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I remember taking the entrance examination and completing the writing
sample with much nervous energy. It was a relief when I learned
that I
had successfully completed the assessment process and would have the
opportunity to complete my college education. My mother was
extremely
satisfied, recognizing that this would be another opportunity for me as
I had not been successful at my previous attempts at tertiary
education. At the time of my re-entry, I had been out of academia
for
about fifteen years.
As is the case
with many adult learners, I had a busy schedule. I
worked full-time at the New York Telephone Company (Verizon) as a
trained engineer. In addition, I served on the ministerial staff of a
church with a membership of over seven hundred as the Director of the
Church School. The church membership was almost ten times as
large. I
was also a husband and the father of three young children. I have
experienced the long hours of late-night study, the early rising to
prepare children for school, the work week that seemed to never end,
and the ministerial responsibilities that can be all-consuming.
However, with
much support, dedication and prayer, I graduated from
CNR and was admitted to Princeton Theological Seminary in 1989.
There,
I received two degrees -- the Master of Divinity and the advanced
Master of Theology. While at Princeton I served as a student
pastor at
a UCC church in Newark, NJ. I also served as an outreach minister
of a
Presbyterian church in Paterson, NJ. And finally, I served as the
director of transition program for homeless men at an Episcopal church
in Paterson. These experiences led me to an opportunity that was
to
reveal to me my true passion.
I returned to The
College of New Rochelle, NYTS campus, as an
adjunct in 1993. Now, as the Assistant Campus Director at the JOC
campus, I can emphatically state that education is truly my passion.
One of the major benefits of the Liberal Arts education received at the
School of New Resources is that I was provided with the tools to choose
my field of endeavor with confidence, knowing that I was equipped to
succeed. The College of New Rochelle gave me the instruments necessary
to negotiate my future, and it is my joyful task to assist this
collegial family in assuring that others are given the ability to
influence their environments, consistent with their
self-interests.
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