Ria Collingwood remembers her first step: at her home in the southern Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago. She sat in front of her computer looking up American colleges that would fit both her academic standards and her parents’ budget.
Browsing through the CUNY system, Collingwood stumbled upon BMCC, and was hooked in by the motto, “Start Here. Go Anywhere.”
Fast forward five years: last week at BMCC’s 20th Annual Scholarship Gala, Collingwood stood before a crowd of 400 faculty, staff and donors as a graduate of Stanford University, where she pursued her Bachelor’s after two years at BMCC, and gave a rousing speech detailing how she started at BMCC, and is on her way to “anywhere.”
“Start Here”
When Collingwood left her hometown for New York City, she had just two suitcases filled with mainly tropical, warm weather clothes, and $300 in cash — which she later found out was not enough to even buy herself books for her first semester.
Fortunately, BMCC offers upwards of $1 million in scholarships. In fact, $710,000 was raised at the Gala, held on behalf of the BMCC College Scholarship Fund.
“BMCC is the kind of college that recognizes there are students like me, who can’t even afford a relatively inexpensive college education,” Collingwood told the crowd. “It is an institution that sees the need to transform my $300 into almost $3,000 to cover a priceless experience and afford me the chance to graduate in two years.”
Collingwood started on her path to success in high school, where she founded Nation of Women, a group that brings together women seeking to challenge gender stereotypes. While at BMCC, she earned herself the opportunity to attend the Salzburg Seminar in Austria, a global issues-focused colloquium awarded to qualify students. She also traveled to Ghana as part of a study abroad award.
“It is not enough for students to have the global experience from the perspective of students migrating to America — it is equally important that we go to their worlds as well, and BMCC makes sure students have opportunities to experience the world,” she said.
“Go Anywhere”
Collingwood graduated from BMCC in 2005, and was accepted to Stanford University in California. One of the most selective colleges in the U.S., Stanford’s undergraduate program is ranked fourth among national universities by the U.S. News and World Report.
As a student at Stanford, Collingwood went back to Ghana to conduct an academic enrichment camp, and studied abroad in France. She majored in Cultural and Social Anthropology
“In addition, my start at BMCC helped me win a number of institutional awards, and when I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree last June, it was with distinction and honors,” she said.
Collingwood is currently at New York University pursuing a Tom Ford Fellowship in Philanthropy, an award that goes to only three graduating seniors at Stanford. Her fellowship has sent her to South Africa and Nigeria to participate in conferences and conduct research. She’s also made presentations to top officials at the World Bank on the importance of investing in the development of young African scholars.
But she had a bigger award to announce to the Gala crowd that night: Collingwood is the first person of Trinidad and Tobago to receive the Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which will allow her to pursue a Master’s degree this fall at the University of Cambridge in England — with all expenses paid.
“Students do not do this alone,” Collingwood told attendees. “President Antonio Perez, faculty, staff and donors like you have given much of yourselves. Your gifts are like seeds from which trees grow, branches spread, blossoms bloom and fruit are borne.”
The Gala
BMCC’s 20th Annual Scholarship Gala was held at Pier 60 of Chelsea Piers. The program began with a cocktail reception and silent auction of sports memorabilia, vacations and visits to the finest restaurants, which was followed by dinner.
The Gala, for which WCSB-TV News reporter Lou Young served as master of ceremonies, honored Catherine Kinney, president and co-chief operating officer of the New York Stock Exchange – Euronext, and Deryck Palmer, partner in the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
