375), 1,000 rebounds (1,181), 400 steals (507), 400 assists (403), and 100 blocks (152) in her career. She guided QC to 90 wins over four years, including a 27-5 mark in 2017, the program's best-ever record.
The list was compiled by Chris Granozio and Steve Zerdelian, who each have more than 30 years covering college basketball in the East region.
“Rowland's game featured power, speed, and anticipation, making her a constant threat from baseline to baseline,” noted Zerdelian. “Rowland brought the glory back to what was an iconic team in the early days of the sport and eventually proved to be the best player to wear Knights duds.”
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Making a Love Connection on Campus |
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For Queens College alumni Daniela Leto and Mike Molina, a daily stop in the Science Building café at led to a lifelong partnership.
In 2017, when Molina was a junior psychology major, he would visit the café every day for a cup of coffee before class. It was there he regularly saw Daniela, also a junior majoring in psychology, having coffee with her friends. They began to notice each other, but it took several months before either worked up the nerve to start a conversation.
Making the Connection
One day, Daniela decided to sit and talk with him. They connected right away and shared similar sentiments about their first meeting.
“I liked how kind and genuine she was, and she made our first meeting feel like we knew each other for so long,” said Mike.
“I liked that he was so genuinely kind,” said Daniela. “He has a very warm personality, which makes him very easy to talk to.”
After getting to know her a little that day, Mike decided to walk Daniela to her next class.
“Little did we know we were actually in the same class together,” he recalled. “I noticed when I dropped her off in her class, it was my class, also. She sat in the back and I sat in the front.”
The two became friends and began working on class projects together including, ironically, one about the psychology of love. Their relationship grew over time as did their feelings for each other. In 2019, after nearly three years of being her friend, Mike asked Daniela out on a date.
They went to Martha’s Bakery on Bell Boulevard, where they sat and talked over coffee for hours, losing track of time. At some point Daniela had realized her parking meter had expired and went out to her car to find she had a ticket.
“He was a very good listener and his humor matched mine,” observed Daniela. “Everything about his personality makes him charming.”
“I liked how outgoing and straightforward she was about everything. She wasn’t scared to contradict me about anything, even on the first date,” noted Mike.
Popping the Question
By October 2020, he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Daniela and decided to pop the question. Because Halloween is her favorite holiday, Mike made plans to propose during a small family Halloween party at Daniela’s sister’s house. He set up the backyard with balloons, star lights, and an arch with their names and pictures on it prior to Daniela’s arrival.
They made a living picture in their couples’ costume, a filter/no-filter Instagram image: She was dressed nicely as the “filtered” picture, while he put on a wig and an outfit exactly matching Daniela’s for the “no-filter” version. Shortly after the party started, Daniela’s brother-in-law, who was in on the proposal plan, deliberately spilled water all over Mike’s costume. Forced to change, Mike put on the nice clothes he had set aside and snuck into the backyard. He waited there on one knee until Daniela’s mom made up an excuse for Daniela to go in the backyard. When she walked outside, she was shocked to see Mike there, asking her to marry him. She enthusiastically said yes!
Although their paths eventually led to Queens College, Mike and Daniela started at other schools. Mike began his college career at CCNY, but decided to transfer to QC since it was closer to his Queens Village home. Daniela, a native of East Elmhurst, first attended Adelphi University, but also transferred to QC, aware that it offered her a quality education at a much lower price. They graduated together, in May 2020.
Both are very happy they chose to come to Queens College, not just because they met each other, but also because of the education and experience they received.
“There is a strong sense of community at Queens,” added Daniela. “Every teacher that I met along the way has been so helpful and so caring and genuinely invested.”
Mike is working and saving up money to go to nursing school, while Daniela was recently accepted to Adelphi’s master’s program in general psychology with a concentration in human resource management. She hopes to run a human resources department one day.
Both are excited for their future lives together, and plan to get married in September 2022. Congratulations to the beautiful couple!
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New Pre-law Association Helps Students Prepare for Legal Careers |
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The new QC Pre-law Association has taken shape over the 2020–2021 school year, thanks to students and faculty members who dedicated themselves to revamping the once-dormant club.
Nathaniel Shulman, a senior political science major, along with students Ranveer Joshi, Melanie Goldsmith, Isabella LeBarr, and recent graduates Kevin Campbell and Daniel Akilov, worked to set up a new and improved QC Pre-law Association.
“I noticed about a year and a half ago that the campus lacked a pre-law community,” noted Shulman. “The pre-law club was inactive since about 2015. A couple of friends and I felt it was incumbent upon us to really restart the club and to re-form a pre-law community on campus to support us communally and educationally. We felt that students who were thinking about going pre-law didn’t have the resources and all the information they needed to be successful.”
Support from Faculty
Shulman and his colleagues approached Carl Bonomo (Political Science), who helped them through the process of applying to be a new club. Its status became official last fall.
Since then, the club has been organizing campus activities to better prepare QC students considering a career in law. Last semester, virtual events with admission officers from Fordham University and Hofstra University enabled students to ask questions about applying to law school. There was also a panel discussion featuring four corporate lawyers.
Shulman and his colleagues are also hard at work building a network of QC pre-law students and alumni. They recently created a Linkedin page exclusive to pre-law students and alumni of the college with careers in law.
“Our members lack a professional network,” added Shulman. “A lot of them have never met a lawyer and don’t know any alumni who are in law school or just finished law school. We felt it was incredibly crucial to build a professional network of students while they are students. We want our members and as many alumni as we can get to join so our alumni can connect with other alumni and students. We want to create an intergenerational community of pre-law students and lawyers who went to QC.”
Simultaneously, Bonomo and fellow professors Sari Kisilevsky (Philosophy), David Leventhal (BALA), and Natalie Bump Vena (Urban Studies) began to formalize the pre-law advising process. The professors wanted to expand pre-law beyond Political Science to other social science departments.
Advising Students
“In formalizing advising, we’re making it a bit more visible and accessible so students know where to go,” said Kisilevsky, who has a background in law and teaches ethics and philosophy of law courses each year. “If you are thinking of law school, we will offer the support. It’s going to be a structured year-round program. We are going to help students through the process of applying to law school. We are also going to help students who aren’t going to law school, who are more junior. We’re going to work to introduce all students to the profession so that they can decide if they want to apply to law school or not.”
In addition, they plan to host regular workshops at the beginning of each semester to help guide students in preparing for law school. The workshops will help students choose the right school, understand the application process, and prepare for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). This semester’s event will take place on February 17 (register here).
“The aim of the program is to help support students so they can make these really important decisions in an informed and confident way,” added Kisilevsky. “You don’t want to make these decisions in the dark and then graduate from law school or worse, start law school and not graduate and then find yourself with a lot of debt.”
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German Instruction Gets on Course with Innovative Program
QC’s introductory German courses are becoming more gemütlich and affordable. Effective this semester, der/die/das—which takes its name from the masculine, feminine, and neutral forms, respectively, of the article “the”—has replaced the elementary- and intermediate-level textbook package previously used for German 111, German 112, and German 203.
“der/die/das is a totally online program and has a different approach to German language learning,” explains Christa Spreizer, head of the German program in the Department of European Languages and Literatures. “It still uses the communicative approach, but focuses on helping students acquire the most frequently used vocabulary words. Basically, it’s through vocabulary that you build proficiency.”
Students attend classes via Zoom to learn about the German language and German society. YouTube videos and websites highlighting contemporary Germany are integrated into the curriculum. They then tackle built-in exercises and flashcard quizlets on their own for homework. Instructors can access what individual students do to get the sense of how they’re progressing. Spreizer notes that the new platform is cheaper, too. In contrast to the commercial product the German program used previously, which cost $100 or more, this is a non-commercial product: “With this package, there is zero additional cost.”
Even better, der/die/das—created by Jamie Rankin, a senior lecturer in Princeton’s German Department, and used on that campus and at other U.S. institutions—has been customized for QC. Spreizer worked with Rankin last December, editing images and references that would connect course material to the college and the Borough of Queens.
“We wanted the diversity of Queens College to be reflected in the lessons,” she says. “Georgine Ingber (Creative Services, Office of Communications and Marketing) gave me a zip file of 30 photos of students and landmarks. Roughly a dozen of the photos are in use right now. It’s a fun way to reference a culture and help students see themselves in it.”
The feedback so far has been good, reports Spreizer, who will continue to tweak der/die/das throughout the semester.
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City & State & Queens
Several members of the QC community have been saluted in recent power lists compiled by City & State New York, which covers politics, government, and related subjects.
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Former New York City Council Member James Vacca (Urban Studies) was named to the 50 Over 50 List for 2021. Vacca was cited for helping students understand the process of campaigning for office and encouraging them to pursue public service careers they would find fulfilling.
Amy Hsin (Sociology) and alumnus Alan van Capelle were included in this year’s Power Education 100. Hsin won mention for her real-world research and her service to Mayor de Blasio's School Diversity Advisory Group. Van Capelle was honored for his leadership of Educational Alliance, a nonprofit that serves Lower Manhattan communities, as well as his contributions as an LGBTQ activist and former union organizer.
“I am always delighted when Queens College faculty or alumni receive deserved attention for their achievements,” said President Frank H. Wu, listed last summer on the Higher Education Power 50.
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In Memoriam: Corky Lee, 1947-2021
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President Frank H. Wu shares his thoughts on the death of a fellow Asian rights activist.
A friend of mine, Corky Lee, a Queens College alumnus, passed away last month from COVID-19. A “Queens kid,” Corky was famous as a photographer who used images to advance activism. He noticed how Asian Americans were almost always left out of the picture, literally. As a child of Chinese immigrants, he set out to change that. He became known as the unofficial photographer of everything Asian American, appearing at any community event, big or small.
One of his passion projects was about the transcontinental railroad. Finished at Promontory Point, Utah, in 1869 with a “Golden Spike” ceremony that brought together the nation as never before, the western half of the massive infrastructure project was built by about 15,000 Chinese laborers. Yet the ceremonial photos, among the most famous pictures of the era, showed not a single Chinese face—despite their effort, they were erased. With their descendants, some sixth-generation Americans, Corky restaged the celebration with an annual pilgrimage, becoming official at the 150th anniversary commemoration. Other photographers were there to document the festivities, but all eyes were on Corky. In recognizing his passing, I want to acknowledge the over 400,000 Americans who have succumbed to the pandemic so far and the many more who are suffering still.
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Heard Around the Virtual Campus |
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Leticia Arroyo Abad (Economics) was appointed a research fellow to the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Her work on the impact of the Spanish flu on the U.S. election was recently cited on the political website 538 . . . . Ali Ahmed (Comparative Literature) presented a lecture, “In the Cauldron: Texts, Disciplines, and the Reading Self,” via Zoom at hthe University of Hyderabad, India . . . . Jane Cho (ACSM) was named an inaugural CUNY Career Success Fellow this year. She will be receiving support from CUNY and working on a Curriculum Integration Team for the Arts . . . . Stephen Farenga (SEYS) will oversee “Preparing Highly Qualified STEM Teachers to Support Effective Learning in Remote, In-person, and Hybrid Learning Environments," a project awarded a National Science Foundation grant of nearly $1.197 million, starting July 1, 2021 . . . Michael Krasner (Political Science) presented a virtual forum, “2021: Is There a Way Forward,” to the nonpartisan organization Let’s Talk Democracy on January 28 . . . . Núria Rodríguez-Planas (Economics), collaborating with Ryuichi Tanaka, published “Gender norms and women’s decision to work: evidence from Japan” https://rdcu.be/cevf1 in the Review of Economics of the Household . . . . James Vacca (Urban Studies) and JC Carlson (Student Development and Leadership) were recognized by the CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities at its first annual virtual honors award ceremony on January 27. Vacca and Carlson received Individual Allies Appreciation Awards . . . . Judy Yu (SEYS) and undergraduate student teachers from QC will be co-presenting with Pulitzer Award-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, Adrian Escarate at Define American, and Roberto Gonzalez of Harvard University on a special panel and teach-in workshop, The Power of Storytelling for Dreamers & Undocumented Citizens in K-20 Education. The workshop, to be held on the afternoon of February 26, is part of the 38th Annual Teachers College, Columbia University Winter Roundtable.
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