News from LaGuardia Community College
Have I told you that we need to raise $10 million by December 31? Probably, because I have been telling everyone. In these waning days of June, we have already received over $2 million in cash and pledges, so we are off to a good start. Many of you have stepped up – thank you! As the pandemic eases the economic hardship it caused for LaGuardia students and their families is in full view. Because of catastrophic jobs losses in NYC service industries many thousands of Queens families lost their income, depleted their savings, and are living on the edge. (Federal stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits have been essential, but they are coming to an end.)

Without emergency financial support from the Foundation, many LaGuardia students will drop out in order to work. They have to help their families pay back rent (the NYS eviction moratorium ends August 31), overdue medical bills, food, utilities, etc. Proceeds from the LaGuardia Challenge will help students cover non-tuition expenses, like books, technology, transportation, exam fees, etc. We also want to increase scholarships for immigrant students that can’t access government financial aid – TAP and Pell. And we want to hire students to work on campus. We’ll put wages in their pockets and keep them in class. Can you help? Visit laguardia.edu/challenge.
 
Thank you, and Happy Summer!
 
Kenneth Adams
President
3,300 Graduate from LaGuardia Community College (on a Zoom screen)
A virtual commencement on June 17 celebrated the more than 3,300 members of LaGuardia’s Class of 2021. Congratulations to all the graduates! The event recognized our students’ resiliency throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and featured speeches from two pandemic heroes. The keynote was given by Sofia Moncayo, who leads a food distribution program through the Mosaic Community Center that gives out more than 2,000 boxes of food each week to families living in Sunnyside, Woodside and nearby communities. Kristy L. Guzman, R.N. (LaGuardia’19), who treated Covid-19 patients as an intensive care nurse at Bellevue Hospital, gave the alumni speech. Commencement ’21 was a great event, but next year let’s do it live and in person. 
LaGuardia Launches Career Start, New Summer Program for Queens HS Grads
In July we kick off Career Start, a free summer immersion program designed to help recent graduates of New Visions DOE high schools identify career interests in allied health, technology, business, and STEM. Career Start participants will attend workshops on career opportunities and certifications, receive advising support, and get connected with alumni working in their fields of interest – all while participating in a summertime version of Math Start, CUNY’s intense math skills development program.
LaGuardia Faculty Win Prestigious Mellon Foundation Research Fellowships
Four LaGuardia Community College faculty have been awarded 2021 Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Community College Faculty Fellowships. The fellowships recognize humanities and social science faculty at two-year institutions for their vital contributions to scholarship, teaching, and their communities. Professors Habiba Boumlik, Kenneth Yin, Jayashree Kamble, and Sonia Alejandra Rodriguez will each receive up to $40,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support their research. Congratulations!
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Honors LaGuardia Production
LaGuardia’s Theatre program was recognized with a Citizen Artist Award by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.  LaGuardia was honored for its online production of THE eCARPA LA VICTIMA, a work that showcased our students’ immigrant experience. The Award recognizes theatrical productions that promote long-term societal impact through an artistic lens, encourage empathetic exploration of the complex cultural and physical world, and advocate for justice.
Fine Arts Student Wins Joseph Scholarship, Heads to Aspen
Fine Arts/Design Studies major Adrian Gray is the first-ever recipient of the Joseph Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a student of color in LaGuardia’s Fine Arts Program. As a Joseph Scholar, Adrian will attend workshops at the prestigious Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Aspen, CO, for two weeks this summer. Adrian plans to graduate from LaGuardia at the end of the Fall 2021 semester and then transfer to a four-year college to earn a bachelor’s degree in design, animation or illustration. Numerous volunteers have kindly signed up to carry Adrian’s bags to the Rockies.
LaGuardia Joins the United Nations Academic Impact Program
LaGuardia recently became a member of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) Program, a network of 1,400 institutions in more than 145 countries. Because we are a UNAI member, students, staff, and faculty are eligible for UN scholarships, contests, and publication opportunities, and can take advantage of opportunities to network and share research. This membership builds off the LaGuardia Humanitarian Initiative, in which students explore a global issue addressed by the United Nations and learn how to advocate for change at home and in communities across the world.
LaGuardia Honors Journal, 6th Edition
The LaGuardia Honors Program recently published the 6th edition of the LaGuardia Honors Journal, presenting a collection of scholarship, research and cultural analyses by students in Honors classes during the past academic year. It includes students’ work exploring the coronavirus pandemic from scientific and business perspectives, along with reflections inspired by the pandemic.