Biswas is an international student from Nepal and has been living and studying in New York since fall 2018. Though born in Nepal, he spent most of his life in the mesmerizing hill station of Darjeeling, India, where he did most of his schooling. Raised in the hills, Biswas is a natural adventurer and enjoys exploring places while going on hikes. Never a fan of a stagnant life, he wanted to complete his higher studies in a different place; this brought him to New York and he has been loving the diverse environment of the Big Apple ever since. He graduated from LaGuardia with an associate’s degree in Computer Science in Spring 2021. He is currently in his senior year at John Jay College of Criminal Justice studying Computer Science and Information Security.
He believes that LaGuardia has provided him with the best student experience in his academic career. Being a freshman himself at one point, and also a former Peer advisor, he is aware of how astounding the first semester at college can be. A part of who he is today is because of LaGuardia and the invaluable experiences and opportunities he gained from there. Being an SSM, he wants to attempt giving back a small percent of all the experiences, opportunities, inclusiveness, and belongingness that he once got from LaGuardia.
Kay Rivera is Puerto Rican American, non-binary and was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. They love to read and would finish 700-page books in a day. Their love for the fantasy world pushed them to start writing at 12 years old. Shortly after high school, Kay decided to go to LaGuardia to be able to explore their options. They had multiple passions, from drawing to playing guitar and even wanted to go into psychology. Liberal Arts: Social Sciences and Humanities was the perfect major.
Due to personal reasons, Kay withdrew from classes, and feared their gap year would be permanent. However, that wasn’t the case, and now they’re soon to become a LaGuardia Alum. With their experience with LaGuardia, they made a vow to guide and help others have a great experience like they did. As an SSM, they seek to help those with resources they didn’t know about during their time at LaGuardia.
Luz Bueno
lbueno@lagcc.cuny.edu 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.
Min Young often refers to herself as a lifelong student because she has learned from various experiences in her life. One of the experiences that made a huge impact in her life is that she’s lived in different cities. She lived half of her life in Seoul, Korea, Tokyo, a small town near Dallas, TX, and currently she is living in NYC to studyi. These worldly experiences allowed her to meet so many people from different backgrounds that are so different from one another. This made her open-minded, adaptive to any hard situation, and able to learn fast to make herself comfortable in a new environment. With these rich experiences, her life goal is to support other people to thrive in their lives and make them happy.
She has always liked problem-solving, understanding the logic for her to freely play with it. So, she has always preferred math and science classes to memorizing subjects such as history, or geography. So, after changing her major a few times, she decided on Programming and Systems at LAGCC. She also studied Video Art atBMCC (Borough of Manhattan Community College) as well as Game Design at an out-of-state college. Because of this, she is passionate about graphic design as well. Her academic goal is to be a professional in both design and programming.
Shepard has lived in New York City for over twenty years and has worked multiple jobs for over ten. They have been a Photographer, Computer Technician, Salesman, Personal Assistant, Delivery Driver, House Cleaner, Volunteer Interpreter, Document Digitizer, Office Manager, and I.T. Administrator just to name a few.
They have tried and failed to learn multiple languages multiple times. They are now conversational in American SIgn Language and will soon start learning Japanese at Queens college starting this fall semester, hopefully it sticks this time.
Their likes include Anime, Card Games, and Stand-up Comedy. Their dislikes include Social Media and Flash Photography.
When pressed for a personal philosophy they would turn to the following: "One who knows others is wise. One who knows oneself is enlightened."
- Lao Tzu
Tsering Chokyi was born in Nepal to Tibetan refugee parents. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communication Diploma and worked for 9 years in India. In 2016, she moved to New York, USA after getting married to a childhood school friend.
She got accepted to the nursing program in Fall of 2021. Currently, she is in her third semester of the Nursing (RN) program at LaGuardia. She aspires to be an efficient nurse. Her dream is to help people with kindness and compassion.
As SSM, she is optimistic, savvy and helpful. Also, she enjoys LaGuardia aquatics for swimming, going on hikes, and listening to music. She wants to assist students to guide them appropriately to achieve their dreams. Maintaining the balance in life between personal, professional, education and entertainment is the key.