1969
I chose CCNY because it was free education at that point. During my era it was the most difficult of all these senior colleges to get into. My whole family had gone to CCNY, so I knew it was an excellent college. On my very first day at CCNY, I was standing in front of the Administration Building. Then a woman asked me where the administration building was. When I pointed out that it was right in front of us, we became friends for life. Her name is Rochelle. I was in the speech and theatre department. There was a club where I had the lead in some programs that we did. In those days CCNY offered chartered flights to Europe. Between my upper and lower junior year, Rochelle and I went to Europe for three months and traveled. I had a very fun education. My professors were terrific. I was very pleased with the caliber of teaching, the quality of my peers, and the fact that I went with a cohort of about 12 students from my high school. They had house plans at the time. That was another way of bonding and being oriented. The day after I graduated, I started student teaching and simultaneously going for my master's at night. I became a high school English and journalism teacher at Washington Irving High School and continued getting my master's. I was also a theatre minor. I took a graduate course in theatre. I went on to do theatre off-Broadway and off of Broadway. To this day I am a professional storyteller and actress. Those early days of having the opportunity to do theatre at CCNY really continue on informing my life today. I went back last June for my 50th college reunion. We were at the front of the Alumni Association. The students cheered and high-fived us. It was extremely satisfying. I remember on our tour at our 50th reunion, the students were presenting their startup ideas. All this technology was extremely impressive, so I saw that the level of excellence in education is still there. I had a really wonderful opportunity to be at CCNY.