BMCC Honors 4.0 Achievers

Former BMCC Achiever and graduate Shannon Kidd talks to students via Skype. <a href=

Former BMCC Achiever and graduate Shannon Kidd talks to students via Skype. Click here for photo gallery
September 28, 2016

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) Office of Student Affairs recognized 255 current students who completed 12 or more credits and have maintained a 4.0 GPA at the end of the 2016 spring semester during a ceremony on September 27 in Richard Harris Terrace.

Students received certificates of recognition after a buffet meal and opening congratulatory remarks. Featured speakers included Provost, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Karrin Wilks and Vice President for Student Affairs Marva Craig, who opened the ceremony. Dean Michael Hutmaker provided closing remarks.

Provost Wilks told the audience that improving student success is always a priority at BMCC. She said achievers in the room had demonstrated that they have leadership potential.

“We need more people like you in our world, so use your skills to make the world a better place,” Wilks said.

Vice President Craig told the students that she had always been told there were no perfect people in the world. “You’ve proven them wrong,” said Craig.  She asked students in the room to look to the left, to the right and behind them to see all the perfection in the room. Craig also urged the 4.0 achievers to listen to their peers and take the time to help or guide those who might be struggling at school by sharing tips on how to study more effectively.

The highlight of the event was when Shannon Kidd, 2016 BMCC graduate, surprised the BMCC Achievers with a special appearance via Skype. Kidd, a former 4.0 Achiever, graduated with an associate’s degree in Engineering Science and is currently enrolled at Cornell University. When she appeared on screen, the Cornell clock tower was visible in the background.

VP Craig asked the students, “Do you know where she is?” and soon some of the students began to shout, “Cornell!”

As the bells from the Cornell clock tower continued to ring in the background, Kidd shared her experience at Cornell including the differences between attending BMCC, sharing a dorm space with another student and comparing the size of the Cornell campus to BMCC.

Computer Science major Babatunde Ogunniyi was among the students being recognized in the audience. He enrolled at BMCC after he moved to New York City from Dallas in 2015.

He said the secret to a 4.0 GPA was to stay on top of schoolwork, always be on time for class and communicate with professors. Ogunniyi plans to continue at a four-year college.

“Eventually I’m hoping for a career as an entrepreneur or a position at a company like Google,” he said.

Human Services major Malika Stephenson said she had first attended BMCC five years ago. But she was raising two small children at the time so she had to put school on hold.

“They’re a bit older now, so it’s easier,” said Stephenson, who hopes to major in social work at Hunter College (CUNY) after she graduates BMCC in 2018.

Liberal Arts major Safa Alam arrived in New York City just two years ago from Bangladesh. Alam, who hopes to eventually become a Biomedical Engineer, said she was grateful for her time at BMCC.

“In addition to exploring career goals, I’ve made friends from different cultures and learned to appreciate people from different societies,” she said.

Communications major Ajay Kalladeen came to New York City five years ago from Guyana. After he graduates next year, his plan is to continue studying at a four-year college and eventually become a teacher. He is appreciative to BMCC for hosting events such at the Achievers ceremony because it makes him and other students feel “a bit special.”

“When I was a child in Guyana, education was considered a luxury. Since then I’ve become aware of how important getting an education is,” said Kalladeen. If he hadn’t made it to New York and BMCC, he would likely be working on a farm or fishing off the coast of Guyana, Kalladeen said.

The 2016 Achievers include:

A-F

Fatima Abid, Adebayo Ajagunna, Ruth Ajiboye, Safa Alam,Victor Aldana, Nicole Annan, Julita Antkiewicz, Isabel Antoniani, ResfredArthur, Ignacio Asturias, Ifat Ayalon, Mathias Bantle, Eter Bardanashvili, Juliet Barriola, Cathianna Bartolomeo, Clemence Begin, Martin Bengtsson, Giorgi Beradze, Gifty Blankson, Mervyn Bollers, James Bormann, Justin Born, Elisabeth Bozza-Canals, Ellen Bracken, Yaakov Brezak, Patricia Brown, Patrick Browne, Rae Browne, Tiffany Cales, Seylon Chen, Yong Wook Choi, Jongkon Chueangam, Lenny Ciotti, Michael Clark, Dawn Collet, Kathleen Connolly, Aileen Cordero, Mayumy Cordova Lozano, Jessica Corsino, Santona Das, Laura Davidson, Aaron Delgado, Carolina Dellepiane, Tesfamichael Demeke, Quincy Doccy, Johanna Donovan Turner, Barkissou Drodyaye, Tiffany Duarte, Alonda Duvall, Olasubomi Efuniyi, Jack English, Alma Escobar, Iris Feliciano, Jesus Figueroa, Jill Fischbarg, Claire Flitsch, Melissa Ford, Ryan Fosner, Caroline Frankiewicz and Chris Frazier.

G-L

Jihad Gadsden,, Jonathan Gaige, Yana Galatyn, Fritz Gerald Gardiner, Alena Garver, Jacinta Gaughan-Licata, Ana Maria Geisel, Cheryl Gibber, Arta Gjoni, Pooja Gomes, Maria Gonzalez, Tynaia Gordon, Janis Grant, John Grasso, Vanessa Guarino, Jian Guo, Tamaz Gvasalia, Corie Hahn, Matthew Hall Lutz, Sue-Ann Hansel, Thomas Harkins, Debra Harry, Anja Hernandez, Nicholas Herrera, Raphael Hertz, Lauren Hill, Megan Holleran, Lina Huang, Jing Huang-Oliver, Ricardo Hughes, Malgorzata Hulacka, Jun Hwang, Marko Iakubovskyi, Bryant Ibarra, Nanae Itoi, Elena Ivanova, Agne Ivaskeviciute, Kissila Izidoro, Rhiannon Jardim, Pavel Javornik, Sangwoo Jeon, Stephanie Johnson, Susan Johnson, Ryan Jung, Ajay Kalladeen, Yuliia Kalynchuk, Christina Kavanagh, Nima Khalilian, Yana Khusainova, Elizabeth Kim, Yongjun Kim, Theodocia King, Lily Ko, Mahmira Kurbanova, Chi Fai Lam, Courtney Lambert, Jie Lan, Shinyoung Lee, Bryan Leon, Thamcho Lhamo, Jing Lin, Jaime Lin Huang, Miriam Lipeyko, Qi Liu, Shiwen Liu, Sarah Lord and Steven Love.

M-R

Naomi Mackliff, Luis Madrid, Nana Magradze, Paulina Malinowska, Thomas Martoscia, Hazel Mathurin, Iryna Mcdonald, Cheyenne Mcmillion, Lauren Mcpherson, Eileen Medina, Jamy Miah, Maya Moran, Henry Mosseri, Ritienne Muscat, Manal Mustafa, Sofia Mvokany, Michael Myers, Jannatun Nabila, Jason Neally, Juzena Neblett, Hanna Nekhniadovich, Itoko Nemoto, Long Ng, Alicia Nosenzo, Sara Obermajerova, Jack Obrien, Babatunde Ogunniyi, Teniola Ojuolape, Dinora Oliva, Jasmine Olivo, Jennifer Chanda Orozco, Luis Ortiz Vasquez, Tiffany Owen, Jessica Pabotoy, Alexandria Pack, Binita Pandey, Aliaifler Parra, Saurav Paul, Rachel Paulsen, Daron Pearce, Delilah Perez, Jhonny Perez, Lidia Piorkowska, Baivab Pokhrel, Libby Pollak, Iyal Preiss, Justyna Pruszynska, Amna Rajpoot, Britney Ramirez, Reshmi Rampersad, Md. Masud Rana, Brenda Reyes, Roberto Rios, Giselle Robleto, Lisa Rodriguez, Julian Rolof, Diana Romero, Leslie Romero Rodriguez, Charlotte Rutherfurd and Luke Ryan.

S-Z

Gurwinder Sahota, Kelly Saint Jean, Yaseer Saiyed, Moheb Salmoun, Julian Sapala, Jeffrey Saribay, Preeya Sawadmanod, Sandra Shamburger, Maor Shavit, Avital Shechter, Marley Shelby, Gregory Sher, Maya Sherpa, David Shi, Carl Shimkin, Halyna Shvets, Mariia Shvets, Tyler Simpson, Jodenna Simpson, Vicky Sioukas, Ian Souza, Phillip Stafford, Omar Stephens, Catherine Stephens, Courtney Stephenson, Malika Stephenson, Johura Suba, Erii Sugimoto, Elise Suthers, Mamadou Sy, Brian Tai, Mariko Takizawa, Brittney Taylor, Sacha Telfer, Thanh Thai, Darniesha Thomas, Tia Thompson, Sheyla Tineo Vasquez, Virginia Torres, Kelly Toth, Katelyn Turnbow, Lianna Turner, Vera Vazquez, Luany Viera, Ghyslaine Viollaz, Ina Vutcarau, Nicolle Wah, Soheir Wahba, Jing Wang, Robert Weppel, Terence White, Veronika Wilkinson, Ryan Williams, Dylan Williams, Hillel Wolin, Meibing Wu Lina Xu, Wen Xin Yang, Yasmini Yassim, Dylan Yepes, Annalisa Yew, Jee Young Yoo, A-Ra You, Fei Yu, Jessenia Zambrano, Ava Zarich, Mamie Zhenga and Qunying Zhong.

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • BMCC ceremony honors student commitment to academic achievement
  • Office of Student Affairs recognizes 255 students with 4.0 GPA
  • Provost Wilks tells students to use skills to make world a better place

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