Some stellar members of CCNY's Class of 2018. From the top: John Kopyta, Fatimah Barrie
Valedictorian Yasmine El Gheur, Etienne Forbes, Claire Lynch, Salutatorian Zhiying Zhu and Kevin Gonzalez.
At age 55, John Kopyta, a soft-spoken 6-foot-four former Marine, can proudly claim another battle. He graduates from The City College of New York on June 1 with a 4.00 GPA, more than 30 years after leaving the University of South Florida as a sophomore and later overcoming homelessness.
Kopyta is one of 3,996 members of City College’s Class of 2018 (1,077 of whom will receive graduate degrees) marching in the institution’s 172nd Commencement Exercises, at 9:30 a.m. on the South Campus Great Lawn, 135th St. and Convent Ave., Manhattan.
His stellar academics have earned him a BA in interdisciplinary arts and science from CCNY’s Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education (CWE).
“It’s been a great experience. Without CWE it would have been very difficult to go back to school – it’s a great service that City College provides,” said Kopyta.
His degree opens up a pathway to law school, after previous occupations as a C-130 aircraft electrician in the Marines and in construction.
Among the numerous other standouts in CCNY’s Class of 2018 are:
- Fatimah Barrie, a Harlem resident graduating summa cum laude with double majors from the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership and the Division of Humanities and the Arts. She’s receiving a BA in political science from the former and a BA in black studies from the latter;
- Yasmine El Gheur, Class of 2018 Valedictorian and the first member of her family to graduate from college. El Gheur leaves CCNY with a BA in art history and a 3.94 GPA. She plans to earn a PhD and become an art historian of contemporary North African and Middle Eastern Art;
- Etienne Forbes, a U.S. Navy veteran also graduating from the Colin Powell School. He’ll earn a BA in psychology and then travel to Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on a Fulbright U.S. Student grant. Forbes will pursue a one-year master’s program there in culture, organization and management;
- Claire Lynch was a recipient of the 2017 Truman Scholarship for Public Service and a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant this spring. She is a political science and Jewish studies double major in the Colin Powell School and Macaulay Honors College at CCNY and will spend a year teaching in Spain on the Fulbright;
- Zhiying Zhu, a Chinese immigrant and the 2018 Salutatorian, she’s graduating with a BE in biomedical engineering from the Grove School of Engineering. Zhu plans to pursue an MD/PhD and a double career as a medical doctor and researcher;
- Kevin Gonzalez, a former Delta aircraft mechanic who worked on planes as large as the Boeing 747, is graduating with a BS in biology. He won a Jonas E. Salk Scholarship from CUNY for medical school and will enter Columbia University’s neurobiology and behavior PhD program.
Anita F. Hill, the noted law professor, author and voice for gender and civil rights, is the keynote speaker at CCNY’s commencement. She will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters.
City College will also honor two of its distinguished alumni:
- Seymour L. Moskowitz, ’54ME, co-founder and retired president of CoVant Management Inc., honorary degree Doctor of Science;
- Harold Abraham Scheraga, ’41, pioneering scientist and George W. and Grace L. Todd Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, Cornell University, honorary degree Doctor of Science (in absentia).
Click here for more CCNY Class of 2018 student success stories. Click here for more commencement week information.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. Today The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks CCNY #2 among public colleges with the greatest success in ensuring the social mobility of our student body; at the same time the Center for world University Rankings places it in the top 1.2% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight professional schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.