College of Staten Island The City University of New York
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Macaulay Honors College Alumni Welcome Macaulay Alumni and friends! We hope you use this website to reconnect with old friends, find out what’s new at Macaulay/CSI, and stay involved with the Macaulay Honors College. What’s New at Macaulay/CSI? CSI students are involved in research, internships, study abroad, and community and campus activities. Where have our graduates been accepted? Upon graduation our students are accepted to many professional and graduate schools, as well as to professional positions within their fields of study. Macaulay employment and graduate or professional school acceptances.
Mark Barahman, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, MDPhD program
Daniel Feldman, Boston University, Astronomy During his undergraduate studies, Feldman has taken part in numerous research projects covering a number of areas, such as asteroid tracking, studying youth indicators in M dwarf stars, examining objects in the Kuiper Belt, using high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy techniques to help determine the physical properties of brown dwarfs, and even building a radio antenna to track solar flares. More >> He was selected to participate in the CUNY Summer Undergraduate Research Program (C-SURP) and the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Program at Northern Arizona University. Commenting on the opportunities that his CSI education afforded him, he says, “CSI played an integral role in introducing me to the field of astronomy as an undergraduate. As soon as my freshman year, I began talking to and working with CSI Professor Charles Liu at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)—this initial experience introduced me to the field I would come to love, and put me in a spot to secure future research projects. Through CSI Professor Irving Robbins’s mentorship, I gained research and teaching skills (and a job as an adjunct lab tech for CSI), which will be important in graduate school and beyond. My work with CSI Professor Emily Rice, Hunter Professor Kelle Cruz, and the entire [Brown Dwarf] research group at the AMNH taught me about collaborative science and has placed me in a solid position for future success in astronomy.” After he completes his degree at Boston University, Feldman has aspirations of becoming a professor at a research institution. By Terry Mares Isabella Cardona, Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program
Brian Kateman, Class of 2011 Salutatorian
For the past year, Brian has served as a research assistant for the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) as part of the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship. During his time at CERC, he wrote a case study on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to contextualize the social, political, economic, and environmental instability of the region and better understand the role of all stakeholders involved. More >> Jenna Calderon, Teachers College, Columbia University
Ms. Calderon maintained a near-perfect Grade Point Average of 3.9 and is the recipient of several awards, such as the CSI Auxiliary Services Corporation Award for Academic Excellence in Performing and Creative Arts, Phi Beta Kappa, and the CSI Foundation Prize for Music. More >> Grigoriy Gelfand, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
“When I entered the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island, I knew that I would need a solid foundation in the basic sciences in preparation for dental school,” Grigoriy says. “Fortunately, the sciences came as naturally to me as walking. From my high school studies, I had developed a strong scientific foundation, which allowed me to gain full comprehension of challenging subjects such as Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physiology. Throughout my college career, I worked as a tutor for high school students who were struggling with courses in math and science, including Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. I found that teaching other students served to reinforce my own knowledge of the basic principles of science, and this was very beneficial to my academic growth and performance.” In addition, his work as a College lab assistant and the rearch that he conducted at the College provided more hands-on experience. Grigoriy also reports that he has strengthened his communication skills, another crucial aspect of the profession, adding Spanish to his verbal repertoire, which also includes Russian and English. The opportunity to study abroad in Argentina and Spain helped him in this regard. As he looks to the future, Grigoriy credits CSI for sharpening the goals for his future profession and his life. "My college career, both in school and outside of the coursework, has prepared me for the next step in my life. My goal is to take all the bits and pieces of knowledge I have accumulated and fuse them together in order to reach my ultimate goal of becoming a Doctor of Dental Surgery. On my first day of his Biochemistry I class, Dr. Fred Naider gave a speech on the goals and topics of the class, which continues to resonate in my mind. He said, 'There is no greater good than helping others, whether you do this in a laboratory or you do it as a doctor’. Since then, I had been working in Dr. Naider’s lab in an attempt to help people and further scientific research. As a dentist, I only strive to one day feel the satisfaction of helping people on a one-on-one basis.” Grigoriy’s next academic step is a prestigious one, as he will soon begin dental school at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.
Matt Signorile, Cornell Law School
At the beginning of that process, one of the Macaulay Honors classes in which Matt enrolled helped him find some focus in his career goals. "I took the course, "Shaping the Future of New York City" with Professor Richard Flanagan...It was focused on PLANYC 2030, which is Mayor Bloomberg's allencompassing policy vision for New York City. I became really interested in public policy and how it works, and decided to major in Political Science. I then became interested in how laws shape public policy, and decided to go to law school." As for his second major, Matt says, "I have always loved to write and express myself creatively. Writing is necessary to every profession in my view, and practicing writing will never hurt." Reflecting back on his CSI experience, Matt notes, "My academic experience was excellent, and I really obtained knowledge in a wide array of fields. I went tree coring in Palisades Park to collect data on droughts, rode the 7 train and became familiar with the Borough of Queens and its residents, and delved into South African literature. All these experiences helped me gain knowledge in nearly every facet of academia. Aside from getting better at Jeopardy! it also gave me a basic understanding on numerous issues, which is invaluable in politics. Now that he has graduated from CSI and is looking ahead, Matt states that "My CSI education prepared me for the future. As I graduate, I'm ready to take on the difficulties of the 'real world' using my education as a strong foundation. I received a practical and intellectual education, and I believe that CSI has maintained the perfect balance between the two. It was comprehensive, and I know it will never stop being useful and beneficial." Next, Matt will be working as Deputy Field Director for Congressman Mike McMahon's reelection campaign. After that, he will be attending Cornell Law School in the fall of 2011, where he intends to focus on public service law.
Michael Young, Fulbright teaching assistantship, Madrid
Now he is on the move once more, heading to Madrid on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. More >>
Joan Seguin, Law Student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California
CSI Alumni @ Large: What is your fondest memory of CSI? Svetlana Rabinovich, Downstate Medical School Student
Dr. Naider, a CUNY distinguished professor of chemistry and
biochemistry and the Leonard and Esther Kurtz Term Professor at Working in his lab and employing a novel chemical approach, Now, a team led by Dr. Naider’s longtime collaborator, Jacob Anglister of the Weitzmann Institute of Science in Israel, is using that peptide in research that someday could lead to a new anti-HIV drug. |
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Mark Barahman, a Macaulay Honors College (MHC) graduate who received his BS in Biochemistry, is currently attending the Albert Einstein College of Medicine MDPhD program. During his time at CSI and MHC, Barahman received a number of prestigious honors, including a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a first in the history of CSI, and a Phi Beta Kappa Associates Award. He worked in two laboratories at the College—the neuroscience lab of Professor Abdeslem El Idrissi and the chemistry lab of Professor Alan Lyons, performing research related to super-hydrophobic surfaces. One of Barahman’s most notable accomplishments under Dr. Lyons was the construction and programming of a robotic printer that prints in three dimensions (3D) on a microscopic scale. 
College of Staten Island Salutatorian Daniel Feldman is a PhD student at Boston University, studying astronomy. He received a BS in Physics as part of the Macaulay Honors College (MHC).
Isabella Cardona, who graduated magna cum laude from the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island (CSI) with a BA in Political Science and International Studies, along with a minor in French, has been accepted to Public Allies. Public Allies is an AmeriCorps program, where she will work with We Are New York, a project formed as a joint endeavor by The City University of New York and the Mayor’s Office to facilitate English-language conversation groups for immigrants living in New York City. Her appointment began on September 1 and runs through June 29, 2012. 
Brian Kateman is graduating summa cum laude with a degree in Biology (major) and Psychology (minor) as a senior in the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island.
Jenna Calderon graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance with a minor concentration in Mathematics from the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island.
Grigoriy was a Biochemistry major,
who hopes to follow in his mother’s
footsteps and become a dentist.
Discussing his mother's example,
Grigoriy explains, “As a Doctor of
Dental Surgery, my mother serves
as a role model for the professional
I hope to become. Her work ethic,
professionalism, talent, and ability to
assuage the pains of patients
continue to form the basis of a
standard that I’ve set for myself.” In
fact, Grigoriy assisted his mother in
her practice, learning about the
profession first-hand. His
experiences at CSI only enhanced
his goals.
Matt was a double major in Political Science and English, with the hope
of pursuing a degree in law. As
Matt explains, this was a bit of a
change, considering other
members of his family. "I have a long
family background of civil servants
(correction officers, bus drivers, and
sanitation workers). When I
decided to pursue law as a
profession, I realized that I had not
a single relative that was a lawyer. I
broke new ground in my family
with every step I took, and at times
I felt I was aiming in the dark." 
The opportunity to obtain an excellent tuition-free education first drew Michael Young to the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island. The chance to travel nailed his decision. As an undergraduate he studied in Florence and Tokyo, in the summer after graduation in 2010, Guatemala City. 
While attending CSI Joan was a very active student, including interning in with Alumni Relations. While preparing for her final year of law school she answered some questions for us.
The HIV virus has a key to unlock and infect cells, a key
that fits into target cell receptors and co-receptors. Dr. Fred
Naider hopes to block that lock.