My parents scratched and saved to send all
of us to Catholic school. On summer weekends
– we didn’t go on family vacations – dad would
take me to the city’s free museums, providing
the best education we could afford. And it was
great. At The Met and The American Museum
of Natural History especially, I fell in love
with history and developed an appreciation
for the city’s diversity, rich resources and the
opportunities available to us just by being New
Yorkers.
The City University of New York was one such
resource; an answered prayer for someone like
me, a first-generation college student.
Timothy G. Lynch, Ph.D., is the interim president of
Queensborough Community College
I went to Brooklyn College on academic
scholarship and then to the Graduate Center.
It was a completely new world for me, in every
respect, and I was challenged in ways that I’d
never been before – from the long subway ride
and paying for textbooks to reading a thousand
pages of history a week, all while making ends
meet by opening doors at all hours of the day
and night for others as a Park Avenue building
attendant. It was a glimpse into a world unlike
anything I had ever seen.
It became clear how transformative CUNY would
be for me and how important it was to remove
obstacles to higher education and open other
doors to better serve poor and underrepresented
students, especially those who were the first in
their families to go to college.
With excellent CUNY support systems and the
help of inspiring faculty mentors – thank you
Professors Hans Trefousse (Brooklyn College)
and Tom Kessner (The Graduate Center) – I
succeeded.
Hans was a great historian and an even
better man. His influence on me is incalculable.
His passion for teaching, and for making the
minutiae of history matter, was astounding.
Tom Kessner convinced me to stay in school
when I did not think I could; his enthusiasm was
infectious.
As Interim President of Queensborough
Community College, I frequently share my life story
with students and we talk about the challenges
and precariousness of going to college.
It may come as a surprise to you, but classes
and homework usually are not the hardest parts.
Working full-time jobs, in most cases, are.
So are family responsibilities, paying for rent
and food, arranging for childcare, sending
money home, buying textbooks and covering
unexpected costs.
Some students tell me about the cultural gaps
they face as first-generation undergraduates:
no road maps; difficulties with academic terms
and expectations; and no one at home who
can help with financial aid paperwork, course
advisement or career services. Some wonder if
they have it in them to attend college, let alone
finish and go on to something more.
The obstacles they face are formidable, but
not insurmountable.
Queensborough’s 16 thousand students come
from 130 countries and speak 79 languages.
70% live in families earning less than $30K a
year (the poverty threshold in New York City
for a family of one adult and three children is
$30,874). About half are first-generation college
students.
All have access to an array of CUNY programs
such as ASAP, Single Stop, CUNY Edge, CRSP,
CSTEP, RIMS and more, that provide a range of
financial, academic, legal, social, and personal
assistance services. Behind each program is an
army of advisers, counselors and educators, all
supporting student success.
As a result, the overwhelming majority of
students accessing these benefits complete their
studies, get their associate degree, transfer to
four-year colleges or universities, or start their
professional careers. 90% graduate debt free.
Each have their own story, like Queensborough
alumnus Jermaine Meadows from East New York.
This first-generation student is now a Master’s
student and mentor at SUNY Albany, contributing
to higher education policy development. Julio
Salas, a first-generation graduate from Corona,
is studying pre-med at Cornell in Ithaca. Kaylynn
Pubill, another Queensborough graduate, who
commuted from the Bronx every day by bus
and is the first in her family to follow through
with college, is now a Biology student at Hunter
College.
These bright young individuals succeeded
at Queensborough, like all students can –
unhindered and unhampered, in an environment
they say championed diversity, valued
inclusivity, and enabled opportunity.
Jermaine notes one of the biggest lessons he
learned at Queensborough was to “truly believe
in yourself.” As a mentor to younger students
he tells them, “Don’t let your circumstances
conquer you. If you fall, get back up.”
Julio didn't realize, at first, “the number
of opportunities and value Queensborough
offered” him.
Kaylynn says it took her a while to “let go
of self-doubt and fear” that held her back.
She told herself, “You have guts. Put your ego
aside and be open to growing.” Jermaine, Julio
and Kaylynn acknowledge that education is the
engine of upward social mobility, as do I, and
countless others.
Their alma mater, Queensborough, rates
highly (it is the highest-rated community college
in the New York area) and is well known for its
great success in moving low-income students
into the middle class upon graduation.
We have award-winning academics,
distinguished faculty (more than 80% hold
a doctorate or terminal degree; three times
the national average) and Queensborough is
known nationally as a leader in undergraduate
research.
What may be less obvious, until you get to
know Queensborough, is the extent to which
we believe in every individual and how far we
will go – in my case, from the projects to the
presidency – to ensure that every student
has the opportunity to achieve their greatest
potential.
QNS.COM
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/QNS.COM
