From Mauritius to Harlem to Oxford: the Story of Colin Powell Fellow Humaira Hansrod
Born in Mauritius, Humaira Hansrod moved to New York City with her family at a young age. In the midst of such a big change, she welcomed the diversity of the city and the opportunities it offered her to learn about cultures, people, and local and global issues. It was precisely its richly diverse student body that drew Humaira to City College, where she was offered a spot in the Macaulay Honors College. She started as a pre-med student but decided to declare a double major in Economics and… Read More »
Compassion and Connection Are More Important than Questionnaires: Alumna Justine Fleischner on the Heart of Violent Conflict
Justine Fleischner (Class of ‘08) is a writer, researcher, and weapons expert with over a decade of experience working in countries affected by armed conflict, and she currently serves as vice president of the Afghan Peace Watch. In this interview, she offers lucid anecdotes and key insights from her professional journey. As a student majoring in international studies at CCNY, she found her passion for public service and global human rights… Read More »
For Inspiration, Look to Your Own Story: Cris Mercado’s Winding Path to Social Entrepreneurship
Immigrant. Scholar. Social Entrepreneur. Immigration rights activist. CPS-CCNY alumnus. Cris Mercado’s career has been anything but linear. He came to CCNY after being denied a scholarship to study engineering at NYU because of his undocumented status. Through an on-campus research opportunity he demonstrated his academic skills and earned the top fellowship for CUNY’s PhD Program in Criminal justice, only to pivot and create his own consulting firm with seed capital provided… Read More »
Rise Up! Never Give Up in Pursuit of Your Dreams, Says CCNY Alum Anthony Cole
“Sometimes we want to give up and run / we got to keep holding on / rise up; never let them get you down — never let them.” These lyrics open Anthony Cole’s recent hit single and capture an essential lesson he hopes current and future CCNY students will embrace: to never stop cultivating the talents and other super powers that make you unique. An immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, Cole is now a Senior Program Manager at Amazon Music and also serves as the president of the Amazon Black Employee… Read More »
Focus on the Journey as well as the Destination: Chen Li’s Passion for the Scientific Study of Human Behavior
Chen Li pondered life’s biggest questions from an early age, questioning everything from current events to her school’s curriculum. An AP Psychology course in high school sparked her passion for using science to study the mind in order to shed light on human behavior. Attracted by the Colin Powell School’s strong Psychology Department as well as CCNY’s beautiful campus and affordability, Li excelled as a researcher and participated in a neuroscience research… Read More »
Destini Hornbuckle (MPA ‘21) grew up with a love for education, writing, and family. She developed a strong commitment to social action and participated in mock trial and leadership programs focused on criminal justice reform. She initially saw herself pursuing a career in law, but she pivoted when she realized she wanted to be more directly involved in creating policy. Based on advice from mentors and her own research about the field, Hornbuckle joined the MPA Program at CCNY, where she was selected as a Changemaker Fellow, and she now works as a Senior Policy Analyst at the NYC… Read More »
Born and raised in Manhattan, Cassidy Drummond completed her bachelor’s degree in Minnesota and then returned to New York City to join the MA Economics program at the Colin Powell School. Sparked by her experience advocating for a minimum wage hike for on-campus workers at the University of Minnesota, Drummond discovered her passion for labor rights and chose CCNY's program because of its public economics concentration. In her first semester as a graduate student, she found a community and a support system in her peers and professors, excelled in the foundational courses that she… Read More »
Robert Feder’s first semester at CCNY was spring 1947.
He met Marjorie Feder in the fall of 1948, while she was a senior at Bronx Science (he was also a Science graduate — they are, in fact, the first Bronx Science couple ever to marry!).
This letter was from fall of 1949, when Marjorie (17) went to Bard. Bob would turn 19 at the end of November.
In one letter, he described the schedule that he was planning to take:
Registration is close and I’m quite worried about it. I’ll be carrying 19-1/2 credits which is way over par and taking Art, English, History, Latin, Public… Read More »
“It's Okay to Not Have Your Life Planned Out” — Former Colin Powell Graduate Fellow Christopher Rick on his Circuitous Path to Academia
CCNY was “the place that put big ideas into my head,” says Christopher Rick, a graduate of the MA Program in Economics who is now finishing a PhD at Syracuse and will soon begin a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard. A self-described “boring, suburban kid from Maryland,” Rick was drawn by the rush of city life and the beautiful architecture of CCNY and Harlem. In the Colin Powell School, he found his passion for learning to use… Read More »
Fulvio Dobrich, Class of 1971 Alumnus, Leaves a Lasting Legacy with New Americans Scholars Program
“I only met Fulvio for a brief moment; however, in that moment I saw the kindness in him, and that he truly cared about the students he was supporting. I will always remember him for giving me this opportunity to work towards my goals, but above all, for being an amazing person.”
— Alexander Pichol, Colin Powell Undergraduate Fellow 2021-2022
“Meeting Mr. Dobrich, along with some other students from my fellowship cohort, was one of the most memorable… Read More »
Last Updated: 08/26/2020 16:36