The Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) is thrilled to announce the Columbia SPS CUNY (City University of New York) Fellowship program’s inaugural cohort of Columbia SPS CUNY Fellows. The six fellows are recent graduates of Hunter College, Queens College, City College, and Baruch College, and they will join six different graduate programs at the School. They hail from every borough in New York City, and all have been leaders at their respective undergraduate schools.
“I warmly welcome the inaugural class of Columbia SPS CUNY Fellows to Columbia,” said Columbia SPS Dean Troy Eggers. “I can’t wait to see what this talented group of students will bring to the School and the broader University community.”
Last spring, Columbia University’s SPS launched the fellowship program with the goal of providing high-achieving recent City University of New York (CUNY) bachelor’s- or master’s-degree recipients access to Columbia’s vast academic, professional, and community resources. The fellowship provides a full-tuition scholarship for six semesters in any one of the School’s graduate programs, which helps remove a financial barrier to earning a master’s degree.
“We congratulate these six exceptional recent CUNY graduates on their selection to the inaugural cohort of Columbia SPS CUNY Fellows. They reflect the talent, diversity and determination of our students,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “The fellowship opens an excellent opportunity for them to advance their education and pursue careers in cutting-edge fields. We thank our colleagues at Columbia for their partnership in lifting our students and our city.”
The following SPS students make up the inaugural class of Columbia SPS CUNY Fellows:
- Adeel Arif, Hunter College, will be joining the M.S. in Applied Analytics program.
- Andrea Garcia, Queens College, will be joining the M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program.
- Oscar Manchego, Baruch College, will be joining the M.S. in Enterprise Risk Management program.
- Lelani Pacific-Jack, Baruch College, will be joining the M.S. in Technology Management program.
- Laura Perez, City College, will be joining the M.S. in Construction Administration program.
- Marileidy Pimentel Paniagua, City College, will be joining the M.S. in Sustainability Management program.
“This cohort of students stood out among the many outstanding candidates in the applicant pool,” said Zelon Crawford, senior associate dean of Student Affairs. “They are not only excellent students academically, they possess the leadership qualities that will help them thrive in this program.”
While at their undergraduate institutions, they won competitions and were awarded fellowships, they led clubs and worked to promote environmental justice, and they excelled academically. In this next phase of their academic trajectory, the Fellows hope the education and experience they gain at SPS will help them achieve success in the medical, legal, and finance fields, among others.
“My hope is that this program will be a catalyst for the great things the students will go on to do,” said Senior Vice Dean Steve Cohen. “I know that they will succeed in whatever path they choose after graduation, whether it be working on solutions to climate change, dealing holistically with conflict, or being ethical leaders in the world of finance.”
