EDBLog – Westchester Community College Foundation

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

November/December 2025

Happy holidays! Our campus is closed between December 24 and January 1, so I am sharing this combined November/December blog today.

Thanks to our partners DeCicco and Sons, which contributed 300 turkeys and a special gift of 300 bags of oranges; ShopRite, which contributed generous gift cards; Feeding Westchester and the many other friends of the College on and off campus who contributed canned and packaged goods, SUNY WCC was able to provide Thanksgiving dinners—enough for a family of four—to 300 SUNY WCC students experiencing financial need. Food insecurity continues year-round for our students. If you would like to support our students who use our food pantry, please click here.

Students who completed their degrees in August or December took part in the lovely December Completion Ceremony. This is a more intimate event; students can also attend the full Commencement ceremony in May.

The newest graduates of SUNY WCC’s nursing program were recognized at the December Pinning Ceremony. Our late nursing faculty member, Professor Christine Dunnings, who had worked at Northern Westchester Hospital, was remembered with the presentation of the inaugural Christine Dunnings Scholarship to new graduate Jasmine Richardson, with Christine’s husband Michael, and Derek Anderson, Senior Vice President, Northern Westchester Hospital, Northwell Health, in attendance. Dean George Contreras recognized the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation for its extraordinary support of our nursing students.

More than 100 PepsiCo Foundation Uplift Scholars were celebrated. This award reduces barriers for students who face financial challenges and need additional support to achieve their academic and career goals. The award of up to $2,000 helps support the cost of education for both degree-seeking and short-term workforce students pursuing careers in Finance, Technology, Engineering, and Business. PepsiCo representative Anthony Booker assisted President Belinda Miles in the presentation of scholarship medals; Alum Tyler Cole, ’25, former Uplift Scholar, encouraged students to “Never stop figuring it out.”

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The Westchester County Federation of Women’s Clubs, which has been supporting WCC students with scholarships for more than 70 years, recognized WCFWC scholar Jennifer Perdomo, a Health Studies student who plans to become a nurse. The luncheon was held in honor of Joanne Rosamond, WCFWC’s president who passed away earlier this year. WCFWC was honored with the Community Leadership Award at the WCC Foundation’s Transforming Futures Together Gala in April.

Students were at the center of a Pet Therapy session during the lead-up to finals week on campus and a Thrift & Gift event hosted by Student Support Services in collaboration with F.A.S.T Finds and Pleasantville Lab School to provide affordable gift options, reduce financial stress, and encourage sustainability.

The recipient of the OCA Westchester & Hudson Valley Chapter Asian Student Endowed Scholarship at SUNY WCC, Anya Kanojia, and her father Naresh Kumar, attended the OCA-WHV Gala & Dynamic Achiever Awards dinner.

The Mount Kisco-based immigration nonprofit Neighbors Link conducted a panel discussion hosted by SUNY WCC entitled “Courtrooms, Communities, and Classrooms.”

A workforce job fair was conducted at SUNY WCC focusing this year on three high-demand fields: healthcare, information technology and manufacturing.

SUNY WCC’s branch of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) inducted more than 50 new members. Membership offers access to $90 million in scholarships for associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees; $46 million in transfer scholarships from nearly 800 institutions; career-specific awards, including certification exam fee coverage; and leadership and service opportunities to enhance resumes and scholarship competitiveness!

WCC Foundation Board Members attended luncheons with menus prepared and served by SUNY WCC culinary students at our Culinary Café and visited the Health Sciences Simulation Center for Interprofessional Education that was dedicated in October.

Board President Susan Wollin presented a certificate of appreciation to Professor Richard Gennaro, who had led the effort to build the Center, which was made possible by generous supporters of the WCC Foundation.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr., visited SUNY WCC on his SUNY Reconnect tour. SUNY Reconnect provides free associate degrees in high-demand fields for New Yorkers 25 to 55 with no college degree. Chancellor King met with students, faculty, staff and administrators and toured our Health Sciences Simulation Center for Interprofessional Education.

Conversation Partners volunteers and their student partners from our English Language Institute (ELI) enjoyed a luncheon on campus as the semester came to a close; ELI students’ accomplishments were celebrated at a year-end ceremony.