News & Events
Congresswoman Velázquez Tells 1,500 City Tech Graduates:
'Education can mean the difference between a full life and a life unfulfilled'
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| President Fred Beaufait
and Comgresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez
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| View Transcript of Congresswoman Velázquez's commencement address. |
| View Transcript of Jed Gelber's valedictory address |
| View Image Gallery - City Tech's 63rd Commencement Exercises |
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez,
who rose from humble beginnings in a small sugarcane town in Puerto
Rico to be the first person in her family to receive a college diploma
and the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, delivered
an upbeat, moving commencement address and received the President's
Award at City Tech's 63rd Commencement Exercises held on June 2
in the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
President Fred W. Beaufait confered more than 1,500 degrees, including
more than 1,000 associate and 500 baccalaureate, making this the
largest number of baccalaureate degrees awarded in a single year
in the history of the College.
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| W.P. Carey with President Beaufait |
City Tech awarded an honorary doctorate in commercial science to William Polk Carey, chairman and founder of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC, the world's largest publicly traded limited liability company.
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| Congresswoman Velázquez, Valedictorian Gelber & City Tech Provost La Perla |
The Class of 2003 Valedictorian was Jed Gelber, 44, a former marine corporal who overcame more than 20 years of substance abuse problems. He is graduating with a perfect 4.0 index in legal assistant studies and will be attending CUNY School of Law in the fall.
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| Grand Marshall Patterson |
Professor Richard Patterson of the English department was the grand marshal. The invocation was given by the Reverend Gale Jones. Greetings were brought by the Honorable Kenneth E. Cook, member, CUNY Board of Trustees, and John Mogulescu, University dean and deputy to the executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.
"Education can mean the difference between
a full life and a life unfulfilled," Velázquez told
the graduates and the rest of the audience, which included thousands
of family members and friends.
"The fact that I am up here at the age of 44 says a couple of things," Valedictorian Gelber said. "For one thing, life can begin at forty. But I think the real message of my being before you today is that life hands you many opportunities to succeed, even if you've failed in the past. Failure is not the end; it is merely a lesson for a new beginning."
| Some Highlights from Commencement
2003 Click on an image for a larger version: |
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