Club Presidents’ Summit Planted Seeds of Growth
Student leaders gathered in front of the Student Life Building • Photo by Mildred Perez
By Iffath Liaquat
At the close of the fall semester, many student leaders are still fond of the
lessons and insights they received three months earlier at the Club Presidents’ Summit. Held on Sept. 19 in the Student Life Building, it was
meant to aid student leaders in their pursuits at Lehman.
Looking back on the impact the event had, Omadai Sukul, president of the Spoken Word & Speech Language Pathology Club (SWSLP), said, “As a student leader, I feel supported thanks to Mr. Charcape, Ms. Ramsundar
and Mr. Gasque for helping me transform my ideas to life.”
Her biggest takeaway was the speech given by Dr. Moyagaye Bedward, the
assistant director of Campus Honors and Scholar’s Engagement (CHASE).
“She spoke about taking advantage of scholarships from the Office of
Prestigious Awards. They have different scholarships available for [all students], no matter their standing.”
At the summit, Bedward encouraged everyone to visit the office.
“As student leaders, you know what it’s like to put in the extra effort and not just commute to and from the college, which we all appreciate,” she said. “When I was a student at Queens College, I didn’t know about the available resources at my campus, but I was practically raised by [the Office of Campus Life]. By using my experience from being involved in many clubs,
I was able to receive a lot of awards to help pay the cost of graduate school.”
Bedward also shared multiple stories about previous student leaders at Lehman who had won prestigious awards, one such example being Emile Zounon. “He’s on the cover of the flyer advertising this event. He was a part of SGA and advocated for some important changes, such as the increase of SGA members’ pay. [Zounon] during his time at Lehman was accepted into the Schwarzman program [a highly competitive business study abroad
opportunity], which helped his application to Harvard.”
Suzette Ramsundar, director of Student Life, invited each attendee to share a little bit about themselves, then introduced three special guests. “Please welcome the Vice President and Assistant Vice President
of Student Affairs, Dr. Wright and Dr. Walker. And finally, Dr. Delgado, president of Lehman College. These people took some time off their busy schedules, some of them even missing some meetings, so please give them a warm welcome.” Each guest then shared their own personal experiences from college and gave the leaders their support and acknowledgement.
Reviewing what stuck with him from the summit, Anthony Stone, secretary of the Earth/EEGS Club and treasurer of the Boxing Club, said, “I learned [from the event] about cooperating with others, organizing events and volunteering in the community. The advice for the other students would
be to love life to the fullest, keep moving forward and don’t let your dreams be dreams, make them real.”
For Sukul, her learning process of opening up to other students was what
she wanted to pass on to her peers. “My advice is to give others the opportunity to get to know you,” she reflected. “I was so introverted
and didn’t network when I was a freshman and sophomore. Unknowingly to me, I doubted myself and thought I didn’t fit in because of my ethnicity and culture.”
Preston Blake, a student leader at ColorStack x CS Club and BoxingKaraoke, agreed. “You’re a part of something greater at Lehman, so be your best self and lead with power and pride.”