On April 20, John Jay alumni gathered on campus to celebrate their accomplishments and enjoy a night with old friends at the annual Alumni Reunion. Over 400 alumni and guests registered for the event.
This year’s Alumni Reunion was the 10th consecutive all-class reunion in John Jay’s 53-year history. The event coincided with the 25th anniversary of the highly successful McNair Scholars program, and several McNair graduates, and former faculty members associated with the program, returned to campus to celebrate the momentous event.
Read more about the 25th McNair anniversary here.
President Karol V. Mason thanked the John Jay community and expressed her excitement to experience her first reunion at John Jay.
Andrew Schweighardt (Ph.D. ’12), Treasurer of the Alumni Executive Board, delivered welcome remarks at the awards dinner. Schweighardt introduced former McCann Scholar Victoria Fix to the stage, who presented this year’s Michael F. McCann Scholarship to student Santos Garcia Avelar.
Leading up to the reunion, two new scholarships made possible by generous supporters of John Jay were also announced: the first ever Bettina P. Murray Music Fellowship, which was presented to student Patricia Campbell, and the Camille & Peter Mancuso BA’79 Music Fellowship, which was presented to student Rafael Sholomov.
The annual Alumni Reunion Awards were given to two alumni and one faculty member for outstanding achievement in their field. Attorney Muhammad U. Faridi was presented the Young Alumnus Award; wrongful conviction expert Mark Deskovic was presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award; and Dr. Teresa A. Booker was presented the Distinguished Faculty Award for her contributions as Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies.
Read more about the 2018 Alumni Award Recipients here.
Alumni from all years and backgrounds mingled with one another as well as with current students. Rachell Henriquez (’19) and Verlisha Phillip (’19), who are part of the Pre-Law Institute and plan on enrolling in law school after graduation, attended the reunion this year so that they could have a chance to hear from accomplished alumni. Henriquez says that learning the story of Young Alumnus Award Winner Muhammad U. Faridi, who went from being a cab driver to becoming an attorney, inspired her to dream big. “Faridi is now one of the top litigators in the state,” said Henriquez.
Phillip agrees that meeting all the accomplished alumni at reunion inspired her with confidence. “It’s empowering to see these leaders,” she said.
