BA/MA '06
The accessibility inspired me to attend the City College of New York. Colin Powell had graduated from there and I was very impressed. At the time, I was doing a lot of work with the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of the Army, in particular. It made sense that their international relations program was very impressive, particularly the professors that covered political science and international law. I felt that CCNY provided me an Ivy League-equivalent education, but didn't necessarily cost that much. I didn't live on campus. I drove myself from my home. CCNY made very difficult situations really easy to manage. It was an amazing intercultural experience. I maintain contact with a good number of the students that I met there. It's wonderful to see where they've gone in their respective careers and lives. CCNY and the degree I got there gave me the additional credibility I needed to progress in my career. My master's thesis has been read over and over again by people in the United States Department of the Army as they were developing programs for some of our Middle East operations. I looked at the role of culture and contemporary military operations. CCNY taught me the patience and discipline that I needed. The flexibility was also extraordinary.