[gallery] Scholars and Donors Recognized and United at Scholarship Awards Ceremony

The Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony, held on October 19 in the Williamson Theatre in CSI’s Center for the Arts, was an opportunity to recognize the academic success and hard work of scholarship recipients, but also an opportunity for the College community, and particularly these students, to thank the scholarship supporters for their generosity.

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Prior to the ceremony, Katherine Patawaran, a graduate Nursing student in the Dual Nursing Master’s Program-Clinical Nurse Specialist/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and recipient of  the Dorothy C. Beckman Scholarship/Brooklyn Home For Aged Men and the Eleanor M. Kaufman Scholarship/Brooklyn Home For Aged Men, said, “I’m very grateful. It is a great opportunity. I’m a nurse and, of course, I’m in school. It definitely gives me a chance to grow and advance.”

Regarding the Brooklyn Home’s support of scholarships at the College, the Home’s Vice President and Treasurer George Schaefer remarked, “The Brooklyn Home For Aged Men is pleased to support students at the College of Staten Island who will eventually be in the forefront of combating diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer that are affecting older members of our community. In addition, our support of the College’s exemplary Nursing department ensures that the elderly will continue to have access to quality geriatric care.”

Another scholarship awardee,  Irvin Ibarguen, a senior History major who received the Adelante Scholarship and the Aramis Gonzalo Rios Memorial Scholarship, noted, “”I’m very grateful to CSI for making a scholarship available to me, and Mr. [Edgar] Rios, who is the person who founded this particular scholarship. Usually, I had to pay for my books, my transportation, so it’s a great help for me and also my parents, who help support me.”

Mr. Rios, commenting on why he supports a scholarship at CSI, said, “I am a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School. My wife Lillian graduated from Mannhattanville College and Teacher’s College at Columbia University. We both grew up in the South Bronx and came from economically challenged family backgrounds. But for financial assistance, we would not have been successful academically. We value education and we value public institutions like CSI that provide a high quality of education that is affordable. The scholarship is intended to help those that are also “economically challenged” avail themselves of the excellent educational opportunities at CSI. It is our way of expressing our appreciation for the assistance we received.”

After thanking all of the donors and everyone who helped to make the ceremony possible, College President Dr. Tomás D. Morales stated that “This Scholarship Awards Ceremony represents an important nexus between student success and the members of our community who have donated funds to support our students.”

Regarding student success at CSI, he continued, “The academic excellence reflected in your scholarship awards is just one example of all that we have already accomplished, arising from the cornerstone of student success. Every year, the academic profile of our baccalaureate students, their college admission averages and SAT scores, increase to unprecedented levels and our honors programs, theMacaulay Honors College, The Verrazano School, and the Teacher Education Honors Academy, continue to thrive. More of the best and brightest students are making the choice to come to this institution and you are leading the way to a new era of innovation, creativity, and collaboration at the College of Staten Island.”

Following further comments from Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. A. Ramona Brown and Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Internal Affairs Barbara Eshoo, Caryl Watkins, Director of the Career and Scholarship Center, which sponsored the event, called the individual scholarship awardees up to the stage to receive a pin from Dr. Brown and have their picture taken with Dr. Morales. Students and scholarship donors then had more of a chance to meet each other at an informal reception after the ceremony.

Individuals who are interested in helping to further the education of deserving students by supporting a scholarship at the College of Staten Island can contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 718.982.2365.