After a two-year hiatus from the usual on-campus graduation ceremonies, without the need for social distancing, it was a welcome return to normal as Bronx Community College (BCC) Class of 2022 held their commencement ceremony on the college grounds on June 3. The students were joined on the day by the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021, as well as family and friends, all sitting comfortably under expansive white tents to witness the conferring of associate degrees in the fields of science and arts, on what was a bright sunny morning.

 

Like many others, the graduating classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 had encountered some once-in-a-lifetime obstacles along their respective academic journeys to graduation. “It’s been [a] last two difficult years,” said Dr. Thomas A. Isekenegbe, president of BCC, during his address to the students on the day. “Did anyone here hear of Zoom before 2020?” he joked, in reference to the common experience of so many students at all manner of educational institutions who, throughout the pandemic and along with faculty members, were forced to become adept at learning and teaching remotely through the web conferencing platform. “Did anyone have you on mute or muted before 2020?” Isekenegbe added.

 

Under normal circumstances, according to the BCC graduates, students take two to four classes per semester for two years, depending on their major. Bruce Mata commuted from Washington Heights for his in-person classes. “Most of [my classes], the majority were online,” the 21-year-old told Norwood News. “We were experiencing hardships and challenges and obstacles from being on the [computer] screen, learning differently.” By the end of his time at BCC, Mata said he had attended just five physical classes on campus. He is now making plans to attend Lehman College for an advanced degree in nursing.

 

 

In addition to taking in the words of praise and encouragement from the faculty, school trustees and a few fellow students, graduates also heard from some of New York’s elected officials. Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson also took the occasion to acknowledge that the students’ paths to graduation had not been easy. “Today’s commencement is a culmination of commitment, dedication, hard work, and a true labor of love,” Gibson told the crowd. “Graduates, you have done an incredible job…. Make sure that you hold your head up high and be proud of your journey, because you have earned your right to be here. You have set your footprint in the history of Bronx Community College!”

Another elected official, who currently represents the college’s neighborhood of University Heights at the City Council level, actually started her college preparation journey at BCC. Before attending the universities of Harvard and Princeton, District 14 Council Member Pierina Sanchez was enrolled as a 13-year-old in the “Upward Bound Program” at BCC. The program helps high school students interested in attending college with tutoring, counseling, and workshop/seminars to help explain the college application process.

 

Sanchez reminded the graduates of how their journey at BCC could inspire others. “Nobody is more resilient than our Bronx people,” she said. “Nobody has been through what you’ve been through. You’ve heard this before, and I’m saying it again. You got this! This is a beginning; this is an opportunity. People are watching you… and you are an inspiration!”

 

Perhaps the marquee player among the invited speakers on the special day was U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. However, he was nowhere to be found during the speeches nor during the conferring of degrees by the school’s president and provost. Minutes before the end of the ceremony, the senator showed up with an understandable excuse for his tardiness. “I had a very nice speech I prepared, but I have an excuse why I was late,” Schumer explained.

Had the honor of meeting Mercedes Yordan & ⁦@ParamitaSen17⁩ ⁦@BCCcuny⁩. Mercedes started at BCC in 1961 and stopped out to raise her family. She came back in Spring ‘20 and is on track to graduate in Accounting in June ‘22. Kudos to Mercedes! pic.twitter.com/TnU3YUzhno

— Thomas A. Isekenegbe (@president_BCC) February 18, 2022

 

“I was at the hospital at 2:16 yesterday morning where my daughter gave birth to my granddaughter,” he added. The senator then promptly tore up the pages of his speech amid cheers from the crowd, ended his brief visit instead by praising the latest three classes of graduates. “Congratulations to the great class of Bronx Community College 2020, 2021, 2022!” he said. “You’re the greatest!”

 

BCC campus consists of 34 buildings, spread across 45 acres of the University Heights-based campus. The college’s website describes it as the “most historic” in the CUNY system and it has been designated a national historic landmark. The oldest buildings, including the famous Hall of Fame colonnade, were originally built in the 1850s as part of New York University (NYU)’s uptown campus. Eventually, NYU sold the property and BCC started operating at the location in the fall of 1973.

 

The Hall of Fame has not been without controversy, however, as previously reported by Norwood News. Since 1907, a semi-circular enclave of solid bronze busts depicting various American historical figures from the world of politics, the arts, science, and others line a classical-style stone-arched colonnade, presiding majestically over the bustling University Heights neighborhood and Harlem River.

In 2017, discussions on controversial historical figures such as confederate generals, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, whose busts were removed from the Hall that year as part of a national movement condemning the history of the Confederacy in the United States, came to the forefront. The move stemmed from national outcry following the 2015 fatal church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina and the fatal car attack at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Critics say confederate statues symbolize and glorify white supremacy.

 

In the intervening years, the college has launched various collaborative projects to discuss American icons and what constitutes American greatness. Cynthia Tobar, assistant professor and head of archives at BCC is, along with others, now working on a more recent project that aims to create new, local musical monuments based on the oral histories of NYC residents. The initiative emerged from these former discussions on the statues. “Student and community residents from Bronx Community College (BCC) have begun sharing their own experiences, learning and working among monuments that they say fail to reflect America’s diversity,” according to the college.

Meanwhile, one year ago, the college was still dealing with ongoing problems of food insecurity among its student population. On June 11, 2021, Isekenegbe spoke at a press conference held at BCC to officially announce the funding of a new food pantry at the College, open to all CUNY students and their families. The existing food pantry, as reported, served approximately one thousand people per month. The new pantry opened last year aimed to increase that number to two thousand per month. Former City Council Member for District 14, Fernando Cabrera, also spoke at the press conference, having secured $575,000 in capital funding for the pantry. That was matched by the State of New York for a total of $1,150,000 towards the initiative.

 

“Food insecurity is truly a reality right here in The Bronx and all throughout New York City,” Cabrera said at the time. Indeed, it was a problem in the borough even before the pandemic, as reported. “And especially when it comes to students who are coming to school, to be educated, at a higher education level, they shouldn’t have to be worrying about where the next meal is going to come from, where food is going to come from. They should be focused on their studies. They have enough pressure in their lives.”

 

Also, last year, as reported, students from BCC shot a short film, “The Essentials of The Bronx: COVID Stories,” which chronicled some of the stories of the lives of BCC students and how they were affected by the pandemic.

 

Meanwhile, the college also launched a new program in July 2021 as reported. In conjunction with Building Skills New York (BSNY), an organization which helps New Yorkers in underserved communities find construction jobs, BCC is working to provide skills development and pathways to professional advancement for workers in the construction industry.

Get a great education at an affordable price, right here in the Bronx. Apply today at https://t.co/6oK80BFlAT pic.twitter.com/hEEpf5a3CG

— Bronx Comm. College (@BCCcuny) June 10, 2022

Meanwhile, for the Class of 2022, graduating in-person with their fellow classmates meant a lot, especially in view of the year and a half most of them had spent attending classes on Zoom. Jeffrey Laryea, 20, wanted to attend a community college with a campus that had green open spaces in addition to a rigorous academic training. BCC fit the bill for this student who commuted from his home in the Concourse neighborhood.  “I’m really grateful for this because a lot of my friends graduated over Zoom,” Laryea said.

 

Graduating with an associate science degree in business administration, Laryea has set his eyes on a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. “[I want to] pursue my dream of owning my own business” he said. Reflecting on the specialness of the day, Laryea kept it simple, summing it up by saying, “I’m blessed!”

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.