NYC – Jefe's House

Congratulations to Guttman’s New PTK Members

I was humbled and honored to be the keynote speaker at the PTK Honor Society Induction Ceremony for these hardworking, academically excellent new student members at Guttman Community College CUNY in New York City today.

A Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society International induction isn’t just ceremonial in recognizing the highest academic achievers at community colleges. It offers competitive scholarships, need-based scholarships, and university partner transfer scholarships, as well as opportunities for alums to continue to grow as scholars and leaders, supporting their continued academic and professional success.

Go, Guttman!

I’m honored have been invited to speak at two upcoming events at Guttman Community College CUNY hosted by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society International. I spoke at Guttman recently as a Legacy Ambassador for The Fulbright Program about my experiences as a Fulbright-Nehru Research Scholar to India, and stressed that I also proudly began my higher education journey with my freshman year at Virginia Western Community College where I was a Dean’s List and Honor Roll student before transferring to NYU Tisch School of the Arts for my BFA and MFA.

This first event is a panel discussion of community college alums. For the second event, I’ll be the keynote speaker at the Honors Society Induction Ceremony welcoming new members into Phi Theta Kappa.

Meet the Incredible Dr. Mtonga

Had a wonderful time yesterday with Dr. Thomas Mtonga, PhD, Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, who was guest-lecturing in NYC at New York University and Guttman Community College-CUNY on Inclusive Education From an African Perspective. I was able to co-present with him at Guttman today (Go, Grizzlies!). Dr. Mtonga’s home institution is The University Of Zambia (UNZA).

There’s a wonderful profile of him at https://www.cehd.umn.edu/overcoming-barriers-through-resilience-and-purpose. Read it and you will understand why I was so awed and honored to share the room with him today as a Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador telling about my own Fulbright experiences as a prelude to his talk.

Many thanks to Nick Fortier, Lecturer of Interdisciplinary Studies and Coordinator of the Teaching and Learning Center at Guttman for making the arrangements (including the hot coffee and delicious brownies).

NYU Fulbright Reception

Such a wonderful and reenergizing time at the New York University Fulbright Reception today meeting international Fulbright students from around the world and US faculty like me, sharing stories about our experiences and the ongoing impact they’re having on our personal and professional growth. Thank you, NYU Changemaker Center and NYU Office of Global Awards for the experience and the new friendships (and the delicious meal).

Humans in the Loop NYC Screening

For my NYC peeps, an invitation to a screening of the 2024 film Humans in the Loop, which was in contention for the Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars (see Variety article). Writer-director Aranya Sahay will be in conversation with Ritesh Batra on Tuesday Jan 13, 6PM at Village East Angelika. The film is listed by the New York Times as one of the “Top 5 Films on Streaming”. It is the recipient of a Film Independent Sloan Grant and a Grand Prix for Best Film (India) by the International Federation of Film Critics.

Please RSVP here.