The Bergen Community College Newsletter

Summer 2014

W ith a turn of the tassel, 2,862 studentsbecame Bergen Community College

graduates on the evening of May 22 at theIzod Center in East Rutherford, fulfillingtheir goals of earning a college degree.Many will now continue their education,transferring to top four-year schools includ-ing Columbia, NYU and Rutgers. Otherswill enter the workforce, beginning careersin fields such as nursing and criminaljustice. The ceremony marked the 45thinstallment of the annual graduation rec-ognizing students who earned degrees inAugust and December 2013 and May 2014.Bergen President Dr. B. Kaye Walter

(pictured below) presided over the ceremony,leading her second commencement as theCollege’s top official.“Graduates, from this day forward, you

are an important part of the Bergen legacy,”she said. “You are going out to make yourmark on the world like no other class hasdone.”The class included 66 students with

4.0 GPAs — including valedictorian MariaDe Abreu Pineda (pictured with brother

Luis) and salutatorian Katarzyna Jankowski(pictured).“When you go up, bring someone else

with you,” De Abreu Pineda encouragedher peers. “The only constant is change.Today, I challenge you to embrace thechange and be better. Let’s learn from ourpast, take the present challenge and makeour future a better place.”The valedictorian, who emigrated to the

U.S. from Venezuela, will now study bio-medical engineering at a to-be-determinedfour-year school. While there, she will utilizethe Jack Kent Cooke Foundation transferscholarship — an award received by only85 students (out of 3,700 who applied!)Fellow class of 2014 graduate Anna ParraVera also earned the scholarship worth upto $90,000. Meanwhile, the salutatorian, Jankowski,

a surgical technology major fluent in threelanguages — English, German and Polish— stressed the value of hard work and thesatisfaction of achievement.“Today, I can honestly say that I am the

happiest person I have ever been,” shesaid. “Yet, I have not forgotten that the goodthings in my life did not happen by chance.” Ranking as one of the biggest names to

headline a Bergen commencement, Amer-ican Express CEO and chair KennethChenault (pictured) delivered the keynoteaddress. During his remarks, he offered aglimpse into his unique corporate philosophy.

“Corporations exist because society allowsthem to exist,” he said. “In exchange, theremust be an understanding that we will con-tribute to society. And that’s what many ofus in the business world are trying to do.”Chenault, the third African-American

CEO of a Fortune 500 company, has led the$33 billion organization since 2001. �

Commitment to Completion Rewardedat Commencement

Volume 1, Issue 3

2 I n s i d e Be rgen • The Be rgen Commun i t y Co l le ge News le t t e r | S ummer 2 014

Curtain Up!Big stage talents… in Bergen County.Anna Maria Ciccone TheatreJoe Piscopo and the Red Bank Jazz Orchestraunder the direction of Joe MuccioliMaster of Ceremonies – John GamblingPresented by: “The Answer” 970 AMSaturday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m.Oldies Weekend SpectacularVito Picone and The ElegantsFriday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.Larry Chance and The EarlsSaturday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m.Tickets for events: $35 (General); $20 (Faculty/Staff/Seniors); $10 (Students)

BergenStagesStudents share their talents and begin their paths to stardom. Watch for the release of the 2014-15schedule mid-summer!Tickets.bergen.edu or (201) 447-7428 for tickets.

EventsKids and Teens Summer CampsVarious Dates, TimesBergen.edu/kidsandteensFarm 2 Fork MarketWednesdays through August 20, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.Main Campus, Parking Lot C

CampusCalendar

Summer• July 8 — August 7• July 8 — August 14• August 11 — 28

Fall• September 2 — December 20• September 8 — October 23• September 24 — December 19• October 29 — December 18

Register at my.bergen.edu.

Congratulations, Class of 2014!More than 6,000 graduates, families, faculty, staff and other well-wishers packed

the Izod Center to celebrate the accomplishments of the class of 2014. Beforethe big day, the College recognized the grads at numerous events — including theacademic awards ceremony, nursing pinning and “graduation salute.” �

A Schedule for All Seasons

I n s i d e Be rgen • The Be rgen Commun i t y Co l le ge News le t t e r | S ummer 2 014 3

A Hunger to HelpMirroring the spirit of the initiative, together,

officials from Bergen Community Collegeand the Center for Food Action opened theschool’s X-Change: Food Pantry at a ceremo-nial event June 5. Executive Assistant to thePresident Ursula Parrish Daniels, Ed.D.; Coor-dinator of Educational Outreach Aretha McMil-lan; CFA Executive Director Patricia Espy; CFABoard President Rosanne Buscemi; and VicePresident of Student Affairs Naydeen Gonza-lez-De Jesus, Ph.D. cut the ribbon on the facil-ity, kicking off the collaborative effort to combathunger at the College. Last year, using dona-tions from the College community, Bergen’sCenter for Health, Wellness and PersonalCounseling provided assistance to approxi-mately 200 students, faculty and staff duringmore than 500 visits. Bergen President B. KayeWalter Ph.D. has personally supported the ini-tiative by donating a new refrigerator that willenable a supply of fresh fruit, vegetables andother perishables. �

Middle States Matters!A team of College officials, faculty and staff remainentrenched in the decennial preparation process

for a spring 2016 visit by evaluators from the MiddleStates Commission on Higher Education, a regionalaccrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretaryof Education and the Council for Higher EducationAccreditation. All institutions of higher education in the Middle States region mustapply for accreditation through the organization — including all community, tech-nical and four-year schools. Bergen first received accreditation from Middle Statesin 1972.Accreditation allows credits to transfer to four-year schools, lends legitimacy

to the teaching and research efforts of faculty, delivers financial aid to studentsand invites the College to consider: “how are we doing?” �

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Celeste FinneyProfessor Celeste Finney’s leadership at Bergen beganlong before she led the parade of faculty and graduates

as commencement 2014’s grand marshal. An academic counselor, Finney started her career at

Bergen in 1973. After more than four decades at the school, Finney, the College’sformer co-director of the national college-access initiative Project GEAR-UP,continues to spearhead programs. She currently works with the Paramus affiliateof the National Black Child Development Institute, which introduced nearly 200middle school students to the College this past year through the Entering theCollege Zone program.Upholding her commitment to students, the professor uses her passion for

academic success to further students on their academic paths.“You have to listen to what students say and try to help make decisions that will

be useful to them in their future,” Finney said.A recipient of many awards, including the New Jersey Community College

Counseling Association Award for Counselor Excellence, Educational OpportunityFund Award and various community recognitions, Finney considers the appointmentas grand marshal — while wearing her own graduate school gown — “a truehonor.” �

Faculty Focus