Message from the Director of Alumni Relations

want to take this opportunity to send you all my best wishes for a good year ahead. There are many concerns for the upcoming year, but we all have reason to be very excited about our new young family in the White House. President Obama has stated that it was the grassroots efforts of so many people across the United States that helped him achieve this great accomplishment. Never before have so many people united in the effort to make the necessary changes that will benefit all Americans.
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Also, this is a very exciting time for Monroe College! As it has grown in size, it has grown in recognition and stature nationally and internationally. Our award-winning programs and community efforts have received a lot of attention in the local and national press. As part of our ever-expanding alumni community, you can take pride in your Monroe degree and the value it has for you. We have over 20,000 graduates in our database and approximately 2,000 grads who have registered with our on-line community.

By registering and keeping us up-to-date about your current information, you can be part of this elite networking group--open only to Monroe graduates.
Here are some of the benefits of staying connected with the Monroe College Alumni Association:

Networking Opportunities
Our sophisticated search engines enable you to reach out to other grads for social and professional opportunities. We have added the Facebook and Discussion Group applications to make it easier to stay connected.

Information about Job Opportunities
Are you searching for a position or looking to fill an opening? Check out our Career Advancement area for additional resources.

Social and Cultural Events
Attend plays, sporting events, or family outings at substantial discounts. Do you live out of the New York area? If you would like to arrange an event in your area, please keep us posted and we will try to make it happen.

Alumni Group Discounts
Receive discounts on insurance, car rentals, stores, etc.

Current Information about the College and other Alumni
Read the Class Notes section to find current news about former classmates
Receive the on-line edition of the Monroe Connection
Check out the Alumnus of the Month

Promotion of your Business
Utilize the Classified section in our Discussion Groups to promote your own business--help sell a product--rent a house or apt.

The Monroe Alumni Community can accomplish great things by staying connected! We look forward to your participation and hope you will encourage your friends to join. Please go www.monroecollege.edu/alumni and register now or e-mail us at nralumni@monroecollege.edu for any news or questions.

I look forward to hearing from you!


Sincerely,

Leslie Jerome

Leslie Jerome
Director of Alumni Relations

Andrew B. James Receives Distinguished Alumni Award
for the Year

n Saturday, October 20, 2008, at the Bronx gala celebration of the college’s 75th anniversary, Andrew B. James was presented with the “Distinguished Alumni Award for the Year in the Bronx.” Presenting the award, Leslie Jerome, Director of Alumni Relations, noted his extraordinary career both as an educator and entrepreneur.

Andrew B. James was born in St. Andrews, Grenada, West Indies. Upon coming to New York in 1970, he enrolled at Monroe College and earned his associate degree in Accounting. In 1974, he earned his Baccalaureate degree, cum laude, from New York Institute of Technology while working nights. He continued at the New York Institute of Technology and earned his MBA in 1977. He was a Delta Mu Delta National Business Honor Society inductee. He is currently a Certified Public Accountant.

After graduating NYIT, Andrew returned to Monroe College as an instructor of Accounting and Business Management. He advanced rapidly through the ranks at Monroe, eventually moving into senior administration.

During his career as a teacher and administrator, Andrew James has been the recipient of many awards, including the “Teacher of the Year” and the “Distinguished Service” awards at Monroe College, the “Outstanding Service and Commitment to Quality Education” award from Assemblyman Larry Seabrook and the Committee for a Positive Northeast Bronx, to name just a few.

Andrew is currently President/Owner of ABJ Management, Inc. which consists of numerous McDonald’s restaurants operating in the Albany region. As a result of his exceptional abilities, in an unprecedented 28 months, Andrew became the largest African-American owner/operator of McDonald’s in the Northeast, and among the top 20 owner/operators in the country.

Andrew and his wife Veverly, have two children, Matthew and Sarah.

On – Line News

e are pleased to announce our two latest enhancements to our Online Community, “Discussion Groups” and a College “Facebook” account. We hope both will better allow alumni to reach out to each other for better networking and social connections.

The new Discussion Groups found on the alumni web site allow alumni and friends to suggest topics for discussion, post their thoughts on various subjects and read the comments from fellow alumni. Currently there are discussion groups on topics that include: “alumni happenings” (special events), “classes” (individual year of graduation), “classified” (alumni posted ads for goods or services), and “networking ” (for career related purposes).

“Facebook” now allows you to log into your account and then add the new Monroe College Alumni Connection application thereby giving you access to all of the alumni page functions including: updating your directory profile, post your resume, search for classmates, view and post class notes, check the alumni job board, make new connections, or simply view upcoming events.

To add the application to your profile, visit our application home page and select "Add Application." Once you have added the application, you can select the hyperlink, "Link your Facebook account," to link your Facebook record to your Monroe College Alumni Online Community record. For more detailed instructions regarding the process, you can click here to view the instruction manual.

You can link the application to your MC Alumni Online Community profile by using your MC Alumni Online Community username and password. If you have any questions, or you need assistance logging into the MC Alumni Online Community,  please e-mail nralumni@monroecollege.edu.

President Jerome Visits St. Lucia Campus

his past fall, President and Mrs. Jerome visited the scenic St, Lucia campus located in Barnard Hill Castries, St. Lucia. The campus affords a spectacular view of the ocean from a hill overlooking the ocean, and has become a welcome addition to the local community. Ramesh Sinanan, a former graduate and administrator of the New Rochelle campus, is the Director and has spearheaded many efforts to be an integral part of the local community.

The first night there, President and Mrs. Jerome were treated to an outdoor barbeque featuring entertainment provided by the local Monroe students. It was a festive, colorful evening, with the students dancing traditional dances wearing the trademark madras costumes of the West Indies.
The following day, an Alumni lunch at a local hotel was attended by over 30 past graduates of Monroe.

Class Notes

uan Santana (2007) - Juan Santana (2007) writes, "Reaching out to my Monroe alumni. I just completed my MBA in December and I'm looking forward to walk once more. This will be my third time with Monroe (AAS, BBA and MBA). I also recently join YTB travel network as a "Plan B" option. This is a web base travel business, so basically the website does everything and all you need to do is point people to your site. I'm pointing.. www.wensestravel.com . I also created a second site for those who would be interested to look into the business www.juanses.com ."
Submitted on May 9 2008.

ichard Tim (1999) - Richard Tim writes, "I have published two(2) Poetry Books within the past two years. Currently working on a third and a short story to introduce children and young adults to the joys of poetry."
Both books can be purchased on line from Amazon.com
The first is titled "Made You Think" and the second is "Think Again"
I am including the URL for anyone that may be interested.
If you're looking to get published yourself contact me I would love to help.

hawn James (1994) - Shawn James (1994) writes, "Hi, I just wanted to share reviews I have received for my novel The Cassandra Cookbook. You can read these reviews by cutting and pasting the links into your browser toolbar."

Cassandra Lee’s lifelong dream is to take over the Downtown Brooklyn bakery with her name on it when her parents retired. Her dream turns into a nightmare near the eve of her wedding when she learns corporate giant ITC Foods has plans for the store and her low down down low fiancé Gerald is caught in the arms of another man.

Cassandra perseveres, acting as her parents’ agent working with ITC rep Simon James to complete the deal. As their professional relationship gets personal, Simon reveals a secret that devastates Cassandra. Sending Cassandra over the edge, Simon must come up with a plan to heal her broken heart and make her dreams come true.

Go to the Class Notes section of the alumni page to read all of the notes.

Monroe College Turns 75

s New Year's revelers welcomed 2008, the Monroe College community began a year-long toast to 75! It was seventy-five years ago, in January of 1933 - during the worst part of the Great Depression - that visionary people with the foresight and conviction to follow their instincts created what has become Monroe College.

From those humble beginnings of seven female students in the West Farms section of the Bronx seeking to better themselves and help their families survive in difficult times to the 7,000 students who pursue similar goals on modern Monroe College campuses in the Bronx, New Rochelle, and St. Lucia, the mission of providing professional, career-oriented higher education to students from diverse backgrounds has not changed. Access and opportunity to motivated students who want to enrich their lives in a personalized and supportive environment is what has given Monroe College its distinction through these many decades.

"Today we can take pride in all we do to help change people's lives for the better," said President Stephen Jerome as he welcomed staff and faculty to the college's Diamond Jubilee year. "We have continued to maintain the standards set forth by founders Mildred King and my father Harry Jerome and have taken the Monroe culture to a new level."

That new level was on display on Tuesday, January 8 as the President and the Monroe faculty greeted freshman in the Winter, 2008 semester with all the Pomp and Circumstance of the traditional college Matriculation Ceremony. "Stay ahead in your work," President Jerome urged Monroe's new students. "You can achieve your goals if you don't put things off for another time. Your future is now."
Those are the kinds of forward-thinking concepts that have helped keep Monroe strong for 75 years!

During the third week of October, the College held a series of celebratory events at the Bronx and New Rochelle campuses, as well as at other sites in New York City. Galas were held on Friday and Saturday evenings October 22nd and 23rd to help celebrate the College’s amazing accomplishments. Alumni also participated in Trolley tours to the zoo and botanical gardens. Others took advantage of special group events including attending Broadway shows and sightseeing tours of New York. The year long celebration culminated with a huge “Red Carpet” dinner held in King Hall.

Congratulations Monroe on 75 wonderful years of providing quality education. Happy Anniversary!

Leslie Jerome Scholarship

ongratulations are in order for Tracey Toussaint, who graduated from Monroe in 2006, with a degree in Business Management. She is the first recipient of the Leslie Robbins Jerome scholarship at the University of Toledo, in Toledo, Ohio. Tracey graduated with honors in the MBA program at the University. The scholarship is awarded to an outstanding Monroe graduate who is interested in pursuing the MBA at the University of Toledo. Johann Mendoza ‘06 will be the second scholarship recipient and he will begin his studies in January.

Alumni Association Teams Up With Local Charity

ur Alumni Board, under the leadership of Ms. Ameil Sloley, has taken on the challenge of assisting a national charitable organization called “One Sight” (formerly “Gift of Sight”) in its efforts to help those people throughout the world that cannot afford to purchase eyeglasses to receive free glasses. To date, more than three million children and adults have been helped through various community partnerships.

Our Board members have strategically placed boxes at their places of business as well as at retail Opticians throughout the metropolitan area. To date we have received over 400 pairs of donated glasses, over 50% toward the goal of 750. If you are interested in participating in this very worthwhile cause, please call Barry Greene from Monroe College at (718)933-7065.

Upcoming Events

amily day at the Bronx Zoo The Alumni Association is planning another “Family Day” picnic this spring at the Bronx Zoo. Last year’s event was held on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in May, when a large contingent of Alumni Association members and their families made a visit to the “first wonder of the city” --- our own Bronx Zoo. Admissions tickets were distributed in advance which allowed alumni to come to the zoo at any time, and then we all met for an all you could eat lunch in a private deck area overlooking the flamingo pond. Many caught up with old friends and what they have been up to since graduation, and also met some of our younger new alumni. Many remarked how much the zoo has changed since their last visit. Some talked about the new Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit; others loved the new Tiger Mountain. A couple of the young children marveled at the new penguin home along with the Butterfly Garden building.

The “all access” admission ticket included entrance to all special zoo areas including the children’s zoo, the wild Asia monorail, the butterfly and Congo exhibits, Wild Asia Monorail, and even the Zoo Skyfari cable car ride taking passengers from one side of the zoo all the way across to the other side.

This year’s Family Day at the Bronx Zoo will be held Saturday, May 23^rd.  Please keep checking the Events Calendar  for additional details.

ADDITIONAL EVENTS

FLORIDA ALUMNI REUNION - SATURDAY, FEB 28th

BRONX BOTANICAL GARDENS - TBA