Paying it Forward -- BICster Style

From BIC Program Director, Nancy R. Tag >> Here's how life works (when it works). Years ago, when I was getting my Master's in Media Studies at The New School for Social Research, I enrolled in two different courses taught by Dr. Thom Gencarelli.  Education is about getting multiple points of view, so I always sought out new professors and experiences. But Thom was the rare exception. He was a spectacular teacher -- brilliant and kind with insightful instruction. Years later, about the time that I started as an Assistant Professor at City College, I found out that Thom had moved on to become Chair in the Department of Communications at Manhattan College. We kept in touch.

In the meantime, I had the good fortune of having a few "repeat" students of my own. Javier Garcia was one. As an undergraduate in City College's Ad/PR Program, Javier had enrolled in three of my courses: Ad Copy, Ad Planning, and the Ad/PR Workshop. After graduation, Javier got a job at Y&R in account management. He was a real success story and I figured that the next time our paths would cross, it would be at some industry awards show. Instead, he decided to apply for a spot in my newly launched master's program in Branding + Integrated Communications. So I saw him A LOT -- and happily so. He was in our first BIC graduating class and went on to start his own business, SUYO, "an active apparel brand with a social conscience, dedicated to making a lifestyle of health and fitness accessible for all."


But here's the real "pay it forward" part: a few semesters ago, I got a call from my former professor Thom Gencarelli. He was looking for an instructor who could teach his Advanced Advertising course. Javier immediately came to mind. After pitching the possibility to him, he jumped on the subway and headed up to the Manhattan College campus in Riverdale, met Thom, and got an offer. As I'd expect from Javier, he turned the syllabus up a notch and into a dynamic course that blends academic learning with real world projects -- something he learned at CCNY.


As Javier says: "My goal in teaching...is to provide the kinds of knowledge and intensive work experience students might encounter by having them pitch for a client's business by creating their own in-class communications agencies." The class project was recently featured in the Manhattan College Newspaper. Read the whole story here.

Nice, huh?

BICsters are not just industrious, creative, and smart, but they are also among the most generous people I know. So I'm happy to share this happy story about Javier Garcia, BIC Class of 2015. It is one on a long list of amazing tales of BICsters making an impact by giving back and paying it forward -- BIC style...