Thanks from 2009 Scholars

Adailza Carvalho
I am from Brazil and have been living in New York for over eight years. I started BMCC as a part time student in 2006. My major is Early Childhood Education. My academic journey has been very slow because I have had to take time off. I have had wonderful professors at BMCC and very helpful staff members who have inspired me to become a better person and a more diligent student. Last fall I received a letter saying that because of my excellent academic achievements I was eligible to apply for a BMCC Foundation Scholarship. I had to read the letter many times because I could not believe it. Since that day my life has changed. I started working on my application and learned the importance of getting to know my professors because I needed them to write reference letters. I will never forget the day I received the scholarship. It was amazing to be congratulated. Vice President Craig shared her academic and professional experiences with the recipients and told us the importance of giving back. Nowadays, I am doing something I have never done before, I volunteer, I give back and I feel great about it.

Christina Gonzalez
I am 22 years old, and a liberal arts major with plans to graduate this May. I am honored to have received a BMCC scholarship. The scholarship enables me to attend college. I hope to someday have a career in criminal justice. My personal experience with domestic violence has made me lean toward either forensic psychology or becoming a police officer. I believe that sometimes people are forced to endure crisis in their lives in order for them to learn and appreciate what is important. The support I have received from BMCC, including counseling as well as financial support, has helped me get through some of the most difficult times. I am working on an honors paper dedicated to addressing domestic violence. My experiences and the guidance I received at BMCC confirm that my career path is right. I hope to make a difference some day by working with victims and offenders of domestic violence and their families through education and therapy. I am dedicated to this effort and am grateful for the start I got at BMCC.

Jasmine Miller
This is my second year as a full time student at BMCC. My major is business management and I expect to graduate in the fall of 2009. Being selected to receive the BMCC Foundation Scholarship has helped me in so many ways that words cannot express how grateful I truly am. The scholarship has helped my mother because she is my only provider and she was having a tough time paying for my tuition. Thanks to the scholarship I am able to go to college, which will help me excel in life. My most important goal is to continue my college studies and to someday graduate with a Masters degree in business. I hope to start my own recording label and a marketing company to help musical artists, actors, and others in the arts market their product.

Albert Oduro
I am a native of Ghana and in my final year at BMCC. I grew up in a remote town with little hope of a better future, but now I am a liberal arts major and a student ambassador at the college. In my second semester at BMCC, my finances were such that I almost had to quit school in order to continue working two jobs to support my family. Fortunately, the BMCC Foundation scholarship resuscitated my dreams. The scholarship enabled me to quit one job and help pay for my educational expenses. I can proudly say that I will be the first member in my family to have a college education.
My ultimate goal is to become an international lawyer specializing in human rights violation. My mother always told me that “to whom much is given, much will be expected.” I have been through the valley and know what it is like to have no hope for a better future. I am inspired by family, friends and most of all the less privileged in my remote town. My hope is to one day set up an educational fund to support needy children in my community and beyond. For now, I volunteer every Tuesday at Saint Peter’s Cathedral feeding homeless people in our community.

Christina Perez
I was raised in the south Bronx, in a neighborhood where over fifty percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The notion of academic excellence was not one that was emphasized in that environment. For several years I endured the suffocation of a life that was incongruous with the one I yearned for, that of a scholar. In the fall of 2007, after several years working a series of unfulfilling jobs, I enrolled in the Writing and Literature program at BMCC. During my first year I was academically successful, attaining straight A’s, yet I was unsure of how I would be able to afford the next two semesters. In the spring of 2008 I applied for and received a BMCC Foundation scholarship, without which I would not have been able to continue my education. I currently maintain a 3.8 G.P.A and will graduate in May with an honors degree. I intend to continue my education at a four-year university and attain a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing. I then plan to further my education and attain a Master of Arts degree. I aspire to work in the editorial department of a publishing house. My long term goal is to be a published writer of both fiction and non-fiction.

Martina Puchta
I am a nursing student and I just finished my medical-surgical rotation. I am currently pursuing a summer internship/externship in nursing at various hospitals in the city. Prior to my studies at BMCC, I worked as a Health Advocacy Coordinator with the HIV/AIDS population for six years, teaching and training HIV positive individuals about health promotion and stress reduction. I also worked as a Treatment Coordinator with developmentally disabled adults. I am thrilled to be able to pursue a new career that will allow me to bring my diverse experiences together and make a more meaningful contribution to our city. I want to thank the BMCC Foundation for my scholarship. As a nursing student, it is very challenging to work full-time and find time for my studies. The scholarship encouraged and supported me in my academic endeavors and gave me confidence and hope to continue in my career path.
Once I complete my degree, I want to work in a New York City hospital and continue my studies so I can become a Holistic Health Nurse Practitioner. I believe that combining Western medicine with Eastern traditions will allow us to heal our patients’ bodies, minds and spirits, and to help make the world a better place.

Robert Rosa
I am a father of four who is currently pursuing a degree at BMCC in education.  When I first enrolled at BMCC in the fall of 2005, my family was on Public Assistance.  I spent my first and second semesters residing at a homeless shelter in the South Bronx with my wife and four children. Since then, with the help of BMCC, we have moved out of the shelter and into a three bedroom home in the Bronx.  While residing in the homeless shelter, my family’s mantra was “keep your eye on the prize no matter what.” During my first and second semesters I achieved a GPA of 3.54, putting me on the Dean’s List. This lead to a BMCC Foundation scholarship, which has helped me continue my studies.
Along with school, I now work as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of the George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at NYU.  All this could never have been accomplished if not for the support given to me by the many services and programs at BMCC.  It has not been an easy task going back to school after such a long hiatus, but I would not change a thing. BMCC is just the beginning for me. As the slogan goes: you can “Start Here Go Anywhere.” I and the rest of the success stories walking up and down these hallways are living proof!

Kelli Scott
I began attending BMCC in 1995. I was young and determined. After attending college for a few semesters, money problems caused me to take a break. During that break, I got married, had a child, got divorced and changed jobs several times, but my desire to get an education and make a difference in the world was always there. I returned to BMCC in September 2007 and am more focused and more determined to finished what I started 14 years ago. I am majoring in early childhood education because I want to leave a lasting impression on a child, just as my first grade teacher Ms. Kessler did for me. I am graduating this May with my Associate Degree. I am so thankful for my experience at BMCC and for the scholarship that helped me finish my education. I now know that you are never too old to chase a dream.

Diana Yartey
am a 29 year old Ghanaian majoring in nursing. The third of three siblings, I emigrated to the United States in September 2005 to pursue higher education. I know that I have to work extra hard to make my dreams come true, never forgetting that I have a brighter future ahead. I have always wanted to be a nurse. I enrolled at BMCC in January 2007, and after my first two semesters, I was accepted into the nursing program. It has not been easy working full time and going to school full time, but I had to do it in order to take care of myself and help my family back home in Ghana. Thanks to the BMCC Foundation Scholarship, I was able to cut down my long working hours and my sleepless nights to make more time for studies. Indeed, with perseverance and determination I know I can and will surely make it to the top.