FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 4, 2019 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 67
The future belongs to her
A good cause
Friend Joe Valentino of the Titan
Auto Group, with dealerships
in the New York City
region, was honored by the SASS
Foundation, a group created to
fi nd a cure for cancer and educate
patients about the disease.
Th e SASS Foundation was
created by three men who
experienced the devastation
of cancer on their loved
ones personally and professionally.
Th ey decided to create
the foundation and make
a diff erence.
The gala took place at
Gustavinos, an event space with
enormously high cantilevered ceilings
stunningly set under the
Queensboro Bridge.
Friends of Joe and all others attending
were inspired by the event’s host,
Dr. Francis Arena, one of the SASS
Foundation’s founders, whose message
“Th e time is now to beat cancer”
stirred everyone in the packed hall.
His was a message of hope and it
was a privilege to meet people making
a diff erence with their money
and support of the SASS Foundation’s
mission.
President and director
of research of the SASS
Foundation Francis Arena,
MD. with Joe Valentino
Joe Valentino and his wife.
vschneps@gmail.com
The wild party
I attended a wild
party, but not
what you’d expect.
It was a fundraiser
for the powerfully
eff ective “Volunteers
for Wildlife,” a
Locust Valley-based
organization that
runs animal rescues
and education programs
in New York
City and Long Island
region.
I was invited to the party
by Deborah Cannon, who
helps the group, and I was
happy to see Congressman
Tom Suozzi and his wife
Helene sharing their evening
with the group. It was an
eye-opening evening learning
about their eff orts to save wildlife
and their environment. I met
some beautiful owls and special people!
A unique evening indeed!
Eleanor Roosevelt said it
best: “Th e future belongs
to those who believe in
the beauty of their dreams.” No
one personifi es that better than
the newly appointed president
of Kingsborough Community
College, the 56-year-old, stunningly
powerful Dr. Claudia
Schrader.
She is in her eighth month
at the idyllic 70-acre waterfront
campus, located in Manhattan
Beach on the tip of Brooklyn.
It felt like going down memory
lane as I made my way
through my childhood favorite
neighborhood, where Lundy’s
was a family dining ritual in
Sheepshead Bay and, on the
other side of the bay, where I
had my pre-wedding ceremony
at the Manhattan Beach Jewish
Center. Th e streets are now fi lled
with mini mansions built out
on all the property majestically
overlooking the bay.
CUNY Kingsborough CC has
a handsome entry gate and city
buses drop students on campus.
Cars can easily park on the
spacious grounds. I felt like I
entered another world far from
the bustling city as I made my
way to the president’s offi ce.
I had been there a number
of years ago to meet then-president
Farley Herzek and was
impressed with his creative
approaches to his students’
needs. It worked because the
school enjoys the highest graduation
rate in CUNY and was
named one of the top community
colleges in the country.
Just last week, the school was
among 10 community colleges
in the United States — and the
only one in New York State —
to be named a fi nalist by the
Aspen Institute at a ceremony in
Washington, D.C.
Th e mantle to run the college
has been passed to Dr. Schrader,
a remarkably prepared professional
who can surely relate to
her students who struggle to get
through school.
Dr. Schrader began her life
in serene St. Croix, the largest
of the U.S. Virgin Islands,
then came to America to get her
degrees.
As one of my favorite songs
says, “You’ve come a long way
baby,” and what a journey she
has had to the top of the ivory
tower as president of one of the
most respected schools in our
great city.
Dr. Schrader has experienced
many fi rsts as the seventh
Kingsborough College president,
and the fi rst Carribean-
American leader in the school’s
56-year history.
I had the pleasure of meeting
her just weeks aft er she was
appointed president of the only
community college in Brooklyn,
as my media company honored
her at our Caribbean Life Impact
awards. I was impressed with her
energy, passion, intelligence and
joy at her new assignment.
We are fortunate to have
her coming to the school with
impeccable credentials, including
top positions at other community
colleges and degrees from
Columbia University Teachers
College, where she received her
Master’s and doctorate degrees
aft er graduating from Rutgers
University with a double major in
African Studies and Journalism.
You can imagine we instantly
bonded not only because of
my own calling into journalism
but also my Master’s degree in
Education.
Dr. Schrader also had a profound
impact with her teaching
at multiple prestigious institutions,
and leading an early intervention
education program.
Since I’ve devoted much of my
life to my daughter Lara and her
special needs, I am impressed
with her work in the fi eld of special
education.
Although Kingsborough
has been successful making
sure their students graduate
and move on to four-year
schools, Dr. Schrader’s goal is to
increase enrollment and spread
the word of the quality education
in a unique environment
Kingsborough off ers.
With her passion and sensitivity
for her students and faculty,
my bet is on her to succeed.
She is a woman who has a
dream and the ability to make it
become a reality.
Eleanor Roosevelt would certainly
approve of Dr. Schrader
embodying her belief about
believing in your dreams.
VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
tweet me @vschneps
Dr. Claudia Schrader at her offi ce
Deborah Cannon
(left), a sponsor and
my hostess.
Jean Thatcher, president of
Volunteers for Wildlife, with
Congressman Tom Suozzi
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