CHRISCEL HALILI

Where do I even begin? I guess I’ll start by introducing myself. Hi, my name is Chriscel Halili and this is Chriscel Halili my last semester at CCNY. I transferred to this school 2 years ago on a whim. After I received my Associate’s Degree at my old community college, I thought I was satisfied but I happened upon the Electronic Design and Multimedia program this university was offering and said to myself “Why the heck not?”. I inquired just for me to find out that I had one week before applications were due. I had seven days to put together a portfolio consisting of about 10 projects (including the department’s requirements). Coming from a programming background, I had to start from scratch and finish all of these within the given time. I remember begging my managers last minute to take me off the schedule the following week and they were nice enough to do it. Finally, it was the last day to hand in everything and I asked my boyfriend to drive me from Queens to Harlem since I was instructed to compile everything in a flash drive which I dropped off in the Compton Goethals

Many people have a lot to say about this school. I even saw a Tiktok recently about colleges in New York and they labeled CCNY as ghetto *insert eye roll emoji here* but you know what’s ghetto? Putting your skills and resources to waste. Yes, this school has its flaws and there are a lot of areas that could use some improvement but I believe I made the most of what I could. I used to be a really shy person and I can now confidently say that CCNY helped get out of that mindset. After my first semester, I realized that everyone else is just as afraid of showing their true self so I used that to my advantage. Here’s a life hack; being friends with at least half of your class makes your presentations less scary! Seeing your friends cheer for you is such a good feeling and it creates a safe space for everyone to make connections. ne kind of just got along whether you’re in line at Cafe One or trying to print something in the EDM lab. We’ve learned to just always give way. It’s still so surreal to me that I am now graduating with an arts degree. Ask any immigrant kid and you’ll know how much our parents would’ve preferred for us to be in the medical field but thanks to my supportive mother, she’s the reason why I even had the choice to study design. When I first

Phew! I got steps 1 and 2 out of the way. Get into the program and make friends. This might sound cliche for many but those were some of the things I was worried about. I’ve always been a new girl. Coming to this country as a high school student wasn’t like the movies. Man, high school kids in New York could get pretty brutal. I experienced culture shocked but still managed to create my circle. At least in college people are much cooler; they’re more sensitive towards other people’s backgrounds.

started college, one thing she said that has always stuck with me was “As long as you’re happy.” It’s simple but I held on to that with every choice I made. I just want to take this opportunity to thank God, my family, the friends I’ve made, the professors who believed in me, CCNY for opening doors for me, and of course, The Campus for allowing me to be a part of something that highlights even the smallest wins.

One thing that I appreciate the most in CCNY was that diversity didn’t feel forced. Everyo“ „ HIGHLIGHTING THE SMALL WINS HIGHLIGHTING THE SMALL WINS