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Caribbean Life, Mar. 31-Apr. 6, 2022
No Shortage of Women to Celebrate During Women’s History Month
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By Dr. ClauDia V. SChraDer
It’s Women’s History Month, and there
is no shortage of women to celebrate.
For centuries, the “first ladies” club has
added to its ranks women like Sandra Day
O’Connor (former Supreme Court justice),
Sara Teasdale (Pulitzer Prize-winner for
poetry), the late Congresswoman Shirley
Chisholm, Kathy Hochul (NYS governor),
Frances Marion (the late Academy Awardwinner)
Kamala Harris (U.S. vice president)
and Leticia James (NYS attorney
general). They made history as the first in
their positions. I would be remiss if I didn’t
take this opportunity to shine the light on
three women at Kingsborough who represent
the hundreds who are the first or
among the first in their families to attend
college. Though hailing from different
countries – namely, Puerto Rico, Guyana,
and Trinidad – their stories share a similar
spirit of resiliency, focus, and determination
to succeed.
It has been a long road for 50-year-old
Lucy Del Valle. After graduating from
high school, she was accepted into the
SEEK program at Hunter College, but
was already working at 19 years of age,
and financially supporting her family, so
she could not enter school full-time as required.
Her education took a back seat but was
never far from her mind as she continued
to be a caregiver, moved out of state, and
even attempted to enroll in a community
college in Florida, but difficulty getting her
high school transcript prevented her from
doing so. But once back in NYC in 2020, she
learned about KCC FLEX, an affordable
program specially designed for adults juggling
school, family and work. It enables
students to start or finish a college degree
with an online, on-campus, evening or
weekend schedule that meets their needs.
Lucy is enrolled in the associate degree
in business administration and has
her eyes set on working as a tumor registrar
in the health-care field. For Lucy,
KCC FLEX was “perfect timing,” as she
could work full-time from home and care
for her mother, the person from whom she
said she earned her strong work ethics and
strengths.
Iesha Yansen, 24, also credits her
mother with teaching her how to love
herself, how to persevere in life and how
to be a mother. It was motherhood that
made KCC FLEX a good choice for Iesha.
After giving birth during the pandemic,
she wanted to stay home with her son. She
remembered that she would see the Kingsborough
campus from an office where she
worked in Sheepshead Bay and decided
to explore the website, discovered KCC
FLEX, and enrolled as a business administration
major. This young woman, who
looked out a window and set her sights on
Kingsborough, is now setting her sights on
completing her degree in business this December
and becoming the first in her family
to earn a college degree.
A younger Kathleen Browne always
wanted to go to college, but working took
precedence. But now, at 47, not even fibromyalgia,
which causes her constant pain,
will stop her from earning her college
degree. Travelling is extremely challenging
for Kathleen. Fortunately for her, the
online chemical dependency counseling
(CASAC) programs offered through KCC
FLEX are helping her to take her education
further. With her degree, she plans
to help others. This is her calling, she
shared, and she doesn’t let the pain she often
experiences define or stop her. She told
me her resiliency is a gift from her mother,
who came to this country as a babysitter,
gained her citizenship, and worked tirelessly
to support her family.
It is her mother who inspired her to
follow her dreams. Kathleen will not be
the first in her family to earn her college
degree (her sister already has) but she
won’t be the last (her daughter is enrolled
at NYC Tech).
You won’t find their names in our
history books (not yet, anyway) but Lucy,
Iesha and Kathleen and the thousands
of other women who will be the first (or
among the first) in their families to graduate
from college have earned their place in
our celebration of Women’s History Month.
Today we celebrate them and the women
who raised them.
Kingsborough Community College’s
KCC FLEX is college your way — anytime,
anywhere. It’s an affordable, flexible way
to earn – or finish – a college degree that fits
your lifestyle. You can complete a KCC FLEX
degree online and on-campus, daytime, evenings
and weekend classes. You can create a
class schedule that meets your needs by taking
classes in any combination. For more information
visit https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/
kccflex.
KCC FLEX students Lucy Del Valle, Iesha Yansen and Kathleen Browne are three of many women in college to be celebrated
for making history in their own way.
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