BA '47
My parents came from Europe. We were very poor. My father died when I was 13 years old. My mother said, 'You must go to college so that you can achieve a worthwhile life.' At that time, CCNY was free. When I graduated from high school, I went to CCNY and said, 'I want to be admitted here.' They admitted me. I told them about my situation at home. They said, 'Okay, we'll let you in, no problem.' They gave me a $50 scholarship. That was enough for me to buy the second-hand books I needed for my first semester. They also said, 'Since you're here and you need employment, we'll let you work in the library.' I worked there for the four years I was there. CCNY had a very reputable reputation. I majored in French and did very well. In my senior year, they said, 'There's a scholarship being given to four colleges of the City of New York. The students will get a scholarship and will go abroad to study in France.' I represented CCNY and I won the scholarship. Four of us studied abroad in Paris in 1947. When I got back, they said, 'You don't have to take the final exam for the courses that you left because you were doing so well.' I became a teacher. I taught French, Spanish, and ESL in a private school on Long Island. I had a friend who was teaching junior high. He called me and said, 'I've gotten a job as a regular teacher. Since they're going to need a special substitute, you can come to New York City and get a substitute teacher license to teach junior high.' This was a class that was all Spanish-speaking students, so I had to teach them everything in Spanish and English. I was there for a year and a half. I got a job in middle school as a substitute teacher. I was finally appointed as an elementary school teacher. I taught there for a few years. I became an assistant principal in an elementary school in Manhattan. I moved up the ranks and was acting principal for a while. I became the president of the New York City Association of Assistant Principals.