Jump to:Page Content
"Because others in the community look up to me as a role model, this inspires me to strive to lead a good life as a means of giving hope to someone else."
Cynthia Talbert is determined to make a positive difference for her home country, the island of Dominica in the Caribbean West Indies. After graduating with an associate's degree in business administration in December 2002 from Bronx Community College (BCC), she will go on to Baruch College for her bachelor's degree. She hopes to continue her studies for a Ph.D. in international management and finance and then work as an "economic ambassador" for Dominica, which she describes as an island of great beauty where decent jobs are hard to come by for the vast majority of people.
Cynthia graduated from a convent high school at age 15 and completed a one-year course in business studies before obtaining a job as a bank clerk with a French-owned bank in Dominica. She was regularly promoted - to teller, credit officer, and customer relations officer - but she knew it was impossible to reach the managerial level without a college degree. "I have experienced firsthand the limitations of lack of education," she says. She saved money for eight years and in 2001 was able to move to New York to begin her college studies.
While attending school full-time, Cynthia worked two jobs, as a secretary and a tutor for the City University of New York (CUNY). Her adoptive parents in Dominica have only elementary school educations and can offer no financial support.
Morgan Cloud
Graduate Scholar
London Contemporary Dance School
Suzanna Brickman
Graduate Scholar
Stanford University
Morgan Ironplow
Undergraduate Transfer Scholar
Western Oregon University
Hiep Nguyen
Undergraduate Transfer Scholar
University of North Texas