The College of Staten Island, in cooperation with the CSI Foundation, presents the annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, in the Campus Center on the Willowbrook Campus.
This year, Scholarship Committee Chairpersons Dean David Podell and Dean José Torres, recognize new and returning CSI students for their outstanding academic achievements and promise. With over 150 scholarships to be awarded, CSI is investing approximately $200,000.00 (mostly privately raised) in the future of its students during the upcoming academic year.
This year’s award ceremony presents the first annual Beverly Curry Memorial scholarship. Reflecting on the past to build a better tomorrow, Frederick Curry established this scholarship in memory of his wife Beverly Curry, whose life was taken in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Beverly Curry attended CSI in the evenings while working full-time at Cantor Fitzgerald. She was a Dean’s List student, maintaining a 3.8 Grade Point Average, and was majoring in Finance.
Mrs. Curry was a student who loved learning, and her roots were firmly planted into the fertile soil of CSI. Professor of Economics Simone Wegge considered her his favorite student because “in spite of the weighty financial responsibilities she shouldered at work each day, Beverly came to class upbeat and ready to work.”
At the recent CSI commencement ceremonies, Frederick Curry accepted a Special Dolphin Award dedicated to Beverly Curry, from CSI President Marlene Springer.
“While Beverly had the choice to attend colleges close to her office in Manhattan, such as Pace and NYU,” commented Mr. Curry, “she chose CSI because she knew she would get one of the best educations in the country.”
“CSI helped Beverly better appreciate the natural and artistic realms, grasp the complexities of moral issues, recognize the centrality of technology in our society,” continued Mr. Curry, “and understand human differences in culture, gender, and race.”
The Beverly Curry Memorial Scholarship provides financial assistance annually to a student who demonstrates high academic and professional promise, with a special interest in African-American women, who are often underrepresented both in college and in business. It ensures that the memory of Beverly Curry will live on, together with her dreams and dedication.
The fund awards its first scholarship this year to Mauberte Osias, a CSI senior majoring in psychology and the physician assistant program. A resident of Brooklyn, she graduated from the Clara Barton High School for Health Professionals before entering higher education on Staten Island.
Osias doesn’t let her academic challenges stand in the way of helping within the community. She has volunteered in the emergency medicine department at Bayley Seton Hospital and with the Board of Education’s Big Apple Games. As well, she is a CSI ambassador, dedicated to the educational mission of the college, assisting faculty and students in a variety of projects.
Osias plans to achieve a Master of Science degree upon completion of her undergraduate coursework. In addition to her community volunteerism and rigorous academic schedule, “there are all the obstacles that young men and women face today in our society,” commented Osias. “To overcome these obstacles, one should put in mind that a profession need not be based solely on the amount of years it take to complete [a degree] but on the outcome and the success of one’s life.”
