News & Events
Commencement Speaker and Valedictorian Inspire
Class of 2006 Graduates
Commencement speaker Edwin Schlossberg, 2006 Valedictorian Deidre Mike and City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler.
New York City College of Technology (City Tech) held its commencement on Tuesday, June 6, one of the only rain-free days at the start of the month. More than 5,000 were in attendance in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.
Commencement speaker Edwin Schlossberg, an interactive design pioneer and founder of ESI Design, told the audience of graduating students and their loved ones and City Tech's faculty and staff about the importance of being part of a team to work on projects that will make a difference in society.
"In India, there is a word, 'raunag,' which means the delight of being in crowds," he said. "Some people are nostalgic for the image of a lone cowboy on the open range. We all need to imagine and do things that nurture all of us, but in the context that there are billions of people in the world now.
"We each bring our own particular abilities, dreams and energy" to the process, he added. "If you make yourselves useful to others, if you work in teams, and if you imagine things that positively affect the greatest number of people, then your life and the lives of those around you will be so much better."
Schlossberg -- who designs experiential interactive installations for museums, public spaces, retail environments and business communication systems all over the world, including the American Family Immigration History Center at Ellis Island and the award-winning 22-story Reuters sign system in Times Square -- received the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters.
The Class of 2006 valedictorian, Deidre Mike told her fellow graduates that by earning college degrees, "We are positive statistics. We have proven today that we can achieve whatever we set our minds to, so our only limits now are the ones we place on ourselves."
She stressed that achieving a college degree comes with the responsibility of helping others. "Think back to a day when a professor, aunt, uncle, teacher, parent or friend said that one perfect thing that made you realize you were capable of doing everything you dreamed of and more, and then provide that moment for someone else."
Mike then told of how her confidence in one young man's abilities made a difference in his life and how he, in turn, was creating positive statistics out of other young people. "What for me were a few minutes out of one day and some conversations stayed with this young man for years. We should all strive to create those moments for the next generation. That way, we can look forward to the day when we sit in the audience and watch as others graduate from college, creating more positive statistics," she said.
Salutatorian Aillen Aponte.
City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler, who presided over the ceremonies acknowledged the Class of 2006's salutatorian, Aillen Aponte. The audience burst into applause when he said: "The salutatorian is the student who placed second in the valedictorian selection process. Aillen is graduating today with her bachelor’s degree in human services with a grade point average of 3.82. Her accomplishment is all the more remarkable since she has been wheelchair bound since birth. Please join me in congratulating our Salutatorian, Aillen Aponte."
The commencement exercises also included an invocation by the Reverend Tony Nicolas, a professor of chemical technology at the College. The Honorable Carlos Sierra, a member of The City University Board of Trustees brought greetings, as did the City Tech Student Government Association President Syed Mahmud, who received his associate degree in accounting and will enroll next fall at Baruch College to earn his bachelor's degree.
All photos by Alberto Vargas.
6/13/06
