Paul Laurence Evans

I found CCNY when I was a teaching fellow for the City of New York. Unfortunately I had to leave the teaching fellows after the first winter session. Shortly after this I started a full-time job working in school planning and accountability with the New York City Board of Education. It was a sweet job. It was the right mix of testing, data analysis, community outreach, and professional development training, which suited me perfectly. I lost this job when the city schools came under mayoral control, but I was soon rehired as a regional senior assessment coordinator. It was then that I decided to go back to school to complete my master's, and I chose CCNY. It was a wise decision. I thought the campus was beautiful and CCNY has a great reputation. I especially loved the grandeur of Shepherd Hall! At the time I went to CCNY, I was in my 40s. CCNY definitely helped me see myself differently. I had gone to an Ivy League university, Cornell, as an undergraduate. It was rough and I didn't do as well as I had hoped. I felt very badly about that academic history for a very long time. Ironically at an interview for a teaching position, the CUNY Chancellor told me that Cornell was 'known' for being a difficult and unfriendly school. That was a revelation. With that thoughtful remark all of the bad feelings left me. When I attended CCNY it repaired my academic reputation. I graduated with honors, which was very important to me. I was thoroughly relaxed and fully engaged by taking two semesters of botany. By this time I had been hired by New York City Parks and Recreation as an administrative park and recreation manager. My first park district included Saint Nicholas Park, which is right next to CCNY. It was great to have my favorite school next to my favorite park. Together they made one big campus for me. CCNY is truly the school of my dreams. I occasionally dream that I am back at school, on the lawn near Shepard Hall, and it is always a very pleasant memory.