Student, Faculty, and Alumni Stories

November 15, 2021

  How Remote Teaching Spurred Adaptation and Innovation: Reflections from Professor Mehdi Samimi   Professor Mehdi Samimi joined the Colin Powell School’s Economics and Business Department in the middle of the pandemic when all classes were being conducted online. Here, Samimi shares his reflections on his first full year of remote teaching:   Teaching online was initially challenging for me for several reasons such as not knowing the audience, lack of online teaching experience, lack of direct immediate feedback from the audience, and technological difficulties. On the other… Read More »


November 15, 2021

  Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help: Alumna Melissa Olivar on Her Path as a Burgeoning Expert on Environmental Justice    After witnessing first-hand the mistreatment experienced by her mother and other Mexican immigrants who work hard doing essential work for little pay, Melissa Olivar was determined to earn a Bachelor’s Degree and make a better life for herself and her family. Having a natural inclination toward science, she started as a chemistry major but later switched to sociology and international studies. At the Colin Powell School she became a Koch Fellow and Climate… Read More »


November 15, 2021

  Spielman Research Lab, Legacy of Harold M. Spielman (Class of ‘50), Facilitates Award-Winning Research on Social Inequality  By Adriana Espinosa, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Spielman Research Lab   The Spielman Social Sciences Research Lab was established by a generous donation by Mr. Harold Spielman in 2013. The mission of the Spielman Lab, as envisioned by Mr. Spielman, is to support Social Science researchers at the Colin Powell School as well as recruit and train the next generation of Social Science researchers. Located on the 7th floor of the… Read More »


September 20, 2021

  With Faith in Yourself, You Can Make the Impossible Possible: Keyla Pereira on Her College Journey Amidst the Pandemic Keyla Pereira is a senior majoring in Economics with a minor in Business Administration. In this interview, Pereira discusses her experience with daunting transitions: assimilating as an immigrant from Ecuador in a new high school in New York City, deciding to stay in the city for college, changing to a different major at a different CUNY campus, making the best of remote learning after the pandemic thwarted her study abroad plans, and finally exploring the… Read More »


September 20, 2021

  Make Connections and Research Opportunities: Amanur Rahman on how Study Abroad and the JP Morgan Mentorship Program Changed His Life Born in Bangladesh, Amanur Rahman migrated to the United States in 2010 and became the first in his family to graduate from college when he earned a degree in Economics at City College. With assistance from the SEEK program and the CUNY Chancellor Scholarship, Rahman had a transformative study abroad experience in Europe that helped him gain clarity on his career path. He then became a fellow of Project BASTA, a program for first-generation… Read More »


August 30, 2021

  Collective Transformation to Fulfill CCNY’s Historic Mission: Professor Chen on Becoming Sociology Department Chair  Can you share a little about your background and how you made the decision to go into academia?    As an organizational researcher, I specialize in studying how innovative democratic organizations can transform people’s relationships and help a broader range of stakeholders to collectively pursue their interests. This question was sparked by my own experiences with organizations that were too bureaucratic and hierarchical. I also was troubled by how university… Read More »


August 30, 2021

  A New Strategic Direction: Punit Arora on Becoming the New Economics Department Chair   Can you share a little about your background and how you made the decision to go into academia?   Truth be told, it was an accidental decision to get into academia. I never imagined I would be an academic! After several high profile, high-pressure jobs with the Indian government, I decided I needed a break. I wanted to experience a new culture and came to the US for a masters program. That one-year break ended up becoming a PhD. More importantly, I fell in love both literally and… Read More »


August 30, 2021

  Stepping Up to the International Stage: Professor Yochanan Shachmurove on Becoming Director of the MA Economics Program   Can you share a little about your background and how you decided to go into academia? I was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, went to Tel Aviv University with a BA in Economics and an MBA in Finance and Operations Research. I was accepted to a few universities for PhD programs, including the University of Chicago and the University of Minnesota. Due to the better financial offer, I decided to go to the University of Minnesota. There, I wrote my dissertation… Read More »


August 30, 2021

  Guiding Psychology Students During the Pandemic: Tiffany Floyd on Becoming Director of Master in Mental Health Counseling MA Program in 2021   Professor Tiffany Floyd, an expert in reducing gender-based health disparities, became the director of the Masters Program in Mental Health Counseling (MHC) earlier this year. Professor Floyd is a clinical psychologist whose research and clinical work focus on reducing health disparities. Her specific areas of interest include mood disorders, women’s health, behavior change, and prevention/risk reduction. After receiving her PhD from… Read More »


August 30, 2021

“Be Generous with the Time You Give Students”: Professor Rajan Menon, Dedicated Teacher and Prolific Scholar, Retires    Professor Rajan Menon, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science at the Colin Powell School, retires this fall after more than ten years at CCNY. A native of Kerala, India, Professor Menon grew up in New York City and Wichita, Kansas. He is a prolific author, whose research focuses on American domestic and national security policy, globalization, and the politics of Asia, Russia, and the post-Soviet states. During his time at CCNY, he dedicated… Read More »


Last Updated: 01/15/2020 15:46