CBI Class of 2006 ● Mount Saint Mary College Class of 2010 ● Bilingual School Counselor at Bronx Compass High School (Carolyn), Community Relations at Empire State Development (Angel)
In honor of Valentine’s Day and the month of love, we caught up CBI alums and high school sweethearts, Angel and Carolyn! Now married with two children, they tell us about moving through their education journey together and how they are continuing to build a legacy in their family and community.
Tell us about the relationship you had with your director of college counseling (DCC).
Angel: I had the privilege of having Jon Roure serve as my DCC while in high school. I got to know Jon through my sister Beatrice when he helped her through the college application process the year prior. Jon’s insistence that college was a possibility for me and his optimism of what it would mean for my future changed the trajectory of my life. Later, I worked with another DCC whose reassuring demeanor helped put my family and I at ease during the stressful college application process. I truly do not believe I would have attended college without their support.
Carolyn: I also had the pleasure of having these two DCCs. I had an amazing relationship with both that has lasted almost two decades. I was always in the office willing to help, support, and absorb any information, resources, or events my DCC had.
Where did you attend college and what was that experience like?
Angel: After high school, I attended Mount Saint Mary College and earned a B.A. in History and Political Science. A few years later I earned a Master of Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Going to college was vastly different from where I grew up in the Bronx. Quite frankly, my first year was a cultural shock. As a college student, I was sometimes the only Latino in the classroom but college exposed me to individuals from different cultures, with different sets of beliefs, values, and life experiences. That exposure helped broaden my horizons in so many positive ways and has stayed with me throughout my professional career.
Carolyn: I also went to Mount Saint Mary College where I graduated as a psychology major. Angel and I attended the same college, unintentionally, but we had very different experiences; he was an EOP student, and I was a general admission student. Going to a predominantly white school while a Black man was running for president and won was an experience of a lifetime and made me realize the importance of coming back home and empowering my community, specifically first-generation students like me.
After college, I worked for the Bronx Institute at Lehman College doing college access work in high schools and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a school counselor and bridge the gap of college and career access in black and brown communities while debunking fears and myths in our communities. I went on to graduate from Lehman College with my master’s degree in education in school counseling and am now attending Alfred University to obtain my license in mental health counseling. You can’t work in the field of service especially in our communities without including mental health. It comes up in so many forms in my field so if I am going to serve my students and family I need to be well-prepared to give them accurate support.
What are you up to these days?
Angel: These days I serve as the Assistant Vice President of Community Relations at Empire State Development which is a state government entity that promotes business growth and job creation throughout New York State. Carolyn and I currently live in the Bronx with our daughter Natalie, and our son, Nicholas, who joined us in December 2021.
Carolyn: I was an associate director of college counseling and then became a DCC with CBI. During my tenure with CBI, Angel and I had our first daughter! Now I’m a bilingual school counselor with the DOE at Bronx Compass High School. Doing the same work and helping my students obtain access to quality post-secondary planning as I did from my CBI counselors.
How has education shaped who you are today?
Angel: My wife’s experience with CBI helped foster a passion for college access and an inspiring career in the field of education. My experience with my DCCs showed me what was possible for men of color if given the opportunity to attend college.
Carolyn: My experience and education have shaped me in every way. CBI helped break a cycle in my family as a first-generation college student. This had a ripple effect on my siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends in that I was able to share that knowledge with them.