Lhamu Dolma Hyolmo came to The United States in January 2016 at a very young age. Her previous university wanted her to change after her first semester because of her age. She feels lucky to have found CUNY LaGuardia as they accepted her transfer admission and gave her hope for a bright future. She used to sit in the corner of the class and be shy, but everything changed after her first semester. Her first semester gave her a hard time since she was trying hard to adapt to this big city where she almost lost the idea of who she was and what she was supposed to do with her life.
Through LaGuardia, she was able to meet so many people who were able to make significant changes in her life. CUNY schools are diverse, and she found herself within so many people's lives. She got a chance to represent LaGuardia in an international honor society called Phi Theta Kappa as a chapter secretary. Being a part of that community helped her to boost her self-confidence. Lhamu didn't want others to be like her and lose sight of themselves. So, she promised herself to make changes in people's lives.
Lhamu worked as a peer advisor for business students for one semester. Currently, she works as a Student Success Mentor and wants to help students to excel in their first year. The only thing she always wants to share with her students is never to underestimate their abilities and encourage them to dare to dream more.
LaGuardia was her home back then, but Lhamu graduated in August 2018 and then transferred to CUNY Baruch college where she is currently majoring in Accounting at the Zicklin School of Business. She aspires to become a Certified Public Accountant.
Luz Bueno graduated from the Adult and Continuing Education High School Equivalency Program in Spring 2016. In Fall of 2016, she majored in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Management. Because Luz was born in South America (Colombia), Spanish was her first language.
The first obstacle she had to overcome was the language barrier, as well as mastering new computer skills. The first few years of her college career, Luz took all the ESL remedial courses she needed in order to move on to college-level writing. In Summer of 2017, Luz became a recipient of the Peter Jennings Fall scholarship.
She was highly recommended from HSE Adult Continuing and education Program for her academic efforts and great GPA. In Spring 2018, she became a Student Fellow in the Adult and Continuing Education Program, where she helped educate students about Federal, State and community resources/opportunities at LaGuardia Community College.
Through the Adult Continuing and Education Program Peer Mentor, Luz gained the necessary experience and skills to support other students. In Summer of 2019, she changed her major to Fine Arts because she wants to follow her passion for Fine Arts and receive an A.S. degree in Fine Arts. As a Student Success Mentor, Luz takes the opportunity to grow as a person, student and professional.
Also to continue supporting students to connect with college resources and be successful in college. She does this with the hope that the students she mentors may also become peer role models to other students like them.
Maui Arcuri is a LaGuardia graduate in the Liberal Arts: Math and Science major. He graduated in Spring 2018 and plans to transfer to City College to study Computer science. He originally moved to New York from Hawaii for his love of jazz music, however his interest changed and he had found that studying computer science better suited him. In the future he plans to be a software developer and build his own business around the idea of creativity. He continues to play music as a hobby and enjoys cooking as a means to eat good food and save money.
Maui hopes to be able to help students learn about LaGuardia and college in general so they have a clearer path to graduation and a career.
Mohammad Abdur Rahman is an international student from Bangladesh, coming here in 2015 with the Presidential scholarship to the University of Bridgeport. After spending a year at UB, he transferred to CUNY LaGuardia Community College.
He graduated from LaGuardia Community College with Communication Studies (Public Relations) Major in Spring 2018. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor's at CUNY Baruch College in International and Intercultural Communication.
After his Bachelor’s Mohammad, wants to earn his Master’s degree as well. With strong academic knowledge and vast experience in the International and Intercultural sectors, his plan is to work for global, international, multinational, or public organizations. Besides, he likes teaching and has plans to teach in his field of expertise in the future.
Now, as a proud Student Success Mentor, his most fascinating experience about this SSM program is the engagement with a hugely diverse student body here at LaGuardia Community College. He wants to continue his journey as an SSM to shape the way for his students with the right direction and best instructions that will lead them to a successful College experience and prepare them for their careers.
After working as a Brand Trainer, Monami realized that she needed a career change in order to fulfill her strong desire to help others. After becoming a Liberal Arts major in Spring 2018, she was able to find success as a student and find her path in life through the guidance of her professors and mentors at LaGuardia, where she graduated with High Honors in Spring 2019.
She now attends Columbia University where she majors in Urban Studies. Eventually, Monami hopes to work in educational reform, because as a second-generation American who sometimes struggled in an education system that wasn’t made with her in mind and then as a student who thrived at LaGuardia, she knows that success comes readily when a system is designed to support you.
As an SSM, she hopes to help new students feel supported so that they can reach their goals in the LaGuardia community.
Originally from Nepal, Pema has been living in United State since 2016 pursuing his higher studies. He graduated in spring 2019 with an Associate’s degree in Business Administration and is planning to transfer to Baruch so that he can acquire a bachelor's degree in finance, and pursue his dream to become a financial manager.
Beside his academic interests, Pema is also enthusiastic about helping others which has led him to volunteer for several on-campus clubs that advocate for student empowerment. Over the years, he has been actively assisting students, offering them guidance on on-campus resources and contributed to their academic success.
Seeing students he offered advisement to succeeding in their academics, and his general enthusiasm for advocating student empowerment, has reinforced Pema’s sense of responsibility to work more in the area of student success. Considering the importance of student success in his own life, he decided to become a Student Success Mentor so that he can continue his interest of motivating students to get more active and to succeed on-campus.
Peta-Gaye Dixon was born and raised Jamaica. She immigrated to the United States approximately 4 years ago to advance herself not only financially, but also intellectually. This drive led her first to LaGuardia Community College where she successfully pursued her AA degree in Childhood Education and now to Brooklyn College with a dual major in Childhood Education and Child/Youth Studies.
She will eventually obtain her Masters in Special Education and Arts in Education. “Everyone has the ability to attain greatness, regardless of their situation” because of this mindset, she intends to become a Special Education Teacher for elementary students. This career choice has been a lifelong passion of hers because she enjoys helping others grow and become the best version of themselves.
The first semester at LaGuardia was difficult, but because of the help available, she was able to overcome her challenges which is the main drive for her as an SSM. With the lessons from prior/current situations encountered, she intends to share tips, tools, suggestions, and basically an overall LaGuardia tip-sheet which will make her students’ college experience not only manageable, but memorable!
Phylicia Emanuel was born on New Year’s Day and is a native of Brooklyn, NY. She has two children and is a full time student. Phylicia graduated from LaGuardia Community College in the winter of 2017 and now Attends Brooklyn College with hopes of graduating in 2019 with her Bachelor’s in Education in hopes of becoming a Social Studies teacher for grades 7-12.
Even though her progress at LaGuardia was a bumpy road, she still strived to graduate and remain on the Dean's list. Being a mom is hard enough, but to go to school and work at the same time is just simple- it just takes motivation and a will to push forward through any and every situation. After graduating from Brooklyn, Phylicia, plans on continuing her education in receiving her Master’s and also working full time as not only a social studies teacher but also as a mentor to those who are in need.
Her passion grows with helping underprivileged children who do not have certain resources that will allow them to achieve greatness. As an SSM, she plans on working hand in hand with both the students in her Studio Hours as well as her faculty partners so that she will be able to help with anything that her students need assistance in. Phylicia hopes that at the end of her semester facilitating her Studio Hours, students will understand all the resources that are available at LaGuardia and to utilize them to the best of their ability so that their journey at LaGuardia will have minimal bumps in the road.
Rachel Moreno grew up in Lancaster, California where she spent her childhood days singing and dancing. As time went by Rachel dreamed about becoming a Latin pop singer/R&B singer and a professional dancer. However, after having to endure an unfortunate circumstance at the age of 6 and confronting her demons at the age of 14, she was introduced first hand to the world of law enforcement leading her dreams of becoming a singer into just hobbies. After witnessing the minimal care law enforcement officers showed in her local police station, Rachel was motivated to be a part of a solution and had new dreams: ensuring the support and the safety and protection of others. The desire to help others and to be a source of information sparked her interest to first become a detective in her community. After much research (and TV watching) she decided to pursue a career with the FBI.
After being accepted to The King’s College in NY, where Rachel initially majored in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, she encountered a new challenge of keeping up with her studies and her classmates without losing sight of her long-term goals. In the end, Rachel felt isolated and fell behind in her classes by investing more in her social life than academic life. Letting her grades slip and resulted in an academic suspension. Now, with a second chance at pursuing her degree, Rachel continues her education at LaGuardia Community College with a major in Criminal Justice. She hopes that her story will encourage others to persevere and look beyond the obstacles they may face both as a student, and as an adult. By being an SSM, she aspires to be a resource and a reference for her students so that they can achieve their goals and their dreams. Rachel is the Student Advisory Council Chairman for the active clubs on campus, a Phi Theta Kappa member, and the first to attend college in her family. She hopes to be another example of “Yes, you can!” as she prepares to graduate from LaGuardia in the Spring of 2018.
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Rahina Yeasmeen
Rahina Yeasmeen was born and raised in Bangladesh. She came to New York in October of 2010 with a high expectation of studying in a place where she could explore her intelligence. Being admitted at LaGuardia Community College helped her not only to pursue her ambition, but to survive and flourish.
She graduated from LaGuardia on January 2015 with an Associate’s Degree in Accounting. She is currently studying at Baruch College to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy. She is greatly motivated to inform students about different resources and options that can help them to be more knowledgeable and skillful.
Originally from Albania, Rei enthusiastically moved to New York to follow his dream of becoming a software developer. As a LaGuardia student, Rei has actively participated in co-curricular activities such as: Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Campus Life Peer Leader, President’s Society, and has also participated in the CUNY Hackathon for Spring 2018.
These various co-curricular activities fostered his passion for helping others as well as guided him towards realizing his long-term aspirations. Rei plans to use this experience as a motivational tool to inspire his students to dare to do more. Rei enjoys photography, soccer and learning new languages. He is skilled in multiple languages, Java, C++, critical thinking, and leadership.
Before arriving at LaGuardia in March 2016, Salih Mansur had studied widely in design and communication arts, and had earned degrees in several of these areas before taking a five-year break to figure out what he really wanted to do. During this time, on top of freelance multimedia work, Salih did his best to keep his mind in shape by taking courses in test techniques, accounting, business communications, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) while attending self-development, discovery, and transformation seminars.Since he’s always wondered why beings do what they do, and along with the self-improvement courses, those five years gave him some time to think about studying psychology and the human mind at LaGuardia which was one of his best decisions.
Salih aspires to become an educational psychologist which he believes that he can do well since he had a hard time keeping up with his studies from the age of 13 to 21. Salih can use these experiences to help simplify and make education accessible by everyone through technology and mind techniques.
Salih’s passion is to help everyone get the basics of education, and he believes the world could be a better place through it. He is happy and motivated to be an SSM because he believes he can help many people discover their passion through ePortfolio and have the proper academic infrastructure to further their education. Salih expects his students to learn from his experiences, and to study themselves to be the best they can be.
After moving to New York from Bangladesh, Samad faced many financial hardships that threatened his ability to pursue his dreams. Through hard work and determination, Samad proved to be a top-notch student having graduated from LaGuardia in Fall 2018 with the highest honor. His success is as commendable as his passion for helping others.
He works as a Student Success Mentor, through which, he helps the at risk students to remain in college and guide them to right track, by sharing his experiences as a fellow LaGuardian. In his second semester at LaGuardia he participated in First Year Seminar Leadership Program, where he mentored the freshmen and helped them familiarized with LaGuardia environment well.
Samad is also an Ambassador of LaGuardia’s President’s Society Club, a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, and represented LaGuardia in the CUNY Financial Literacy Program. His goal is to earn his Bachelor’s degree in CIS from Baruch College by 2020 and work for Google. Samad believes that by sharing his experiences with incoming LaGuardia students, he will motivate them to take advantage of college resources, participate in extracurricular activities, all while doing well in their academics.
Sherae A. Smith was born and raised in Queens, New York. As the daughter of immigrant parents from Belize, she was always exposed to different people and experiences. After surviving cancer, she decided to take a chance and finish her education. This led her to LaGuardia Community College where she studied International Studies. After graduating in Fall 2018 she then Transferred over to Baruch College to study marketing.
At Baruch she hopes to graduate with a degree in Digital Marketing and work for a renowned company, helping to take their brand to the next level. She plans to use her love for languages and cultures to help others. As an SSM she does this by helping her students realize their potential and that LAGCC is here to help. Seeing her students succeed is her biggest motivation. Sherae hopes that her students can take from her story and learn that regardless of age, background or personal situation, that earning a degree is possible.
Somi Ahmed was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is studying in Liberal Arts; Social Science and Humanities at LaGuardia Community College. She came to the U.S.A. in 2015, went to high school and graduated in 2017. She is a transfer student from a senior college. The reason she transferred colleges is because she did not get the motivation that she expected for the hard work that she was applying to her studies. In other words, she did not get the inspiration to keep her pushing forward. Then, she transferred to LaGuardia Community College. From the beginning to now, she worked hard and participated as much as possible. Somi participated in programs and organizations as the America Needs You Fellowship, Phi Theta Kappa, the CUNY Summer Corps, the e-Portfolio Scholars Program, the LaGuardia Library Research Contest, Asian American Voice Journal, the CUNY Service Corps- Puerto Rico, and was a Futures Initiative Leadership Fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center. Also, she has participated in tabling events for the e-Portfolio showcase and much more.
English is Somi’s second language but the language difficulty helped her to become who she is right now. She is incredibly grateful for the opportunities she has been offered in America. Coming from Bangladesh, it was difficult for her to meet new people and blend into the community.
However, through support and help, she was able to become a part of the community. Somi believes in working hard, never giving up and being positive in every situation. Furthermore, she will finish her associate’s degree in Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities this Fall 2019, and she wants to transfer to a SUNY or a private university. Finally, at the end of the day her long-term goal to become an entrepreneur in her home country in Bangladesh.
Sonica Lama was born in Nepal, and raised in both Nepal and India. She moved to the United States in 2016 to achieve her ambitions. She is currently studying at LaGuardia Community College, pursuing an Associate’s degree in Computer Operations. She will graduate in the summer of 2018.
She truly believes in herself, and aspires to become a Cyber Security Specialist. She loves technology, as she believes in progress. Technology has made people's lives easier and more convenient. Her goal is to lead a good life and find the best in herself.
When she transferred to LAGCC from South Dakota State University, she faced a lot of cultural differences that initially made her feel uncomfortable and out of place. She overcame those difficulties with the help and support of Student Success Mentors and International Student Services.
Due to these resources, she had a better experience at LAGCC, and she eagerly wants to help first year students and/or international students to avoid such difficulties by sharing her own experiences and knowledge. By becoming an SSM, Sonica hopes that her students will understand the importance of connecting with peers and desires to help them live and experience a better college life.
Born and raised on the Atlantic coast of Colombia, Susana grew in her curiosity and love for languages and cultures beyond the frontiers of her country. She currently resides in New York City, where she is pursuing her Associate’s in English - Spanish Translation.
Susana chose to study at LaGuardia Community College upon the recommendation of close friends and the good reputation that the college has. She expects to graduate in the Fall of 2019. Susana’s passion is to be able to help others, this is intertwined with her role as a Student Success Mentor.
The opportunity to mentor fellow students and impact their academic experience in a positive way by sharing her own academic journey is something that motivates her. As she continues as an SSM, she aspires that her students will develop the boldness to ask questions, get involved in co-curricular activities, and to believe in themselves.
Unique Upreti Born and raised in Nepal, Unique moved to the U.S. to pursue a better life. He graduated from LaGuardia in spring 2019 with an A.S degree majoring in Computer Science. He currently attends John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Information Security.
He previously worked as a Peer Advisor at LaGuardia as well as a President’s Society member before joining the SSM team. Unique has a passion for helping others and in 2015 volunteered with the Nepal Red-Cross Society helping those affected by the devastating earthquake that struck his home country. He plans to use his computer science degree and interest in business to help him achieve his goal of becoming an entrepreneur as well as making an impact on the world.
As an SSM, Unique plans to help new students by sharing his own knowledge and experiences to assist them in achieving their goals and graduating on time.
Zakia Mahabub was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She came to the United States of America along with her family as an immigrant in 2014. She graduated from LaGuardia Community College with an A.S majoring in Computer Science in Spring 2017. She now has transferred to the City College of New York to pursue her Bachelor's in Computer Engineering.
She loves to meet new people and explore the world around her. She believes that our choices reflect what we truly are, rather than our abilities. Her passion for helping and motivating others led her to work as a Student Success Mentor at LaGuardia Community College. She believes that LaGuardia is a place of diversity. She wants to give back to this diverse community and admires to be a part of this institution.