Students Benefit from BMCC-NYU Partnerships

The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Academic Affairs sponsored an afternoon gathering of two student cohort groups—the Pipeline Opportunity for Inter-Collegiate STEM Education (POISE) program and the Gallatin Undergraduate Initiative for Discovery in Education (GUIDE) program on September 21.

Both pipeline programs are products of a unique BMCC and New York University (NYU) partnership that allows a select group of currently enrolled BMCC students the chance to utilize the NYU academic support system including mentors, familiarize themselves with the NYU campus and connect with like-minded students. Students in both programs receive NYU IDs and are eligible for scholarships upon graduation from BMCC and enrollment at NYU.

Now in its fifth year, the POISE collaborative between BMCC and the Academic Achievement Program (AAP) within NYU’s College of Arts and Science (CAS) links BMCC students to bachelor’s degree programs at NYU where they can continue their education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), as well as psychology and related majors.

GUIDE is a brand new collaborative between NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and BMCC. Gallatin faculty and advisors mentor BMCC students, preparing them for Gallatin’s rigorous liberal arts Bachelor of Arts-degree program. GUIDE is tailored to students interested in studying social justice, which is broadly understood to include social movements, law and governance, urban democracy, economics, identity, political literature and art as well as environmental studies.

During the roundtable discussion at the event, Michael Hutmaker, BMCC Dean of Student Affairs encouraged the students to support one another as a BMCC community while at the NYU campus in the Village. “Take advantage of all that NYU has to offer you,” said Hutmaker. He noted that recent graduates from the POISE program have gone on to land jobs at high profile firms such as Citigroup Inc., Google Inc. and Goldman Sachs. Karrin E. Wilks, BMCC Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs called the group of students “illustrious.” She encouraged them to think about their experiences at BMCC and NYU in terms of their own dreams. “NYU positions their graduates into a healthy networking community,” which can be beneficial after college, Wilks added.

Many of the students in the room said they had no idea BMCC offered the sort of opportunities that programs such as POISE and GUIDE provide.

“My original plans were to just keep my grades up, and apply to a SUNY school, but then one day, I received an email from Student Affairs inviting me to apply for POISE,” said Engineering Science major and POISE member Mayumy Cordova Lozana.

“The chance to earn an NYU scholarship changed my plans completely,” she said.

BMCC Liberal Arts major Kevin Zambrano, a member of the new GUIDE cohort, says he has already immersed himself in student life at NYU. He was headed to a leadership retreat with other NYU students the weekend after the gathering.

“At NYU’s Gallatin School, I’ve designed my major around Post Colonial Feminism and Philosophy, and my career goal is to become a human rights lawyer,” he said.

The 2017-2018 BMCC POISE and GUIDE Cohorts include:

(POISE)

Adam Rahman (Science), Alicia Nnenna Chime (Computer Science). Jihad Gadsden (Biotechnology) Amanda Mckenzie (Science), Shaiku Jalloh (Science), Michael Caridad (Computer Science), Ehab Elrawi (Engineering Science) Babatunde Ogunniyi (Computer Information Systems), Kimberly Espejo, (Psychology), Serge Dontsa (Computer Information Systems), Mayumy Cordova Lozano (Engineering Science)

(GUIDE)

Saif Al-Islam Mozeb (Criminal Justice), Ahmad Bhatti (Communication Studies), Zainab Floyd (Art History), Chaya Konig (Psychology), Jahshana Olivierre (Liberal Arts), Shaquasha Reynolds (Psychology), Remiesha Siddo (Liberal Arts), Cascia Thompson (Writing and Literature), Kevin Zambrano (Liberal Arts)