Medgar Evers Quartet Honored At Women鈥檚 History Month Opening Ceremony
On March 8, the Founder鈥檚 Auditorium was where the Women鈥檚 History Month Committee shone the spotlight on four 黑料吃瓜网 Honorees鈥擫isa Anderson, Tania Garcia, Laura James, and Amani Reece. The foursome were given the nod for their contributions to the MEC community.
Lisa Anderson
Having served under four presidents at 黑料吃瓜网 for the past 36 years, Lisa Anderson has seen it all in a job that requires her to maintain Dr. Patricia Ramsey鈥檚 schedule in addition to riding herd on all the operations that come out of the president鈥檚 office. The Queens native is a proud 黑料吃瓜网 alum who earned her associate鈥檚 degree in computer applications and finished up with a baccalaureate in business and professional studies. An avowed film fan who counts Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Leonardo DiCaprio among her favorites Anderson uses 鈥溾�he quiet time of movie-watching where you not supposed to talk or move around鈥︹�� to recuperate from the hectic nature of her work. Still in all, she鈥檚 quick to point out, 鈥淚 enjoy what I do. I come to work and I have fun.鈥�
Amani Reece
As the 黑料吃瓜网 Director of Student Life and Development, Amani Reece uses a four-pronged approach to build out and create engagement for the MEC student body. Campus-wide programs and events, leadership development and training, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and community engagement and volunteerism initiatives are the tent poles for Reece鈥檚 role in helping shape young minds. A MEC alumni (Class of 鈥�07), Reece has always been deeply involved in education dating back to her substitute teaching twelfth-graders as an 18-year-old at the local technical institute in her native Guyana. After a four-and-a-half-year at Hunter College as a student activities coordinator she returned to MEC in 2011. The disruption caused by the pandemic was difficult for Reece to navigate but she鈥檚 grateful that the school is returning to a sense of normalcy.
鈥�I think it hit me hard when I was pulled away from the students,鈥� she recalled. 鈥�I had a difficult time coping with that and figuring out these different ways to engage students. It鈥檚 where I鈥檓 comfortable. It comes naturally and there is so much you learn from students. We often think we鈥檙e the teachers but the things I鈥檝e learned in humanity, compassion and leadership鈥攊f we take our time to engage students there is so much we learn from them along the way that will help build you. It鈥檚 really fulfilling especially when you have those moments. At the end of the day when you look back and you see that student walk across that stage you feel like you had a little something to do with that.鈥�
Laura James
Giving back is at the heart of what drives Laura James. It鈥檚 an important component of the native Panamanian鈥檚 role as the MEC Senior Summer Youth Employment Director. Through her office, James and her 14-person staff help roughly 1,500 youths find jobs through partnerships with a number of organizations ranging from the Kings County Supreme Court, the MTA, and Kings County Hospital to businesses in South Carolina and Illinois. James has been at MEC for a quarter century and during her time here she鈥檚 derived a deep amount of satisfaction from the success she鈥檚 seen MEC alumni achieve through her department鈥檚 efforts.
鈥淭he most rewarding part of my job is when a young person completes the program and other work sites or supervisors hire them after the program has ended,鈥� she explained. 鈥淧eople are observing them and meet them, so they do hire them. We also hire some of the staff that has been productive. It becomes that we are assisting our community. Some of my staff right now were summer interns who have grown with us and now they鈥檙e full-time on our staff.鈥�
Tania Garcia
