BOSTON and NEW YORK, July 2,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- LaGuardia Community College and
Santander Bank, N.A. today announced
a three-year philanthropic collaboration for the Bank's Santander
Universities program to support the President's Society Program at
the College. President's Society students reflect the rich
diversity of all LaGuardia students who come from more than 150
countries and speak over 125 languages. Alumni of the program are
currently studying at schools such as Columbia, NYU,
Smith and Georgetown.
"Together with LaGuardia, we can help students, many of whom are
the first in their families to attend college, improve their lives
and build the confidence and experience they need to achieve their
goals," said Josephine Moran,
Santander region president for Metro New York and Northern New Jersey. "The students who
participate in the President's Society at LaGuardia Community
College are expanding their education beyond the classroom. At the
event, we were able to experience firsthand the powerful impact the
President's Society has had on the students at LaGuardia. It was a
true testament to Santander's commitment to higher education."
The President's Society Program at LaGuardia Community College
offers career and college planning for students as well as
community service and leadership opportunities. The program
prepares students who want to continue their education or enter the
workforce. Through their participation in the program, students
build a network of mentors and a cohort to support them in all
aspects of their educational and professional endeavors. Many of
the alumni who participate in the President's Society secure
prestigious internships and go on to study at elite four-year
colleges and universities.
The support from Santander Universities will help students in
the President's Society receive a stipend and travel allowance to
complete program activities, including attending networking events,
completing study tours and internships, and participating in other
activities specifically designed to help prepare them for the
future.
"Santander's generosity will help support a unique program that
offers leadership training and teaches very practical skills –
public speaking, resume writing, how to interview, etiquette and
how to dress for success – all designed to help our students build
confidence to be able to navigate an outside world that is very
unfamiliar to most of them," said LaGuardia Community College
President Dr. Gail O. Mellow.
Earlier this year, a group of local Santander employees
participated in a bilingual mock interview workshop with students
from the College's Luce Heritage Language Scholarship Program that
helped prepare the students to go on internships abroad where they
will use their heritage language in professional settings.
Several current President's Society students recently joined
members of the College community and Santander to celebrate the new
partnership between LaGuardia Community College and Santander. It
was an opportunity to bring students together with successful
professionals to not only practice the social skills they have
developed in the program, but also to share how they have been
helped by the supportive community at LaGuardia, as well as their
exceptional experiences in President's Society.
Gisele Ganesh, a LaGuardia and
President's Society alumna who now attends Baruch College as a Business major, shared the deep
impact President's Society made on her self-esteem and her plans
for the future.
"I struggled to find my place in the world," Ganesh told guests.
"Although many people told me I was talented and smart, I had no
idea how to make my skills work for me. President's Society showed
me how. Being in President's Society was transformational and I
experienced so many 'firsts': My first Broadway play, first opera,
and first classical music concert. But the part I enjoyed most was
the tours of the companies we went to; I'll never forget being on
the 26th floor of the Viacom building meeting the star
of MTV's top-rated show."
Olivia Feal, a 2014 alumna of the program who will be attending
Smith College to study Art History in
the fall, said both LaGuardia and Santander will benefit from the
rich diversity of the College.
"This partnership will help show the world what community
college students are capable of accomplishing," said Feal. "There
are mixed messages out in the world about community colleges. It
was so empowering to have successful professionals share their
experiences with us in President's Society. Their support meant
that they believed in our potential and in what LaGuardia was
doing. It gave us confidence. By supporting this program, that's
what Santander is saying, too."
"President's Society taught me how to overcome my fears and be
able to network," said Business Administration major Wanjun Jin. "Even though it can be nerve
wracking, social skills are very important," said the Columbia University transfer aspirant.
About Us
LaGuardia Community College located in Long Island City, Queens, was founded in 1971 as a bold
experiment in opening the doors of higher education to all, and we
proudly carry forward that legacy today. LaGuardia educates
students through over 50 degree, certificate and continuing
education programs, providing an inspiring place for students to
achieve their dreams. Upon graduation, LaGuardia students' lives
are transformed as family income increases 17%, and students
transfer to four-year colleges at three times the national average.
Part of the City University of New York
(CUNY), LaGuardia is a nationally recognized leader among community
colleges for boundary-breaking success educating underserved
students. At LaGuardia we imagine new ideas, create new curriculum
and pioneer programs to make our community and our country
stronger. Visit www.laguardia.edu to learn more.
Santander Bank, N.A. is
one of the largest retail banks in the
United States by deposits. Its main corporate offices
are in Boston and it operates
principally in Connecticut,
Delaware, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Santander's 9,703 employees
serve its 1.8 million customers through the Bank's 703 branches,
2,092 ATMs, call centers, website and mobile app. Supervised by the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and a member of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Santander in the United States is a wholly-owned,
financially autonomous subsidiary of Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN), a
global commercial and retail bank. For more information about
Santander, visit www.santanderbank.com or call 877-768-2265.
Santander Universities was founded in 1996 to advance the
Santander Group's commitment to its communities by supporting
higher education. It provides funding for teaching and research,
international cooperation, knowledge and technology transfer,
entrepreneurial initiatives, student exchange and innovation. It
maintains more than 1,100 agreements with universities and research
centers worldwide, including 35 in the
United States through Santander
Bank. Since 1996, Santander Universities has provided
funding for 4,100 university projects globally. Every year in
the United States, Santander
Universities funds more than 1,000 scholarships and supports over
70 initiatives. For more information about Santander Universities,
visit www.santanderbank.com/us/universities.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Charles
Elias
Director, Marketing and Communications, LaGuardia Community
College
718-482-5052
celias@lagcc.cuny.edu
Nancy Orlando
Media Relations Manager, Santander
Bank, N.A.
617-757-5765
nancy.orlando@santander.us
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SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.