EDBLog May 2026 – Westchester Community College Foundation

From the Desk of the Executive Director, Dolores Swirin-Yao

May 2026

Commencement Day was an exciting and uplifting day to celebrate more than 1,300 graduates of SUNY WCC! Students who are transferring to four-year colleges have been accepted to Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Georgetown and several SUNY campuses. Many students are entering the workforce directly with their Associate Degrees in high-demand fields such as nursing and cybersecurity.

Alumni from the class of 1976 participated in our Golden Alumni Luncheon and wore golden robes in the processional.

Our Athletic Awards Dinner celebrated SUNY WCC student-athletes in basketball, soccer, volleyball, track, bowling, baseball, softball, golf, and esports! A film of exciting season highlights created by WCC student Leah Venturini, who happens to be the daughter of WCC alumnus Dave Venturini, who creates the videos for our Gala. The apple does not fall far from the tree!

Artwork from our youngest students—the preschoolers at the Virginia Marx Children’s Center—was displayed at the VMCC Art Gallery Show.

The Center for Financial and Economic Education (CFEE) promotes economic advancement for students at Westchester Community College through programs that build critical skills around money management and financial decision-making. Students who participated in the program, along with our volunteers and mentors, were recognized. Susan Elion Wollin, President of the WCC Foundation, brought greetings.

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies on campus celebrated 2026 graduates at Lavender Graduation.

SUNY WCC student Ashley Cozayatl received the prestigious national Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship. Ashley is an Honors College student and was one of 60 in the country selected out of more than 1300 community college applicants to receive as much as $55,000 a year for up to three years to complete a bachelor’s degree. When she was informed of the award, she Facetimed her mom from Hartford Hall.

SUNY WCC dance students participated in the Spring 2026 Dance Informance

The Kathryn W. Davis Global Community Scholars Program brings together students from diverse backgrounds for education, international understanding, exchange and service. It promotes interchange of ideas, enlightens participants about global and local issues and engages the students in cooperative and productive experiences. Scholarship recipients form a new unity, building leadership skills and experience through collaboration on required service projects. The 2026 Kathryn Davis Scholars presented their service projects at a May gathering. Special thanks to Past Board Chair Joanne Landau for attending and even taking pictures for us, and for inviting David Baines and Alison Chen to join!

Faculty and staff members retiring this year were recognized for their service at the May meeting of the SUNY WCC Board of Trustees with personalized gifts provided by the WCC Foundation. The retiree retiring with the most years of service was Vice President & Dean of Workforce Development and Community Education Teresita Wisell, with more than 30 years at SUNY WCC!

At SUNY’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month webinar, one key takeaway was an emphasis on not just mentorship, but sponsorship, that is, actively helping students and more junior professionals to make connections to further their careers.

The annual Michael Bellantoni Sports Alumni BBQ brings together our student-athlete alumni from the ‘70s forward to reconnect with each other and with WCC, where they got their start.