From CCNY to Business Owner: Alumna Alice Mills Mai's Pursuit of Mental Health Counseling
Where are you from and what is your background story? Please share your details from the period before you arrived at CCNY.
I am human first before any titles or roles. I am Alice Mills Mai (she/her), a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (New York and Ohio) and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). I am an immigrant and a proud daughter of Ghanaian immigrants and I consider the Bronx to be my home. Through a family tragedy, I discovered the profession of counseling which… Read More »
A Coup and its Impact: Professor Omnia Khalil’s Journey from Architect to Scholar
Please share something about your personal and professional background, and what brought you to CCNY and the Colin Powell School.
I was an architect, who was highly interested in community action planning to upgrade the urbanely deteriorated neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt. I then studied anthropology to fulfill a professional engagement with communities by learning to be an ethnographer and an engaged scholar, which was a journey I spent with my professors at… Read More »
Alanis Omar’s Academic Journey
YMCA of Greater New York Honors Heroes of New York at 46th Annual Dodge Dinner
Please share a little about your background — what is your story?
I am a first-generation college student with immigrant parents from the island of Trinidad and Tobago. Growing up, education was not seen as a necessity but rather a luxury for many of our parents, including mine. As a minority student at City College, I share the experiences and challenges faced by many of my peers. However, I have come to deeply… Read More »
Graduating to Success and Paying it Forward: Vanessa O’Neil’s Journey at CCNY and Beyond
Where are you from and what is your background story?
My family moved to Crown Heights from Trinidad when I was 4 years old, in search of better opportunities for my sisters and me. My mother dreamed of becoming a nurse but worked in local retail to supplement our household, while my father worked as a policeman. Back then the Crown Heights area was deeply impoverished, and the rampant crime made it a much more dangerous place than it is today. My parents… Read More »
Crystal Rodriguez, a proud Puerto Rican-Dominican-American student, shares her journey of personal growth and determination.
Please share a little about your background — what’s your story?
I am a proud Puerto Rican-Dominican-American, deeply connected to my roots and the diverse tapestry of my family and friends. Growing up in East New York, Brooklyn, and spending cherished summers in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, has shaped who I am today. Despite the challenges posed by the environment in my neighborhood in Cypress Hills, including drugs,… Read More »
Where are you from and what is your background story? Please share your details from the period before you arrived at CCNY.
I'm a proud alum of the New York City public school system. My parents immigrated from Bangladesh to Queens in the 1990s and managed to find a way to create a living for my brothers and myself. Though we grew up in a small, crowded apartment in Jackson Heights, and did not have much to spare, my parents were generous with others and shielded us from the daily financial pressures they faced. I only have the opportunities that I do… Read More »
“Your Professional Career is More a Marathon than a Sprint.” Steven Rodriguez (‘14) and his Journey to Career Success
Where are you from and what is your background story? Please share your details from the period before you arrived at CCNY.
I am a first-generation Latino with parents from Colombia. I was going through the motions of education because that was the norm. The idea I grew up with was that to succeed in a career, we had to graduate from college at the very least. Without much guidance from family, I quickly stumbled and lost track of why… Read More »
A First-Generation American Passionate About Public Service: The Story of Olakunle Atanda (‘14)
Olakunle is a first-generation American of Nigerian descent. He was born in Brooklyn but spent most of his formative years in Lagos, Africa’s most populous city. Growing up in a developing economy, he witnessed searing poverty, inequality, and political instability. This experience not only revealed to him the indispensable role of public policy in creating measures of support and opportunity for people but also seeded his passion for public service. After… Read More »
Where are you from and what is your background story? Please share your details from the period before you arrived at CCNY.
I am originally from Tallahassee, Florida. When my parents were married they moved to Florida from New York (my dad by way of Nigeria, my mom by way of a Caribbean-American family rooted in Crown Heights). I am the youngest of three, but to some, I give off only-child energy because of the age difference between my brother, sister, and me (6 and 12 years each, respectively). My parents divorced when I was in 6th grade and I ended… Read More »
Dean Rich in conversation with President Boudreau on the 10 Year Anniversary of the Colin Powell School
Dean Rich
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Colin Powell School, and I want to invite you to take a step back and reflect on the founding of the School. Take us back if you will: Colin Powell graduated in 1958; what got him reengaged at the College?
President Boudreau
I had been the director of the Colin Powell Center for only a few months and was told that the way to change the profile of the Colin Powell Center was… Read More »
Last Updated: 01/15/2020 15:46