Twelve CC students have been named Fulbright semifinalists. This year’s number of Fulbright U.S. Student Program semifinalists ties CC’s record, which was first set in 2019 and matched in 2021. Additionally, this is the first time in CC’s history that all applicants for Fulbright’s research award have advanced to the semifinalist stage.

“That so many of CC's applicants have advanced to semifinalist status this year speaks to the hard work of these students and alums, and of the staff and faculty that support them,” says Roy Jo Sartin, Writing Center Specialist and CC’s Fulbright adviser since 2015.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers three post-graduate opportunities: research, study, and English Teaching Assistant.

READ THE LIST OF THE SEMIFINALISTS»

CC alum Zivia Berkowitz ’21 is one of nine women that made up the Above the Clouds Kilimanjaro 2024 Expedition Team. This group of all-Black women set off on January 3, 2024 to pursue the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania with a height more than 19,000 feet above sea level. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain, is prized in the hiking and climbing world as one of Earth’s seven great summits.

“Climbing Kilimanjaro is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager,” Berkowitz says. “My mom is from Kenya and I visited the area a few times to see family. I saw the mountain a lot and thought, maybe someday. When this opportunity came up with this team, I was like, of course!”

Berkowitz also speaks to the significance of the mountain and this trek to the entire team. “Given the demographics of our group and what we’re trying to center, it’s important. We all have connections to the African diaspora. This trip will combine our personal identities and backgrounds.”

Above the Clouds Kilimanjaro is a venture by Full Circle Expeditions Inc., the company who ran the Full Circle Everest trek in 2022. It was the first all-Black climbing team to summit Mt. Everest.

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In July 2023, CC adjusted its pay structure for staff, outlined in this email sent in May 2023. These wage increases are a direct result of our listening sessions for Project 2024.

Denise Geronimo ’24 has been awarded the 2024 Rangel Graduate Fellowship, receiving two years of fully-funded graduate school and five years of guaranteed work in the foreign service. 

Upon the successful completion of the Rangel Graduate Fellowship, Geronimo will become a U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer, where she will represent the U.S. and its interests, both domestically and around the world.  

“In my almost 20 years at CC, we’ve had a lot of Rangel Fellowship applicants, but I don’t think we’ve had a winner until Denise,” says Gretchen Wardell, Student Success Specialist and Pre-Law Advisor. “Denise has worked hard for this fellowship as evidenced by her classes and summer experiences. She is really excited to serve her country and fellow Americans and I couldn’t be more proud!”

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Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot, a Puerto Rican veteran of the Iraq war, has returned home and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in an online chat room, recovering addicts forge an unbreakable bond of support and love. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights) is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption, and challenges our notions of family, forgiveness, community, and courage.

Water by the Spoonful runs Thursday, Feb. 15-Sunday, Mar. 3. CC students can purchase rush tickets the day of the performance for $15 or get a FREE rush ticket 1 hour before the performance! CC staff and faculty can purchase rush tickets the day of the performance for $30. Tickets subject to availability; must purchase in person at the FAC front desk and present a CC Gold Card.