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“Davos in the Desert” by Wendy Williams was originally published on Getting Smart.
The Education Innovation Summit (#EISummit) conference this week in Arizona is a large and seamlessly orchestrated event, but one of my favorite presentations so far was not actually on the agenda. The keynote speaker for Tuesday’s lunch was to have been Larry Summers, president emeritus of Harvard, but after the tragic bombing at Monday’s marathon he needed to stay close to home in Boston. Jim Shelton, U.S. Dept. of Education Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement, was tapped to fill in, and he was an inspiring speaker. Although Shelton said that he worries that the EdTech sector could miss opportunities to reach its goals and transform education, he shared enough insights to make it clear that he is not really a pessimist at all, just engaged and grounded. He also talked about his personal experience with great teachers and schools and the big difference they have made in his own life.
Shelton observed that some country is going to take the lead on education innovation and reminded us that U.S. education mavericks need to “build for the global opportunity.” He also spoke about how online learning innovations in higher education could have a democratizing effect, creating social capital and a better college experience for all. Colleges need to emphasize completion and acceleration, however, and the grade he would give higher education for the job it is doing at present is just a C minus. Gaps/opportunities he suggested for entrepreneurs included early childhood resources for use by informal caregivers, and K-12 tools for summer and outside of school, whether for enrichment or remediation.
The conference has also been lucky to have computer industry pioneers like Steve Case, a founder of AOL and now Chairman and CEO of Revolution, who drew on his years of experience to offer insights on the current state of the educational technology field. Many keynote speakers and panelists at the conference have been asked to make projections about the future, and Case emphasized that the start-up companies that are forming today need to be ready for them to take a long time to build.
Another great presenter was Michael Crow, the president of Arizona State University, a school that is taking the lead on education innovation and is a host of the conference. When asked about what tack ASU takes on inter-disciplinary work in arts and sciences, Crow described how they are involving science-fiction writers like Neal Stephenson to project future states, for students to build on in visionary ways. The Center for Science and the Imagination is where this all happens, and it looks like a really exciting collaboration. [Neal Stephenson, by the way, is the author of a sci-fi novel that could be a distance-learning manifesto: The Diamond Age. In it, an interactive learning tool educates and empowers a neglected child, who goes on to change society with what she has learned.] Despite Crow’s embrace of education innovation, he said he does not think of it as schools reducing the cost of a degree “by replacing faculty with robots,” but rather doing things to support instructors.
The conference has also covered an interesting range of topics in panel discussions that made me wish I could attend two sessions concurrently. The panel on MOOCs was not always in agreement about the projected future of these massive open online courses, nor on their impact on ‘traditional’ online education, nor even on the definition/scale of what constitutes a MOOC. Nevertheless, they did make a few observations. Asked if MOOCs represented the beginning of a do-it-yourself degree, ASU’s Phil Regier predicted that higher ed basics like having to take courses outside one’s major would continue. As for MOOCs’ usefulness for remedial coursework, he observed that the students who need remediation are not autodidacts. There did seem to be some agreement that MOOCs could have a big impact on continuing education, since the competency focus would make certification irrelevant, so long as the student learned the desired subject matter, as in a photography course.
Steven Johnson was the last to speak on day one of the conference, and so some people may have missed his presentation. Johnson began by talking about the ‘liquid network,’ social spaces in which ideas bounce around and lead to innovation. He took us from 18th century coffee houses as the space where the Enlightenment happened, to a redesigned incubator that improved infant mortality rates in Africa, to Apple’s ‘genius bars,’ modeled on the concierge service in high-end hotels (like the one where the EIS conference is held). As he talked about the career diversity to be found in the social networks of the most innovative people, I thought about the interesting range of people at the Education Innovation Summit – Ed Tech entrepreneurs, investors, business people, writers, policy wonks, and educators — all enthusiastically talking about how to improve education in the short and long term.
Wendy Williams is a media professional, educator, and cultural anthropologist. She is an online instructor for CUNY School of Professional Studies and lives in Brooklyn.
*Note: Although this article was published on April 17, 2013 prior to the Education Innovation Summit, the content remains relevant for the SPS community.
The City University of New York (CUNY) is proud to partner with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to support the efforts of public housing residents in their pursuit of higher education at CUNY colleges.
Since 2005, the NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship Program has aided several CUNY students in achieving their professional goals. Annually NYCHA awards $1,000 scholarships to eligible residents who are enrolled full-time at CUNY colleges through two scholarship programs: The NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship Program and the Regina A. Figueroa Memorial Scholarship for NYCHA residents with disabilities.
If you are a NYCHA resident attending a CUNY Community or Senior College, you may be eligible to receive a $1,000 NYCHA – CUNY Resident Scholarship or the Regina A. Figueroa Memorial Scholarship.
We are pleased to announce the open application period for both scholarships. Approximately 10 scholarships will be awarded to eligible NYCHA residents. Completed applications must be received by NYCHA no later than June 14, 2013.
Go online to get an application: www.nyc.gov/nychacunyscholarship or www.cuny.edu/nychascholarship
“Preparing for the Future” by Wendy Williams was originally published on Getting Smart.
The future of education will be on display next week in Arizona, at the Education Innovation Summit. There will be a wide range of speakers and panel discussions, which I am really looking forward to hearing. Because the focus is on innovation, and many educational technology companies and entrepreneurs will be there, it is a chance for me as an educator to hear about what tools will be available to my university and K-12 schools in the near future. I am especially interested to hear what new models are being proposed that can make sense of the MOOC phenomenon for me, since the online instruction that I do at the City University of New York (CUNY) takes place in small classes and does not discard the traditional framework of credit hours and degree programs within a university structure.
Thomas Friedman’s recent op-ed for the New York Times made many CUNY instructors bristle by extolling the “MOOCs revolution” as if massively open online courses alone could fix difficult issues of social inequality and access to education, in the U.S. and globally. Friedman does note in another article, however, that so far it is mostly middle and upper class students who are able to benefit from this kind of massive online course. There may be a multitude of autodidacts out there, ready to thrive on their own in MOOCs, but my experience has been with college students who would need some foundation laid before they could get to that point.
The communications course I teach online is soon to be renamed Digital Literacy and offered to a wider group of CUNY students than the Online B.A. students who have been taking it. I feel lucky to be teaching the course, because I see the impact on my students as extending beyond the end of one semester. While the returning adults enrolled in the program are highly ‘wired’ in some ways (especially social networking with friends and family), they still find the course useful, to understand the theory and practice of finding and using digital information. There is a whole range of behavior they need modeled for them, from online research skills, to evaluating the credibility of resources, to knowing what to foreground in a short essay and how to avoid plagiarism while writing it. My students are smart and motivated, so even if some of them were under-served by the New York City public education system and are catching up, I am not convinced that these fundamental digital literacy skills are something that other young people ‘just know.’
My students are also learning how to be producers of knowledge and to be part of an academic community. They create blogs during the course, learn to edit a wiki, and experience a high level of interaction with classmates in discussing the readings and ideas of the course. When I ask them to use Twitter for a group assignment, many students have no previous experience with it, or have only used it to sign up for discounts and coupons from retailers. It is rewarding to see them coming away with a new understanding of how professionals use social networking tools to share news and ideas — to see them begin to follow some thought leaders and become part of a wider conversation on their own.
While I have been teaching online for almost six years now, I feel as though I need to pay attention to a lot more than what is already happening, only at my university. Along with presentations by many innovative companies at next week’s summit, the conference also brings together a wide range of leaders, from those with backgrounds in politics and education, like Senators George Mitchell and Bob Kerrey, to computer industry pioneers, to technology writers like Steven Johnson. I just assigned a chapter he wrote on the benefits of gaming to my communications students, many of them young parents, to get them to think about how technology is revolutionizing what constitutes a learning opportunity for young people. There is also a panel that I am interested to hear on how massively multi-player online games (MMOG) might improve learning outcomes. Middlebury College, where I studied Chinese ten years ago to prepare for my anthropological fieldwork, will be there with the interactive version of the intensive language program that they have since developed.
Things are evolving very quickly, and I want to stay in the vanguard. Lest we forget why words like ‘revolution’ are being used to talk about online learning innovations, one of the summit panels is called “The Nuclear Option: Should We Just Blow Up the Current System & Start from Scratch?” I am pretty sure the answer to that is not going to be ‘yes,’ but I am looking forward to coming away with fresh ideas about what the future might hold.
Wendy Williams is a media professional, educator, and cultural anthropologist. She is an online instructor for CUNY School of Professional Studies and lives in Brooklyn.
*Note: Although this article was published on April 12, 2013 prior to the Education Innovation Summit, the content remains relevant for the SPS community.
The following post was submitted by Crispin Goytia ‘09, Chair of the Alumni Advisory Council.
The CUNY School of Professional Studies Alumni Advisory Council was formed with the intention of bringing alumni together to make time to dedicate and “give back” to the school that gave us so much. Personally, it has been a blessing for me to be a part of this council because I can’t think of a better way to keep the legacy of SPS alive.
I was part of the first group of students enrolled in the online degree program and I have always thought of ourselves as “trailblazers” daring to take education to new and improved heights. I have many wonderful memories, but honestly my favorite was going on a nature walk in Inwood Park as part of the Nature and New York Course.
By being a member of the Advisory Council, we are able to partake in that vision each time we work together to develop ideas and programs that will forever shape the school and the populations it serves. Each time we meet, I am reminded that the Advisory Council feels like a family.
Giving of your time, even if it is just once a month can impact the life of a fellow student at CUNY SPS. I ask of all alumni both near and far to create an alumni action plan which can help people figure out how they can best give back to an institution that has given us so much.
Crispin is a graduate of the Online Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Culture Program, currently works in research, and plans to apply to one of the Master’s Degree programs here at SPS.
This article by Wendy Williams originally appeared on the blog Getting Smart on February 21, 2013.
I never get to meet most of my students in person, because I teach asynchronous online courses via Blackboard, for the City University of New York (CUNY). I was part of a cohort of Ph.D. students who began teaching after fully online programs were available. The online venue allowed us to keep researching and writing our dissertations, teaching asynchronously as time permitted. While teaching, I was working on my anthropological research, on Chinese Americans and their digital communication strategies in Brooklyn’s Chinatown. The focus of my research was the online relationships this group builds and maintains online, using everything from Skype to the Chinese social networking service QQ. My favorite part of doing my anthropological fieldwork was developing new relationships, especially with one particular family. I treasure the details my students give me about themselves, too, as a way to get to know them, albeit virtually.
The CUNY online program, part of the School of Professional Studies (SPS), is for degree completers. Students must transfer in with at least 24 credits, so they are all adults, with complicated lives and many responsibilities. The program began in 2006, offering an online major in Communication and Culture, and went on to offer degree programs in Psychology, Sociology, and Business; there are eight in all today, six bachelor’s and two master’s. Because my students are working adults and often parents, I think many are not focused on the social experience of college; they just want to learn and get their degrees. The big advantage of distance learning for them is that they do not need to travel to a classroom, and there are other perks.
Because class size is capped at 25, SPS classes are more like small seminars than MOOCs, and students thrive on the personal attention and feedback, from me and from each other. Most of their work is written, so students get a lot of much-needed practice in writing. Some are not native English speakers and get to sharpen their language skills as well. The self-pacing means they can tailor the time they spend on each assignment. With their remarkable diversity, typical of CUNY students, they bring a range of perspectives that enhances every class discussion. My colleagues and I spend lots of time thinking about ways to enrich the student’s online learning experience using open source tools — with Jing videos, a blog in WordPress, class discussions on Twitter, and other enhancements.
SPS has an extensive list of instructional design options to include in each course, and having at least some group work is one of those recommendations. Some of my students are resistant to group projects but later report that they found it quite beneficial, for the fresh viewpoints that different minds and learning styles brought to the project. They also get to interact with the rest of the school, and beyond, by producing ePortfolios. One former student, who was considering a new career, took my assignment to produce an academic ePortfolio and ran with it, producing a rich display of her schoolwork that was personal, polished, and creative – just the sort of thing to show to a potential employer or graduate school. It also allowed me to relate to her in a new way, after seeing that we liked the same kind of music.
My students may be more comfortable with the limitations our online program places on relationship building than I am. I share some of Sherry Turkle’s concern from Alone Together (and see her New York Times opinion piece) that people are so focused on text-based communication today that face to face communication can get devalued, along with the relationships it enables. I crave more chances to see light bulbs go off for students, with my own eyes, although I do get to witness it in other ways. I once suggested in an informal discussion forum that my students might be interested in a free lecture at the New York Public Library. I met one student after he graduated who told me that he did attend that lecture, and that it started him on a life-changing journey of discovery of the intellectual life of New York City.
CUNY’s online students benefit from these casual conversations, and so do I. There is room for growth in finding more ways to nurture their social interaction and competency in oral communication, even in a fully asynchronous online course. I use Blackboard Collaborate, Skype, or Google Hangouts for my office hours and to get small groups of students together, to facilitate their relationships with me and with each other. The informal learning that can happen in the social spaces within and outside of the course is an important goal. When students then graduate and move on, some to graduate school, they are taking with them this experience with how a student-centered, collaborative learning environment works online.
Wendy Williams is a media professional, educator, and cultural anthropologist. She is an online instructor for CUNY School of Professional Studies and lives in Brooklyn.
Dear SPS Students:
I hope you have enjoyed your winter holidays, and are looking forward to the challenges and rewards of the upcoming semester. Whether you are a new or returning student, I am happy to welcome you to the School of Professional Studies for the Spring 2013 term, and to thank you for choosing SPS. I am confident you will find your studies with us rigorous and engaging and the academic community here enriching and supportive. Please be sure to visit our community blog and “like” our Facebook page to get the latest news about our School, your professors, and your fellow students.
I sincerely hope your experience at SPS exceeds your expectations; please feel free to share with me any suggestions and ideas that might assist our efforts to provide you with the best education possible. Once again, on behalf of our faculty and staff, I wish you a successful and enjoyable semester.
Sincerely,
John Mogulescu
Dean, School of Professional Studies
John Mogulescu is the Senior University Dean for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the CUNY School of Professional Studies, and his responsibilities involve him in many different aspects of the University’s academic life. In addition to SPS, Dean Mogulescu has overseen collaborative programs between CUNY and the NYC Public Schools, CUNY Prep Transitional High School, the CUNY Language Immersion Program, CUNY Start, and the Adult Literacy and GED Preparation Programs. Dean Mogulescu also supervises the University’s Workforce Development Initiative, special training initiatives for City and State workers, and programs for welfare recipients, in addition to Adult and Continuing Education at CUNY and its non-credit programs, which serve over 250,000 students per year.
The message below is posted on behalf of Dean Brian A. Peterson:
The City, the University, and everyone at SPS are diligently working to cope with the aftermath of the many challenges associated with Hurricane Sandy. I want to express our deepest concerns and support for those who may have suffered loss during this challenging time.
Yesterday, as I made my way to the SPS’s offices, I noticed a number of spontaneous “charging stations” cropping up throughout midtown. These stations, powered by generators and extension cords, have allowed individuals—neighbors and strangers alike—to power up their devices, and they remind me that small things can make a big difference.
If you or someone you know needs assistance in the coming days, resources can be found at the FEMA, the American Red Cross Greater New York Region, and NYC311 websites. For those members of the CUNY community who want to aid their neighbors, please remember that Citizen CUNY is an easy way to find volunteer efforts. Additionally, the New York City Office of Emergency Management website is a good place to obtain current information about recovery efforts, status of transit/transportation and electricity, amongst other information.
While the recovery process from this disaster is going to be very slow, very costly, and very sobering, we will prevail. We’ve prevailed before and I encourage all of us to do our best to recharge and support one another. Small things—a phone call, an email, a brief conversation, a smile—can not only make a difference, but can make things happen. I encourage you to support one another simply by being in touch. Reach out to your fellow classmates, your instructors, your friends, and know that together we are resilient and will rise to face those challenges that are ahead.
Brian A. Peterson is the Associate Dean for Administration and Finance at the School of Professional Studies.
“Dark Light NYC” Image. Trinidad Rodriguez. 2012
“The American Entrepreneur” Image. Brian Peterson. 2012
Lisa Poelle, faculty member for the Child Development Associate (CDA) program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies, is author of the soon to be released book, The Biting Solution: The Expert’s No-Biting Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Early Childhood Educators.
Lisa’s twenty-five years of experience in the field of early childhood education include counseling families, pioneering a mentoring program for teachers, applying her expertise to the architectural design of child care centers, as well as serving as a consultant for corporations and government organizations. She has also provided consultation to childcare centers and programs through the Children’s Health Council. Her experience with this multidisciplinary agency inspired her to write the book. “That’s when I started getting so many requests to help with biting, and it is how I had a chance to practice and perfect my method,” Lisa says. “My case studies in the book came from this period. This was quite a unique opportunity.”
Here at the CUNY School of Professional Studies, Lisa shares her knowledge and experience with students in the Child Development Associate (CDA) program. The CDA program, offered in partnership with the NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, offers students an opportunity as early childhood professionals to master the knowledge base, application of theory to practice, and qualifications to create effective learning environments for children. Lisa teaches Child Development: Birth to Five and Observing and Recording Development of the Young Child.
In her book, Lisa provides realistic advice to help caregivers devise effective plans to solve children’s biting behaviors. She provides seven questions for caregivers to consider before establishing a plan to describe the problems and design the solutions to curb children’s biting behaviors. Using her method, “Stop the Fighting and Biting,” Lisa emphasizes the importance of parental involvement in developing positive and effective solutions for aggressive behavior problems.
The Biting Solution: The Expert’s No-Biting Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Early Childhood Educators will be published in the fall of 2012.
Lisa Poelle is also co-author of the book, Growing Teachers and several parenting articles. Lisa’s website can be found at: www.stopthefightingandbiting.com.
Great news! Our BS in Health Information Management is now in the candidacy phase of the CAHIIM (www.cahiim.org) accreditation process. Our students can now register as students with AHIMA (www.ahima.org) using our SPS Educational Program Code (#159). This will allow students to reap the benefits of membership and get a member discount on books!
For questions, contact Academic Director, Ellen Shakespeare at ellen.shakespeare@mail.cuny.edu.
10 MINUTES AND 10 MILES
In early June, on my very first group run with the American Cancer Society’s DetermiNation team, I ran for 10 minutes and wanted to cry. Not even 3 months later, through practice and DetermiNation, 10 minutes turned into 10 miles.
Last Sunday, I ran for 10 straight miles for the first time through my participation in the Jack Rabbit Battle of Brooklyn race in Prospect Park. The course consisted of three laps around Prospect Park. Each loop was just a little over 3 miles making the total course 10 miles. It was generally a nice course, mostly in the shade with only one doozy of a hill.
While the change “on paper” seems miraculous, there is no miracle about this great accomplishment. Getting here took practice, persistence and preparation.*
*Please note: This is a personal account of my experience and would like to recommend that anyone wishing to make drastic life changes first consult with a physician on the best course of action.
PRACTICE:
Currently, my practice consists of long runs, short runs and cross training. I adhere to the following schedule, religiously:
Long Runs, Saturdays
Long runs are all about time on your feet. It’s not about the distance, but more about how long you are running for. When thinking about completing a marathon, it’s not about getting to a 10 minute mile… it’s about conserving energy and practicing running for long periods of time.
Short Runs, Sundays & Tuesdays
Short runs, for me, are about getting in a good workout that strengthens me as a runner. Currently, my short runs are anywhere from 3-6 miles. Initially, they were 1-3 miles. My Tuesday short runs are with the American Cancer Society team. As a group, our coaches teach us running techniques, such as correctly running up and down hills. It’s amazing the amount of detail that goes into a runner’s form!
Cross-Training, Mondays (at a minimum)
I spend time doing yoga, swimming , free weights or sit-ups during my cross-training. Monday is a requirement, but I add more days when my schedule permits.
Beginner Training
In the beginning, I practiced running twice a week and cross-trained once a week. Since I never ran before, I needed to start slow. Through the excellent guidance of my volunteer coach from the American Cancer Society, I learned how to set mini-goals for myself while running. Whenever I felt I must stop, I picked a landmark. I would say to myself, “I will only walk to that lamp post, and then I will start running again.” I would allow myself that amount of time to recover and then begin running again as far as I could. When I would feel like quitting again, I would pick a stretch goal and say to myself, “I can stop when I hit the top of that hill.” As soon as I stopped, I would immediately pick my landmark to make myself start running again. That’s really how I got through the first two weeks of running and that practice helped me with my stamina, and truthfully my mental game as well.
PERSISTENCE:
Your mind plays tricks on you while you run. I am always having to talk myself through and encourage myself to keep going, even when my mind is tricking me into believing it’s time to stop; or that I can’t go any longer. This is the “mental game” that a runner must win.
My mental game was definitely a “battle” during the Battle of Brooklyn. I hated myself during miles one and two. The entire time I was fighting with myself and telling myself that my plan to run a marathon was ridiculous. I seriously felt angry. A runner accidentally brushed past me, grazing my arm and I wanted to scream. I realized that there was no way I would get through the race if I kept up the bad attitude. Fortunately, just as that thought was crossing my mind, I saw a friend on the sidelines cheering me on. I was so grateful for that external aid which helped me snap right out of that bad attitude and run strong…for a few more miles at least.
By mile four, I started seeing people pass me who were likely on their final loop of the race. It depressed me. I think that’s the hardest part of being in a race. I am so slow, and I know by the time I finish the party at the finish line is over. It was right then and there that I saw one of my volunteer coaches who had come out to cheer me and my teammate on from the sidelines. Amazing how things like that happen to make you feel strong again!
So, I remembered coach’s words of encouragement during training: “This is YOUR training, this is YOUR race. Don’t worry about their training and their race.” I hung onto those thoughts until I hit mile five, the halfway point. I was so excited. I basically kept thinking how every step I took was closer to the finish line, more than halfway closer. That’s how I got to mile eight.
At mile eight, I was convinced I wanted to quit. I was tired and every step was laborious. I remembered my coach again, “Don’t say you can’t do it, say you are doing it!” And that’s how I made it through miles nine and ten. Because I was running in my American Cancer Society t-shirt, strangers in the park would call out at me, “Go ACS!” and “Stay Determined!” This also helped me a great deal.
While it’s so great to have strangers or friends cheering me on from the sidelines, I have to be prepared for the times when they are not there. Running can be very solitary at times. Staying positive and persistent is the only way to get through those times. Practice is not only for physical strengthening, but for mental strengthening as well.
PREPARATION:
It’s so important to stay hydrated and get proper nutrition prior to and during a run. Some marathon runners actually seek the advice of a sports nutritionist in order to put together a personalized plan. It’s important to try these plans out while training instead of surprising your body on race day.
I prepped the night before this latest race by being sure to hydrate and have a nice big dinner. I woke up at 4:00 AM for the 8:00 AM race and ate a big breakfast: potatoes, oatmeal and a banana. I brought with me some Jelly Belly Sport Beans, Gu Energy Gel, and some EFS powder for my water.
Overkill? Yes, I think so! I definitely did not need all of that; and in fact, I regretted putting the entire EFS packet in my bottle of water. I use Nathan’s Quickdraw Elite which is a handheld water bottle that holds 22 oz of water. I think because I wasn’t used to it, it was way too sweet and too salty and I was just craving real water. I ended up mostly drinking the water from the water stations and hardly drinking any of my 22 oz of EFS water…maybe 4 oz total. I didn’t really care for the Gu, so I ditched that and stuck with the Jelly Belly beans. Even though I plan to continue to modify the fueling plans for myself, the way I fueled this time worked. I didn’t feel nauseous after running I had plenty of energy and was completely hydrated after the race. The only discomfort after race was the muscle fatigue (and soreness).
THE FINISH LINE:
Whether or not there are bystanders cheering you on at the finish line, it’s so rewarding to make it to the finish line of a race. I am always overwhelmed with a great sense of accomplishment; that often emotionally moves me. Whether a part of a race or part of a practice; every run is a milestone and something to celebrate. I constantly congratulate myself, and that’s how I make it to the next practice or run.
Celebrating at the finish line!
When you are part of a community, it’s impossible not to have others jump in to celebrate with you. For example, when I finished this latest race, I was 100% certain there would be no one at the finish line when I got there. What a huge surprise when I arrived, I saw two people still at the finish line cheering. It was my teammate, Rachel (who ran the race as well) and her roommate. After Rachel finished the race, they stayed and waited for me at the finish line until I got there. Their wait was at least 45 minutes, yet they still stayed.
Out of 739 finishers, I came in 737th place running the 10 miles in 2 hours 22 minutes and 2 seconds. Perhaps that’s not the most impressive finish, but for me it’s a huge victory that I am putting in my pocket. I plan on putting another victory in my pocket very soon, the 2012 Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure on September 9th in Central Park. Please visit http://bit.ly/CUNYSPS to sign up, see who is on your team and learn more about the Susan G. Komen foundation.
Alexandra Hertel is an Ohioan living in Brooklyn, New York. She attends CUNY’s School of Professional Studies and works full-time in the events industry.
