On Wednesday, May 27, 2020, Hostos’ CUNY EDGE program saluted its 93 graduating members with a virtual celebration.
The originally planned in-person event had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, CUNY EDGE director Veronica Vidal felt it was important the CUNY EDGE Class of 2020 still received the celebration they deserved.
“I wanted to take the time to celebrate you and all of you have achieved and worked so hard for,” said Vidal during her speech. “You remained resilient and you persisted. It is this determination that makes you, our CUNY EDGE students, stand out, and it is because of this determination that you have arrived at this amazing milestone of graduation. I want you to know that we at CUNY EDGE are so very proud of you for that.”
Vidal went on to urge graduates to create the positive changes they wanted to see in the world moving forward and remain resilient. “If this journey gets to seem intimidating, you can remind yourself that not only can you take on anything that comes your way, including a pandemic, but you can and you will thrive,” she said. “You’ve got this!”
Hosted on Zoom, the virtual celebration had a total of 78 participants, including President David Gómez, SDEM Vice President Nathaniel Cruz, and Glenda Grace, CUNY’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Institutional Affairs, Strategic Advancement and Special Counsel, who served as the event’s keynote speaker. CUNY EDGE advisor Magdalena Diaz treated attendees to a rendition of the song “Hero,” by Mariah Carey, and Class of 2020’s Stephanie Cabán González shared a few words with her fellow grads during the event. Additionally, Vidal announced the program would purchase the program’s graduates’ caps and gowns for them to proudly don during Hostos’ postponed in-person Commencement Ceremony.
Congratulations to the CUNY EDGE Class of 2020!