On June 2, 2011, the members of

the TIME-10 cohort will graduate

from Queens College with a Bach-

elor of Arts degree in mathemat-

ics and a minor in secondary

education. Congratulations to the

seniors: Shari Brown, Mike Chon,

Jouleni Cruz, Crystal DeLaurenzo,

Marwa Elhalaby, Sarina Ellner,

Ashley Gangi, Trisha Hurtares,

Peggy Lam, Naava Lightman, Tara

Mangiapane, Shruti Mehta, Dija-

na Muratovic, Peter Ozechowski,

Esther Steier, Debra Steltzer,

Michelle Yacoub, and Yi Zhou! As

they prepare to graduate, the

seniors reflect on their college

experiences and/or offer advice

to the underclassmen:

I want to thank my family and

friends for all of the support they

have given me through the

years. I want to let the freshmen,

sophomores and juniors know to

hang in there and that it will be

over before they know it. To my T-

10 buddies, I am really going to

miss you all. We‘ve had a long

four years and we made it

through. Let's get ready to move

on to the next stage in our

lives. God bless us all.

–Shari Brown

I loved Dr. Curcio's class, because

it was a great learning experi-

ence. Remember, underclass-

men: Manage your TIME wisely!

TIME 2000 Seniors Prepare to Graduate Congratulations To:

Raluca Buzangia (T-5)

on the birth of her daugh-

ter, Abby Emma, on Feb-

ruary 9, 2011

Ricardo Lopez (T-7) and

Jennifer Fong (T-7) on

their engagement

Trisha Hurtares (T-10) on

her engagement

Michelle Yacoub (T-10)

and Jouleni Cruz (T-10)

on their election to Phi

Beta Kappa Honor Socie-

ty

Crystal DeLaurenzo (T-

10), Trisha Hurtares (T-

10), Naava Lightman (T-

10), and Shruti Mehta (T-

10) for receiving Out-

s t a n d i n g S t u d e n t

Achievement Awards for

Mathematics Education

Jouleni Cruz (T-10) for

receiving the Herb

Fremont Award

Michelle Yacoub (T-10)

for receiving the TIME

2000 Graduate Scholar-

ship Award

T I M E 2 0 0 0

Volume 9, Issue 3

May 2011

Editors-in-Chief: Mara Markinson (T-11) and Greg Hyams (T-11)

Advisor: Naomi Weinman

T I M E 2 0 0 0 N e w s l e t t e r

in.‖ My advice to the underclass-

men is to never say, ―never!‖ Life is

so short, so make the best of it

and don‘t let anything stress you

out; what stresses you out today

will be different from what stresses

you out tomorrow. I am really hap-

py to be graduating, because all of

the hard work is over, at least for

now! -Marwa Elhalaby

To the Underclassmen: The home-

work is always going to be there,

so make sure to spend time with

your friends and family every week.

Otherwise, you might get caught up

in the work and lose yourself.

—Sarina Ellner

If I were to go back to my freshman

year in TIME 2000, I would make

sure to take advantage of the pro-

fessors‘ office hours. Getting one-

on-one help is more beneficial

than being in a crowded class-

room. I also suggest that if there is

a homework problem you don‘t

understand, try typing the first

sentence of the problem into

Google. Many times, the exact

question will appear with each

step to solve the problem. Also try

YouTube! You‘ll be surprised with

what you will find. Also, complete

all of the workshops and certifica-

tion exams as soon as you can.

Take this advice because it will

make your life so much easier.

-Ashley Gangi

Get ready for the most exhausting

experience of your life! But, it really

will be worth every last second of

your hard work! I am forever grate-

ful for the things that I have

learned throughout this program

and for the teacher it has shaped

me to become. Be prepared, be

organized, be tough, and, most

importantly, smile! There's no

doubt in my mind that each and

every one of you will be the most

amazing teachers out there.

-Trisha Hurtares (Continued on Page 2)

- Mike Chon

There are numerous TIME 2000

memories that I will never forget,

from blindfolding Dr. Sultan in

Math 505 to staying up until 5 A.M.

working on portfolios. I must admit

that I found myself questioning my

choices at times; now, however, I

appreciate the difficult times be-

cause they have made me strong-

er. Underclassmen: Stay positive!

Once you actually get to teach

during student teaching you will

see it was all worth it!

–Jouleni Cruz

These four years have been a

whirlwind, but student teaching

has helped me see that all of my

hard work has paid off. It all makes

sense, now that I can apply every-

thing I‘ve learned. TIME 2000

has guided me to fulfill my passion

of teaching mathematics. While it's

sad that this chapter in my life is

closing, I am extremely excited to

begin a new one as a teacher.

-Crystal DeLaurenzo

My fondest TIME 2000 memory is

of the time I received an e-mail

from Dr. Curcio stressing the im-

portance of punctuality, because it

taught me such a valuable lesson

and I have learned to always be on

time! My funniest memory is from

Dr. Artzt‘s Math 385W class, where

I would need to say ―substitute,‖

but I of course wanted to say, ―plug

TIME 2000 Faculty Member

Establishes TIME 2000

Graduate Scholarship Award

Inspired by the altruism of Dr.

Alice Artzt, who established a

graduation award after receiv-

ing the Presidential Award for

Excellence in Teaching in

1999, Dr. Frances Curcio, who

received a similar honor in

October 2010, has estab-

lished an award for a TIME

2000 graduate who has a

h i g h G P A , w h o h a s

served TIME 2000 in some

capacity, and who plans to

pursue a master's degree in

secondary mathematics edu-

cation at Queens College. The

first award will be bestowed

upon Michelle Yacoub in June

2011.

2

TIME 2000 Seniors Prepare to Graduate, Continued from Page 1

most likely appreciate this aspect of TIME on

some occasions and hate it on others. We can

all recall sitting through the certification semi-

nars and wishing they were over. We can also

recall numerous times in which our 24-hour

day felt like it lasted 15 minutes when we

needed all the time we could get. The seniors

definitely know which education seminars I am

talking about; underclassmen, if you don‘t,

FIND OUT, because you‘ll want to complete

them as soon as possible. The four years in the

TIME 2000 program are tough, but every fall

makes you stronger and each experience

makes you wiser. I want to wish all the gradu-

ating seniors the best of luck in all that awaits

you. I also would like to tell the underclass-

men to stick with it, because it is all worth it in

the end. Lastly, I would like to thank all of my

professors and mentors who have impacted

my life in indescribable ways. I wish all of you

the best! -Michelle Yacoub

Freshmen: Discover more about Queens Col-

lege while you still have the time to do so.

Sophomores: Ask yourself whether being a

math teacher is still your goal. If it is still your

passion, don‘t be afraid of the workload and

the intensity of the math courses; remember

that studying harder will help you achieve your

goal. If you can‘t picture yourself as a math

teacher, you should figure out what you really

want to do, and go for it—your experiences in

TIME will still be meaningful. Juniors: You are

ready to apply everything you‘ve learned to

actual lessons. Are you excited? Are you nerv-

ous? Don‘t be afraid of making mistakes—

you‘ll learn from them! Learn how to manage

your time wisely. And remember, using your

classmates‘ lesson ideas is not ―stealing.‖

Before the 2nd semester of your senior year,

finish your four seminars, three [soon to be

four] certification exams, and your résumé and

cover letter. Good Luck! —Yi Zhou

The most fun experiences in the TIME

2000 program are the field trips! I had a

great time riding a big, yellow school bus

with my classmates from Dr. Curcio's

class to learn about the foundations of

education at the Voorlezer‘s House in

Staten Island. I was also able to go with

the underclassmen and the upperclass-

men to the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

the Salvadori Center, and Madam Tus-

saud‘s Wax Museum to explore different

places where math lurks. TIME 2000 =

FUN! –Peggy Lam

To the Underclassmen: ―When the going

gets tough, the tough get going.‖ Never

lose hope and keep giving it your

best. Budget your time wisely, and still

make time for friends and family. They

will keep you sane! -Naava Lightman

It has been a long, hard four years…but a

great four years at that! To all the friends I

have met along the way, I wish you the

best of luck! Underclassmen, work as

hard as you can because it will all pay off

in the end. Student teaching has been the

best experience of my undergraduate

work, and I am happy to say that I owe all

I know about math and teaching to the

great professors at Queens College. This

experience was worth every headache,

every tear, every struggle and every fear,

and it ends here. Thanks to everyone who

made my experiences here worthwhile

and memorable! -Tara Mangiapane

I can't believe I am graduating! It feels like

I just graduated from high school. TIME

really flies. I am definitely going to miss

these four years of my life, because this is

where I made friends who shared the

happy moments, the sad moments, and

even the stressful moments with me. After

all these years of work, paper submis-

sions, and portfolios, know that you are

ready to become a great teacher! It seems

impossible at moments, but hold onto your

dream! It will feel even better when you finish,

and you'll be able to say, "I did it!"'

-Shruti Mehta

To the Underclassmen: Make time to study

and stay ahead of your work, which is easier

said than done! Remember that things always

seem harder if you fall behind. If you ever feel

like you‘re drowning, remember the people in

your cohort and in other cohorts, as well.

Everyone is here to help you; helping others

will only improve your own understanding of a

difficult topic. Get enough sleep and stay

calm! -Dijana Muratovic

Underclassmen, enjoy the rest of your TIME in

the program. Enjoy being around each other

as much as possible. Get to know every up-

perclassman—you have no idea how great of

a resource they are until they are no longer

around campus. You only have the first three

years in the program to enjoy your peers,

fellow scholars and friends.-Peter Ozechowski

Each moment in TIME 2000 has been a

blessing. I will never forget when Dr. Sultan

showed off his problem solving skills and

allowed a student to blindfold him in class.

He looked like a pirate! I still have a picture of

him on my cell phone. To the underclassmen,

be good to yourselves. Graduation has arrived

fairly quickly, but every new beginning comes

from some other beginning‘s end.

-Esther Steier

To the Underclassmen: Keep an organized

binder with lesson plan ideas

and materials. You will see many great les-

sons and get ideas at seminars, confer-

ences, and in your classes. Take the time to

organize everything so that it is easy to find

when you want to use the idea for a lesson in

the future. Good luck! -Debra Steltzer

TIME flies, and since humans are the most

indecisive creatures on our planet, we will

TIME 2000 Visits “Cyber” Space By: Amy Lee (T-11)

When I awoke on January 26, 2011,

to a blizzard outside my window, I wasn‘t

too excited to travel from Brooklyn to

Manhattan for the TIME 2000 field trip. I

called Abraham Tai, a friend in my cohort,

and we arranged to meet at Penn Station

to travel through the slush together. I

slipped more than ten times walking the

two blocks to the Channel 13/WNET build-

ing on West 33rd Street, and I was pessi-

mistic about the rest of the day. I was

expecting a boring lesson and lecture;

however, what was planned for us inside

the doors of Channel 13 was not like that

at all! When we got to the building, we

were treated like celebrities and a day full

of activities was planned for us.

First, we learned about the television

series, ―Cyberchase,‖ which is a mathe-

matics-oriented show for elementary

school students. We completed several

fun, hands-on math activities, including a

―fishing‖ activity where numbers were caught

on fishing poles with magnets. Then, we were

given laminated numbers and were chal-

lenged to place them in a triangle so that the

sides of the triangle each summed to 12.

Another great activity was finding a way to cut

an index card so that it could fit over our

heads. We took it a step further when we

challenged one another to make a ring that

we could step through. Debra Steltzer, T-10,

made a ring that fit around her whole body!

Next, we solved problems from the

―Cyberchase‖ Web site, cyberchase.com,

which has a variety of games for students to

play which will strengthen their math skills.

We learned about a new (not yet released)

middle/high school mathematics series, ―Get

the Math,‖ which explores real-world mathe-

matics problems. One of the problems in-

volved synchronizing the tracks of a song the

way a music producer would do when produc-

ing a record. Another problem involved fash-

ion design. Both problems can be used to moti-

vate students.

At the end of the day, we were rewarded

with goodie bags that contained tee-shirts,

stamps, pencils, travel mugs, and information

about Channel 13. It was a nice gift and a love-

ly way to end the day!

I will definitely use what I learned at Chan-

nel 13 in my own classroom in the future—I

plan to give my students extra credit challeng-

es from the ―Cyberchase‖ Web Site. I loved the

index card activity, and definitely plan to use it

when I teach about area. Everything we experi-

enced on this trip was

memorable and will

definitely be useful in

our careers. This was

an excellent TIME

2000 field trip. Math

class will never be the

same! Shruti Mehta and Yi Zhou

(More Channel 13 pictures on Page 4)

3

gree and Ph.D. at MIT. I entered graduate

school in 1957. I was 21. During my se-

cond month at MIT, the Soviet Union

launched its first satellite, its first Sputnik.

It was a wonderful time to be a mathemat-

ics student. The first course I ever taught

was as a teaching assistant at MIT. It was

freshman Calculus. I loved it! After that first

class, I was so excited for my career in

teaching mathematics. First, I got a job with

IBM and worked there until ‘66. Around

1965, I met a fellow student from MIT who

had graduated and was teaching at

Queens College. He told me that Queens

College was always hiring people because

the enrollment of mathematics students in

the ‗60s was sky high. When I finished my

Ph.D. around March of ‘66, I called my

friend and he talked to the chairman at the

time, who gave me an interview, and a job!

And I‘ve been here ever since. At this point,

I‘ve been here for 45 years, and I don‘t

plan on retiring any time soon. Being here

helps keep me young and I still consider

myself a crazy kid! I can‘t believe I‘m push-

ing 75. I don‘t know what I would do with-

out Queens College. I don‘t mean the pay

check; I mean the interactions with stu-

dents and faculty. One of the many joys of

being a teacher is coming across a brilliant

student.

Q: What is something your students would-

n’t necessarily know about you, just from

sitting in your class?

A: I have a driver‘s license, but I don‘t drive.

My wife drives me where I need to go. The

last time I ever drove was on my road test,

in June of ‗64. I passed the road test on my

Metas’ Musings Dr. Nick Metas is currently teaching Ab-

stract Algebra (Math 333) to TIME 2000

juniors. Other courses he teaches at the

college include Topology (Math 320) and

History of Math (Math 524). He was recent-

ly interviewed by Emma Biramian (T-11).

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What

made you decide to teach mathematics?

A: I was born in Flushing, Queens in 1936.

There was no Queens College then—

Queens College was created one year later,

so that I would have a toy when I grew up!

What made me go into teaching? In high

school, I felt it would be a nice profession. I

couldn‘t decide whether to major in French

or mathematics. In my senior year, I made

up my mind to major in mathematics—I was

seized by mathematics! Mathematics

came and grabbed me and said, ―I want

you!‖ So, I thought I was going to be a high

school teacher. At the end of my senior

year when I went around to my teachers to

get their autographs in my yearbook, one of

them asked about my plans, and I told her I

was going to City College to major in mathe-

matics. With six little words, she planted an

idea in my mind. When I said I wanted to be

a math teacher, she said, ―On the college

level, no doubt!‖ I had never thought about

that before! So, I went to City College and

majored in math, then went on to graduate

school at MIT. When I graduated from City

College in 1957, I was one of the top ten

math majors. The day I set foot on the MIT

campus, I became humble. There were

geniuses there, people with international

reputations. I completed my master‘s de-

5th attempt! I admire

anyone who can drive a

car. I once had a stu-

dent whose father was

a truck driver, and I told

him that I admired his

father. He said that his

father admired me,

because I can do math!

I am always in awe of

people who can drive those tractor-trailer com-

binations. The tractor-trailer drivers are the pro-

fessors of the highway!

Q: What advice do you have for TIME 2000 stu-

dents when they graduate?

A: I recommend getting a Master‘s degree in

mathematics. Not applied mathematics, pure

mathematics! A Master‘s degree in mathemat-

ics gives students real math courses—not just

―pencil-pushing‖ courses. You learn how to do

proofs very carefully, and really do them—not

just memorize procedures. One night I was sit-

ting in a diner and one of my former students

walked in. He was carrying the book that he

used when he was taking Calculus at Queens

College, and he had become a high school

teacher. He asked to join me, and told me his

goal was to go through every page and learn the

material thoroughly. He was going to do every

exercise on every page. My point is, you should

always continue to learn mathematics…and

learn it thoroughly. You don‘t want to be a robot

in front of a class, and just keep doing the same

thing over and over again. I advise you to learn

mathematics beyond college, when there‘s no

pressure on you to pass a test but rather just to

learn. Remain mathematically alive!

On March 18, 2011, TIME 2000 stu-

dents and faculty attended the annual

Long Island Mathematics Conference

(LIMAÇON) at SUNY Old Westbury, a confer-

ence for mathematics educators. In addi-

tion to a keynote address, attendees at-

tended three workshops from a choice of

fifty. Two workshops were offered by TIME

2000 faculty. Dr. Alan Sultan presented a

workshop about mathematical fallacies.

Dr. Alice Artzt and TIME 2000 alumni Kath-

erine Hurtado, Chrystabelle Jeanty, Sabrina

Joseph, Maria Leon-Chu, Ferrin Moham-

med-Bujan, Nadia Pampalone, and Jared

Stoler presented, ―Alternative Assessment

through Innovative Student Projects.‖ TIME

2000 students share their experiences:

The keynote address, delivered by

NCTM President Dr. J. Michael Shaugh-

nessy, was very interesting, and addressed

the NCTM‘s integration of reasoning and

sense-making in mathematics throughout

the high school grades. I attended technol-

ogy-related workshops on the TI-Nspire and

the SMART Board. The ―poll‖ feature of the

TI-Nspire (when used with the TI-Navigator)

allows students to input answers to the

questions posed by an instructor. I hope

that I will have the opportunity to use this

equipment in my own classroom. The

SMART Board session provided instructions

on how to insert sounds and objects in

lessons. - Alia Shameer, T-11

This was the first time that I attended

LIMAÇON, and my experience there was

amazing. ―The Pocket Pedagogy‖ workshop

was especially helpful for TIME 2000 stu-

dents and new teachers. The speakers,

James Connolly and Michelle Burget of

Syosset, gave pointers on running effective

classrooms, and advised us to make les-

sons relatable to students‘ lives. The

―Math Through Democracy?‖ workshop,

given by Dr. Brian R. Evans, Pace Universi-

ty, stressed the importance of letting stu-

dents vote on the answer to a problem.

–Josephine Caporusso, T-13

At this year‘s LIMAÇON, I learned about

a great piece of technology from Texas

Instruments called the "clicker," a remote

control that allows the user to input an-

swers to multiple-choice questions. The

effect of this in a classroom setting is any-

thing but ordinary. The clicker is able to

Written by Mara Markinson (T-10) and Greg Hyams (T-10) from an interview by

Emma Biramian (T-10)

TIME 2000 Attends LIMAÇON send all of the students‘ answers to the receiv-

ing computer and organize the data into a graph

on PowerPoint. Since the students are able to

input answers anonymously, the more shy and

reluctant students will participate more often. It

will become easier to assess student under-

standing before a test or quiz. The clicker is a

great tool for running a more efficient classroom

and is something that I‘d definitely like to have

in my classroom in the future. —Jaemin

S o n g , T - 1 1

Even after attending the third LIMAÇON con-

ference of my TIME2000 career, I can‘t wait for

the next one! I learned about something that

my group in M385W was able to use for a ge-

ometry lesson. It was a manipulative which

acted as a visual aid to help teach rotations.

With this manipulative, students can see what

happens to the points of an image when the

image is rotated. When we taught this lesson,

our peers in T-11 were amazed and we were

very happy with the outcome. LIMAÇON is a

place for exchanging ideas and networking. Our

goal was to utilize what it has to offer, and we

succeeded! —Violetta Pinkhasova, T-11

All the students agreed that they will use

what they learned at LIMAÇON in their future

classrooms.

4

TIME 2000 Newsletter

If you would like to write an article, contact us via e-mail!

Mara: maramarkinson@yahoo.com Greg: ghyams@gmail.com

Our Web Address

http://time2000.qc.cuny.edu

Congratulations, T-10! We will miss you! Good luck!

T-10 Through the Years

Channel 13 Pictures