Q3 2018 CW Review

Q3: APRIL  JUNE, 2018 ISSUE #149

CW’S MISSION The College of Westchester graduates individuals who have completed transformative and purposeful educational experiences that provide the foundation for successful, relevant professional careers. As an academically student-centered, culturally diverse college, CW is committed to providing the highest quality of education for all career and entrepreneurial-minded students through the delivery of a carefully constructed and focused curriculum, informed by regional employers. The College supports and encourages academic excellence, career advancement, professional integrity, financial responsibility, and good citizenship through a distinctive and highly personal campus environment.

Inside President’s Corner: Exceeding Student Expectations Page 1-2

We Make it Happen Page 4

Summer in Administrative Services Page 5

Congratulations Class of 2018 Page 6

Please join us in welcoming the following new employees to the CW Family Page 8-9

President’s Corner: Exceeding Student Expectations Mary Beth Del Balzo My favorite CW day of the year is always Commencement and this year was no exception. I always love hearing our student speakers, enjoying the excitement of our students’ families, and the joy that just permeates the County Center. I also love the shoes that many of the students wear! But my favorite element of our graduation is the professional promise that we have helped instill, nurture and deliver to each student who walks across the stage as they commence with their lives!

I am cautiously optimistic that we are very slowly regaining ground with our retention efforts and our new student enrollment growth. While I am not ready to say that we are trending upward, it sure looks that way, albeit slowly. I want to thank all of you for your many efforts on behalf of our students. If this small bud of positivity becomes a trend, it will be good for each one of us.

Thanks to each of you who took the time to participate in the Institutional Performance Survey. Some feedback indicated that we have our work cut out for us, while other items indicate that the institution is responsive to feedback and is doing a good job. I always appreciate your honesty and thoughtfulness as it helps shape our strategic plan and employee initiatives. You will be hearing more soon from the CW Way committee, who is reviewing and making recommendations to IEP and Cabinet.

Another positive is the continued development of our Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) and Registered Nursing (RN) programs. As we have been sharing over the past months, elbow grease, planning and collaboration continue to move this 1 | Q3 REVIEW

initiative forward. We conservatively predict a Fall 2020 launch.

We look forward to refreshing and updating curriculum throughout the college. While this is something that we do regularly, we are looking forward to a significant revamp in business curriculum, spurred on by research and recommendations from faculty and an expert consultant, reviewed and operationalized by cabinet and functional leaders. Expect to shortly witness results of initial and ongoing efforts.

Over the past several months, we have spent time talking and conferring about improving student retention with the Strategic Enrollment Management committee, Cabinet, Functional Leaders group, and even with the Board of Trustees. While there is no magic bullet, this was the closest we could all come to it – simply exceeding student expectations. As most of you already know, we exhaustively talk about who CW truly is; what we promise and what we deliver.

How each of us embody the CW Way differs, but just keep doing the warm and wonderful job you are doing. Our students love CW! We all believe that there are students who would benefit from our reaching out to them just a little bit more, in whatever way. Sometimes students know how to put their need for assistance or support into words and sometimes they do not.

Our Faculty members know our students better than anyone else; they know our students from their participation, from their non-verbal communication, and sometimes from their absences. Many staff members get to know our

For those with regular student contact, lead by example – be on time for class and appointments, speak and dress professionally and go the extra mile. Walk students to the Learning Center, refer them to the Counseling Center, encourage them to participate in honors initiatives or honor society, and perhaps most important -- listen to them, their fears and dreams. Your influence is one of the biggest they will ever have in their entire life.

So what is in it for each one of us? Higher retention and graduation rates coupled with stronger new student enrollment will mean a positive employment outlook for all of us.

Enrollment trends across almost all educational institutions of higher learning continue to be down, but that trend is temporary.

So, in the spirit of the CW Way, let’s value one another, inspire success and make it happen!

The other CW way statement – We Are One! We will do it together.

OF WES GE TC E LL

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Please keep in mind that students need a consistent message from each of us regarding what they are doing at CW. Though WE know that we have programs in development, every single one of our students is enrolled and committed to a

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Absenteeism is the biggest indicator of student decline and failure. Positive and regular attendance is the biggest indicator of student success, even more so than faculty’s unique teaching abilities and inspiration. We all know of those students who could succeed and obtain high grades and post-graduation success but don’t attend enough to make it through.

program that we offer NOW. Please help them keep their eye on the prize by reminding them of the professional opportunities available to them through the program they are currently enrolled in. We develop and offer programs that are ONLY ones that trend toward very high employability.

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students really well too. Regardless of how you know our students, the overall thing we need from everyone is if you see something, say something.

E C W W AY

Amazon is Amazing: Help Support the College of Westchester Charitable Foundation Do you like to shop online? If so, chances are you’ve done shopping on www.amazon.com once or twice, or a hundred.

Amazon really is amazing. Not only can you find virtually anything you are looking for on this site, but if you’re a Prime Member, you can also have your stuff on your doorstep in two days. Can’t beat it!

Another amazing thing about Amazon is that through their AmazonSmile program, they will donate .05% of your purchase to the charity of your choice. This is a great way to donate to our very own College of Westchester Charitable Foundation. It’s very easy to do. To register your charity, go to www.smile.amazon.com, and you will be prompted to select the charitable organization from almost one million eligible organizations, and College of Westchester Charitable Foundation is one of those organizations. From then on, for all eligible purchases, AmazonSmile will donate .05% to the charity.

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.

Thanks in advance for your support of the CWCF Foundation!

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Out of the Class and Into the Real World: What’s been happening in 2018 By: Paula Cancro Instructor, Office Technologies/Business In 2018, we once again had CW students take part in some great out of the classroom adventures. Three of our students, Naika Saint Preux, Amy Castillo, and Desiree Scretching, were accepted to attend the iSchool Inclusion Institute (i3), an undergraduate research and leadership development program at the University of Pittsburgh. Three more students Joseph Gonzalez, Garwayne McGregor, and David Rivas attended the Moral Foundations of Capitalism Student Conference at Clemson University. There have also been other, local opportunities for CW students to participate in activities taking them out of the classroom and connecting them with small businesses and nonprofit projects.

June has been the busiest for these new projects.

Students from the Project Management Essentials and Social Media Marketing classes, along with Roman Sierra and Paula Cancro had the opportunity to go to Google, Inc. in NY. We went on a tour of two of the Google locations and spent time with Sales Team staff. Students had the chance to learn more about working at Google, the different work and departments between New York and California. The staff also shared how they started with Google and the very different backgrounds that led them there!

Let’s not forget about the evening students – Also in June, a small group of evening students attended the LinkedIn Grad Night event at the Microsoft Store in The Westchester (White Plains).

Microsoft staff facilitated a workshop on using LinkedIn effectively, targeted to students for job searching and small businesses. Participants had the opportunity to get a free, professional headshot taken for use on LinkedIn and other social media profiles. They also had a chance to learn more about working at Microsoft and some 3 | Q3 REVIEW

possible career paths.

Finally, we currently have students participating in a pilot project, Google AdWords Grant Program. The students, in teams of two to five, are working with a selected, small nonprofit organization on a Google Ad Words marketing campaign. Each team works with a separate organization. The students are responsible for communicating with the nonprofit, a pre-campaign analysis, the campaign itself, monitoring the progress, and finally a post campaign analysis and report to the nonprofit and the Google AdWords Grant Program Manager. Participating students are from Paula Cancro’s Project Management classes, Roman Sierra’s Social Media Marketing class, as well as from the CW Enactus Team and Art Official club.

Team leaders for each student team are required to take and pass the Google AdWords Fundamentals exam – though we are pushing for all of our participants to get this basic certification. Google is providing the necessary AdWords funding to allow the challenge to continue for a 4 to 5 week period.

Next adventure story? Meeting a small independent film producer on the train coming home from our visit to Google. Conversation starter: (student) I really like your eyeglasses.

(Producer) Thanks! (Student) Do you work in the city...?

To be continued…

With the help of the Commencement Committee members, Commencement Marshals and Helpers, and CW’s staff and faculty, the Westchester County Center was transformed once again on May 31, 2018 into CW’s wonderful 102nd Commencement ceremony!

The County Center becomes the place where we all come together as one to share in the proud moments of our CW Grads. It is a truly inspiring event that is a perfect example of The CW Way in action. But it would not happen without the hard work, planning and dedication of so many CW employees, from across all areas of the college, working together behind the scenes to make magic happen! So to everyone involved we would like to recognize your efforts and say

THANK YOU! Q3 REVIEW | 4

Summer in

Administrative Services

By Nancy Poli, Director of Administration

Summertime in the Administrative Services Department means budget time! This is the time of year that we start planning for 2019. Can you believe 2019 already? The budget for calendar year 2019 has to be complete by September 30th so that a presentation can be made to the Board of Trustees for their approval. Prior to the submission of the budget to the Board, President Del Balzo and the Cabinet must first agree on the priorities within the budget, and approve it.

That is why I would like to encourage everyone to start thinking now about your needs for next year. Those needs should be based on the departmental goals that are embedded in the strategic plan, while keeping in mind the mission, vision and core values of the College. As you begin to plan for any events or new initiatives, you also should be thinking about how they will impact the 2019 departmental budget. You should also consider if there are items that were included in last year’s budget that are complete or no longer needed and can come off of next year’s budget. All ideas should be discussed with your supervisor who will, in turn, bring those ideas to me and based on our discussions the departmental budgets will be prepared.

Remember that the budget process is all about collaboration and compromise. We need your input in order to draft a realistic and successful budget, but not all good ideas can make it to the final cut. However, your input and feedback is critical so please be sure to participate in the process!

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A E R G U O Y !

B O J T STUDENT SPEAKERS A E R G A E R G OF class 2018 D I D U O Y !

B O J T A GRE GREA D U O Y !

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Naika Saint Preux Student Speaker BBA, Accounting

“CW has provided us with the material, now it’s up to us to use them out there and knock down the competition. We are ready, it’s time to fight and win the race. Now it’s time to put our game faces on because it’s game time. As we leave CW, remember that it is the end of one chapter now get your pens ready to start writing the next chapter.

Just remember ‘Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, take as many chances as you can, failure is the way to success and keep moving forward no matter what.’”

Marie Russo Student Speaker BBA, Healthcare Services Administration

After exploring my options for college I decided upon The College of Westchester. Upon entering The College of Westchester I no longer have a narrow vision for my life. The College of Westchester has allowed me to expand my vision. I believe we all have very individual unique gifts in life and my gift has always been to extend my hand to one in need and help bridge the gap from despair to hope. With my degree from The College of Westchester I now have been given the opportunity to be in the field that I have dreamed of entering for years. The field of Health Care Education where I can grow and touch the lives of many in a positive way.

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F E O R G S !

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T I D I Please join us in welcoming the following new employees to the CW D !

B U O J YO Family: Malcolm Bennett, Denisse Cordal-Menyu, and Mary Ann Grillo T A E R G !

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Malcolm Bennett has joined CW as our Student Services Administrative Assistant. Malcolm is a graduate of CW and worked in the Academic Center as a work study for two years.

He earned his Associates and Bachelors in Business Administration.

Malcolm is from and currently resides in Mount Vernon, NY and lives with his dad and brother. In his free time, he likes creative writing, commentary and writing sports articles. Malcolm enjoys spending time with his family and friends, professional wrestling, books, sports, movies and video games.

When we asked Malcolm about his experience so far at the college he said, “It feels as if I never left. Not much has changed except for my responsibilities but that is not an issue, as I will always go above and beyond to contribute to The College of Westchester. I am honored and privileged to be back with The College of Westchester, as it is an opportunity for me to contribute in a bigger way.”

Denisse Cordal-Menyu has joined CW as our Assistant Director of Enrollment Management. Prior to joining CW, she was the Former COO of Destwin Energy – a small software company out of Sandy Hook, CT serving the Energy Industry – she was there as a consultant to setup their three year strategic plan. Prior to that, she was VP of Operations & Organizational Planning at Robison for more than 17 years. Robison is one of the largest energy retailers in Westchester County. Her career awarded her the opportunity to work in many areas of business, including Customer Service Management, Sales Management, Marketing, Software “Guru”, Project Management, Operations, including Warehouse, Logistics, Process

Creation & Implementation, as well as IT. She has been heavily involved in Change Management over the span of her career and has had the honor of serving as a mentor to many employees over the years, which by far has been her favorite part.

Denisse is the first generation in the U.S.; her family is from Uruguay, South America. She grew up in Ossining NY and currently resides in Cortlandt Manor, NY. She graduated from NYU with a Bachelors in Psychology. Denisse is happily married with two beautiful girls, ages 8 & 2, which are the loves of her life.Being a mom is Denisse’s most challenging yet most rewarding job ever. Denisse is creative by nature, she loves to create things in clay.

Her second love has always been writing. She is a lifetime learner and is always trying to educate herself or pursue training in areas of business. She also loves to read. Spanish was her first language.

She’s a passionate, perseverant and enthusiastic person with tons of energy and focus. Denisse understands that in our business environments today we must be nimble and adapt to change in an intelligent and decisive way if we are to maintain a high level of success.

When we asked Denisse about her experience so far at the college, she said, “I really enjoy my colleagues and having a direct impact on the lives of our students. It’s a big change for me in terms of what I was doing before (for the better).”

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Mary Ann Grillo has joined CW as our Director of Admissions. Prior to joining CW, she worked at the Art Institute of NYC as Senior Director of Admissions for nine years. Mary Ann earned her Bachelor’s in Business Administration at Mercy College.

Mary Ann is originally from the Bronx-Throgs Neck, lived in Westchester County for the past 42 years and currently resides in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. She is a proud mother of two children, her daughter is a dentist in Katonah and her son is a teacher in

Yonkers. She is even a prouder grandmother of a handsome 16 month old grandson, Jude, and a beautiful 9 month old granddaughter, Brielle. Mary Ann loves to cook, dance, entertain, walk the beach and walk the streets of Manhattan with her boyfriend. In addition, Mary Ann is a NYS Notary should the need arise!

When we asked Mary Ann about her experience so far at the college, she said, “I keep pinching myself to make certain I am awake….I so love love love everyone here…….I am proud to have been offered the opportunity to be a part of this incredible CW family!”

Please also join me in welcoming Tandrie Jones and Frank Ramos.

And stay tuned for our next edition featuring the following new employees: • • • • •

Sharon Abrams Emilie Enciso Javier Izquierdo Crystal Mayer Haya Saraireh

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Q3 Highlights

Computer Networking Career Cafe

Adult Orienta tion Spring Term II

Accounting Career Cafe

Honors Ceremony

Allied Health Career Cafe

CWCF Multicultural Food Dr ive rship Event la o ch S l ua n An

ew Day Portfolio Revi

Commenc

ement

ellness Spring Into W

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