CSI Applauds Its Dean's List Students
Ceremony recognizes 1,025 who earned the honor during 2006-2007 

Staten Island Advance - Thursday, October 18, 2007

She was born in Togo, Africa, and French is her native language; he hails from Brooklyn and spent 23 years working in the back office of a local bank.

Both stood proud yesterday, symbolic of the very best at the College of Staten Island as it recognized students demonstrating academic excellence during the 2006-07 Dean's List Recognition Ceremony.

An enthusiastic crowd of 600-plus, including faculty members, proud relatives and friends, gathered in CSI's Center for the Performing Arts in Willowbrook to applaud the 1,025 students who made the list for the 2006-2007 academic year.

With a student body of 12,500, that means close to 10 percent are not only meeting but exceeding the strict academic requirements.

"I think it shows just the magnificent quality of the students we produce here," said Gail Simmons, dean of science and technology. "We have an open admission policy and we have over 1,000 students who qualified for the dean's list. That means they have to achieve a really strong academic performance. And it means we've really made a difference with them."

"All of us here know that this recognition is about much more," said Dr. Tomas Morales, CSI president. "It is about your extraordinary dedication and perseverance -- it is about the stories behind your success."

Morales lauded not only the students but the families and friends who support them.

And while all students on the dean's list were honored, two were chosen to represent them as speakers: Karamatou Yacoubou Djima and Anthony Baglivi.

Ms. Djima, 23, of St. George, who arrived from Africa in 2003, has a 3.99 grade point average with a double major in mathematics and engineering. She works three jobs to pay her tuition, and her brilliance has sent her to conferences in Nebraska and earned her a recent UCLA internship at Pixar Studios.

Despite her hectic schedule, Ms. Djima realizes education is key to building her future.

"Only a quality education can help you through your life," she told the audience. "That is why I am grateful to be a student at CSI. Even though the road has been bumpy, I've made plenty of friends and have great professors. I've been lucky to be provided with a great experience such as being sent to conferences and also learning to participate in research, because all those things have helped open my eyes to the treasures of knowledge."

For 51-year-old Anthony Baglivi of Brooklyn, who dropped out of Brooklyn College in the 1970s, CSI offered a second chance.

"I did badly back at Brooklyn College and it always bothered me that my studies were abandoned without really giving it my best shot," he said.

So when his bank was relocating, instead of retiring, he decided to give college another go.

Now the future New York City teacher, who will graduate in January with a bachelor's degree in English and who boasts a 4.0 GPA, laughs when he remembers he was refused when he tried to return to Brooklyn College because of his former poor grades.

"Their loss," he said with a laugh, adding, "Dreams really do come true."

By Kiawana Rich
Reprinted here with permission from the