#CUNYTuesday Student Stories: Stephanie Batista, Bronx Community College ’21
After ten long years, Stephanie Batista, a mother of two, is proud to be earning her Associate degree from Bronx Community College.
Beginning her journey at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the fall of 2007, her first semester there was challenging: her family was living in a shelter, and her mother had been diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder, needing Stephanie to take extra care of her.
“That semester I gave it my all, but they told me my GPA didn’t meet the criteria by two points,” she notes. Stephanie was advised to attend a two-year college.
Following this advice, Stephanie started taking classes at BCC in 2012. She was familiar with the campus, since her elementary school’s graduation was held there and she took weekly college German classes on the campus in the sixth grade.
Bronx Community College has always been a part of my life. Overall, CUNY has definitely changed my life.
— Stephanie Batista
Shortly after she began classes, she took time off to get her gallbladder removed. Stephanie returned to BCC in 2017, eight months pregnant with her daughter. Despite thriving in her classes and even enjoying a tai chi class, she needed to take another break to care for her newborn daughter.
Stephanie was working towards becoming a police officer and had already passed the necessary exam. After an argument with the father of her son in July 2019, he called the police. The open case prevented her from becoming an officer, even though the charges were eventually dismissed.
Not to be defeated, Stephanie’s passion for learning brought her back to BCC yet again in Winter 2020 — this time via online courses in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This time was going to be different. She earned the Kalief Browder Scholarship, presented in memoriam of the former BCC student who came to the school after being released from Rikers Island, having been incarcerated at a young age. Tragically, Kalief died by suicide at the age of 22.
Though the scholarship is typically awarded to a student who was previously incarcerated, Stephanie earned the award after sharing her story. “His story encouraged me to write about my story and be an example,” she says, regarding Kalief’s determination.
Stephanie has been supported by people at BCC like Annie Harris from CUNY EDGE and Professor Debra Gonsher, who would check in to see what help she needed, how the pandemic was affecting her and even if she had enough food in her home. As Annie reminds Stephanie, “There’s always someone there to help.”
Stephanie plans on beginning her bachelor’s at Lehman College next year in pursuit of a speech-language pathology career, a goal inspired by wanting to help people with disabilities — like her mother, sister and son.
For Stephanie, this may be the end of her associate degree, but it’s only the beginning of a new future she has worked hard for. She encourages other CUNY students to not give up, saying, “Make sure you give your all and make sure you work hard for what you want.” And her hard work has definitely proved to be worthwhile.
For CUNY’s day of giving on November 30, #CUNYTuesday, we’re celebrating the future of our City: our incredible students. Support Stephanie and inspirational CUNY students like her by giving to your college, or to CUNY, by visiting cuny.edu/give.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6cHQnYtLYM
