Nicholas "Nick" Chavarria

CCNY had the only Latin music ensemble in the country, and that's what attracted me. I was a music major. The Latin music ensemble was directed by a very well-known pianist, Carlos Manuel 'Charlie' Palmieri. When I found out about the program, I applied and was accepted. We got to play a lot of famous arrangements that had been written by well-known performers in Latin music. I attended mostly music classes at CCNY. I played trumpet in the Latin ensemble and congas in the jazz ensemble. A famous jazz pianist and the director of the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Lewis, taught there. I made a lot of friends there and enjoyed the campus. My BA in music empowered me to stay involved in music, even in the years I forged a career in education. I started out as a music teacher before switching to special education. Even though I'm not a full-blown professional musician, I have played in small, semi-professional groups over the years. I have also done some songwriting. I am writing and producing music with Folklore Urbano, an orchestra directed by a Colombian friend. We co-wrote and produced an album called 'El Barrio Project,' in commemoration of the great Latin music and musicians that came out of East Harlem-El Barrio. I worked with the New York City Department of Education for 30 years. My second degree from CCNY, my master's of science in special education, served me well. It enabled me to get a teaching certificate. After teaching for a number of years, I became a staff developer and an administrator. I held various district-level administrative positions over the last 18 years of my career. I worked with building administrators in schools in all boroughs to ensure that their special education students received their mandated services. It was really good work. I connected with some really great people who were all about educating young minds. Any time I facilitated something positive in the lives of NYC students, it was a good day. My master's enabled me to do that.