This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Stevens Awards Gala. This was 100% the fanciest event I’ve ever attended (perhaps the fanciest one I may ever attend). The night was filled with evening gowns and tuxedos, fancy meals and cocktails, eloquent acceptance speeches, fancy footwork, and just plain glamor.
The honorees included Hermes González-Bello ’89 M.S. ’95, who won the International Achievement Award; Sheila Xuan Sun ’06 M.S. ’06, who won the Young Alumni Achievement Award; Thomas J. Moschello ’63 M.S. ’65 who won the Lifetime Service Award, The Ansary Family, who won the Friend of Stevens Award, Aimiende I. Negbenebor Sela ’04, who won the Distinguished Alumni Award in Arts and Humanities; Frank J. Effenberger ’88, who won the Distinguished Alumni Award in Engineering; and Henry J. Morton, who received a place in the Stevens Hall of Achievement. Remarks were also made by President Farvardin, and the event was emceed by Chris Cimino, PIX 11 Meteorologist and New York Living Host.
I learned a lot about Stevens during the Gala. The honorees gave heartfelt speeches, many of them reflecting on their time at Stevens and specific instances during their careers that brought them success. González-Bello, for example, reflected on his experience with the Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP), and how it positively impacted his career and access to resources at Stevens. Many other honorees also reflected on their personal development during their undergraduate and graduate studies, their extracurricular involvement at Stevens, and even how they met their significant others at Stevens.
In a way, I felt like an outsider looking at Stevens. It was a whole new perspective of Stevens that I hadn’t seen before, and I quickly realized that this newfound perspective would be the one I carried with me after graduation. It was very easy to overlook the daily problems we face as students, and admire the magic and excitement of the event. But regardless of this, it was nice to see how a Stevens education had shaped the lives of alumni and their desire to give back to their alma mater. I also got the chance to talk to some alumni, who talked about how their Stevens education allowed them to excel in their careers and reminisced about the fond memories they made from their time here.
Following this elegant Saturday night, I had the chance to attend Pancakes with the President the next morning. We got the opportunity to talk about a variety of issues faced by students at Stevens, and hypothesize what the future of Stevens can look like.
The president took questions from all the students in attendance and responded to our concerns to show how Stevens was responding to our inquiries. One question was regarding the increase in enrollment in undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students on campus. Farvardin responded to this, stating that Stevens plans to have very slight increases in the number of undergraduate students admitted, dramatic decreases in the number of in-person graduate students admitted, significant increases in the number of online graduate students admitted, and will monitor Ph.D. students based on the demand for research.
The President also responded to concerns about the difficulty with directing questions to the right staff members. Faculty and staff are now being asked to help students to find the right people to answer queries, which downsizes the long journey it can take to get an important question answered. Farvardin also talked about what Stevens’ campus can look like in the future, stating that there are plans to refurbish Burchard’s exterior, renovate the interior of the library, rebuild Davis and Castle Point Hall into larger dorms, and redo the lawn next to Walker Gym.
It’s clear that the next decade will bring huge changes for the Stevens community. As students, it’s easy to see the negatives, and there’s a power that comes with being critical of our surroundings. So stay critical, pick out the things that bother you, and let them be known. But every once in a while, it’s nice to look at the positives.
Be First to Comment