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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Typically, given the seasonal change, I might observe that spring is a time of renewal.  However, this week it seems we’ve jumped right into summer, way past the budding of the season and into full growth mode.  The warm sun and long hours of light make me think about the upcoming celebrations of our students’ many accomplishments and the fast walk to commencement.  So, today, I want to share some mini-portraits of our remarkable students — all captured in just the past few weeks.  Here is what I’ve seen:
  • Our students interacting with and impressing Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, asking questions about her journey that elicited remarkable responses from her and shed a bright light on the creative process.  (By the way, Ms. Vogel also shared with me that our faculty are fantastic!)
  • Student leaders working the halls in Albany and accompanying me on visits to our representatives in district, advocating for their educational futures and sharing the story of MCC.   Truly, we can thank them for the recent moves to restore some state aid to community colleges.
  • Students showing up in force to work the phones for the latest WXXI membership drive, wearing their black and gold, and giving up their evenings to promote MCC’s Scholar’s Day.  During breaks, these same students shared their excitement and nervousness about where they will transfer at the year’s end, pondering their futures.
  • An atrium full of college life:  Kings, queens, knights, pawns and more filling the space with a wild game of living chess that drew crowds above trying to follow the joyous chaos that ensued.  Engaged citizens sharing their thoughts about what democracy really means and how to bridge divides of faith to move our community forward.  Future health professionals encouraging all of us to “make the match” and potentially save another’s life.
  • DCC students engaged in the future of their campus, making their voices heard on the new location.  Whether in discussions with me, Executive Dean Otero, their local representatives or each other, our students are clear about where they want to be and speak respectfully but forcefully about the potential they see at the Kodak site.
  • MCC’s student athletes competing on the ice, the field, the court, and in the pool representing the college with pride, skill and integrity; making their plans to transfer to colleges like Stony Brook and Nazareth; majoring in fields like geology and engineering.
  • Green students marching on St. Patrick’s Day, shouting “M-C-C,” treating the crowd to a drum and fife corps, juggling for and high fiving the many children on the route, and winning over the parade review stand.
  • Forty-six students submitting exciting, interesting, and difficult sessions for presentation on Scholars' Day this April; twice as many as were submitted last year—pushing the Foundation to increase the number of scholarships that will be awarded over that weekend.
  • The traces left behind by a talented student who turned half of a board in the Gleason Hall study area into an impressive chalk-reproduction of Edvard Munch’s "The Scream," which watched warily over clusters of students gathered in conversation, work and moments of rest.

It’s difficult to stop this list, but I will … and now turn it over to you.  Take a moment to visit my blog and share your favorite recent memory of our students.  They are why we care, why we struggle, why we celebrate, why we’re here.  What image pops into your mind when I say, “tell me about MCC students”?

Anne M. Kress
Office of the President
03/21/2012