Empire State University Student Wins Best of SUNY Art Award 

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 13, 2025) At the ripe age of 11, Caleb Rubright landed an opportunity to do something that few other tweens do: take a college course. 

“I actually entered an art competition, and I got to take a class at Monroe Community College (MCC) in 1991,” says the Rochester native, a visual arts student at Empire State University. “I remember walking into the college looking at all these 20-year-olds and being like, ‘Whoa, this is cool.’” 

It was a pencil drawing of a horse that earned Rubright his spot at MCC. And now, more than 30 years later, that same subject matter has garnered the longtime artist his latest accolade: a 2025 Best of SUNY art award, conferred during an in-person reception in Albany on May 30. Selected from pieces submitted by students throughout the SUNY system, Rubright’s acrylic-on-canvas painting “Wild Horses” was one of three works chosen for the award. Four other submissions received honorable mentions.  

Rubright (right) accepting his Best of SUNY Award. Courtesy photo

“It was a big surprise … I did not expect to win knowing that I’d be competing against [students from] dedicated art schools,” says the painter, whose 4-by-6-foot creation also won a SUNY Empire student art competition last fall. “It’s an honor.” 

Rubright—who first discovered his interest in art as a middle schooler, when his aunt took him to a local exhibition—has always sketched and painted images of animals. The neon color scheme on display in “Wild Horses,” though, has become a staple of his work in recent years. He says he first experimented with it while creating a painting of a Great White shark for his son.  

“It was naturally colored, and it was just boring. So I started playing around with neon colors,” he says, adding that the cheery palette soon caught on with customers of the commission-based art business he ran prior to enrolling at SUNY Empire. “I wanted to make things that were happy and made people smile … that’s the whole reason why I paint.” 

Associate Professor Jim Robinson Reflects on 50 Years at Empire State University

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 12, 2025) Fifty years have come and gone, but Jim Robinson still remembers his first day at Empire State University. It was 1975, and Robinson—then a Ph.D. candidate and teaching assistant at New York University—joined the faculty as a part-time instructor. 

“I was interviewed in a room full of about 30 to 40 people who were having a bag lunch. People sort of asked me questions at random while they ate their sandwiches,” he recalls. “The social work people wanted to know how I would talk to a student, and the art people wanted to know if I went to museums. The question really was, ‘Will you fit?’” 

Luckily for Robinson, currently an associate professor based on Long Island, it’s safe to say the answer was “yes.” Although his pre-Empire resume includes formative stints as a staff assistant for Congress and a labor relations assistant for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the longtime educator—who has two children and a granddaughter—views teaching as his true calling.  

“It fit me because it allowed me to work closely with people, and that was something that I valued,” he says of his first position at SUNY Empire.  

Robinson’s addition to the faculty made sense in other ways, too: Prior to his appointment, “I had gone through three different programs: a bachelor’s degree in literature, a master’s in history, and a Ph.D. in political science. And Empire was looking for generalists and people who worked interdisciplinary,” he explains. “It turned out that I have used at Empire every scrap of what I had ever learned in any program, and it has paid off in strange ways.” 

Robinson—an Oregon native who, as a child, moved around the country with his family before settling in New York—has held numerous positions at the university over the years. In addition to teaching, he has performed a wide variety of administrative roles including serving as the program director for the international Cyprus/Athens Unit in the early 1990s and chairing the graduate program in policy studies, which he helped develop. Through it all, though, his dedication to empowering his students has remained the same.  

“I’m interested in [students] developing the skill to learn for themselves, and that was right there from the very beginning for me,” Robinson says, noting that he encourages those who take his classes to think of him as a coach rather than a judge. “We were told the core of our mission was that people should be independent learners, and that just struck a chord with me. That’s probably the one thing that stayed with me throughout.” 

After half a century on the job, Robinson says other parts of the university’s stance on education have continued to resonate with him, too—namely its focus on “the broadening of peoples’ perspectives … and a commitment to get people to the point where they could participate publicly.” 

“That is civic education in the best sense,” he says.  

Introducing the 2025-2026 Scholars Across the University 

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 5, 2025) Empire State University has named two faculty members as the recipients of its annual Scholars Across the University award. Distinguished Professor Ian Reifowitz, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor Melissa Wells, Ed.D.—who also serves as the university’s director of teaching, learning, and faculty development—were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. Supported by the SUNY Empire Foundation, Reifowitz and Wells will present their work to the university community beginning this September.  

About the Scholars:  

Ian Reifowitz  

A photo of Ian Reifowitz smiling
Ian Reifowitz

Ian Reifowitz will share material from his forthcoming book, “Riling Up the Base: Examining Trump’s Use of Stereotypes through an Interdisciplinary Lens,” which looks at the language President Trump has leaned on over the course of his political career. 

“Given the importance of the position of President of the United States, and the particular expertise President Trump has demonstrated in using his public platform, my co-author Anastacia Kurylo and I felt it made sense to focus largely on his rhetoric, which relies heavily on stereotypes, and try to understand how and why this kind of rhetoric resonates with his base, which represents a significant segment of the American population,” Reifowitz explains.  

“Since we are all active participants in American society, I thought this research would be relevant to all members of the [SUNY Empire] community, whatever their particular areas of interest,” he continues. “I hope [it] will give people a better understanding of how political rhetoric works, and in particular why using stereotypes can succeed in persuading and motivating some voters to support the candidates who use them effectively.” 

Melissa Wells  

A photo of Melissa Wells smiling
Melissa Wells. Photo by Joseph O’Dea

Melissa Wells will present her research on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and digital engagement strategies. 

“My passion for UDL stems from its power to affirm all learners by making education both accessible and adaptive—especially for those who have historically been underserved. Integrating UDL principles with digital tools creates space for learners to engage on their own terms, without compromising academic rigor,” she says.  

“Our institution has a long tradition of personalized education, and this research reinforces that legacy while offering new frameworks to ensure consistency, equity, and innovation in a digital age,” Wells adds. “I hope my findings will prompt faculty and staff to reflect on how course structure and teaching practices—especially in asynchronous settings—can either support or unintentionally hinder student success. Even small design decisions can impact belonging, accessibility, and engagement.” 

ODEI Celebrates LGBTQIA+ Pride Month with Stories from Empire State University Community

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 4, 2025) Welcome to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’s Reason & Respect: Unplugged for the month of June! June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, and we invite you to celebrate with us by reading the lived experiences and stories of three Empire State University community members. We also encourage you to share your thoughts, questions, and stories via our community discussion board.  

In the following Q&A, we will hear from Nathaniel Gray, Bryant O’Donnell, and Ade Byron. 

About the Interviewees:  

Nathaniel Gray, MSW, is executive director of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, an external partner focused on queer equity that supports many schools in the area. They are a nonbinary leader with a master’s in social work from Fordham University and a focus on macro-level changes to improve life for queer New Yorkers. 

Bryant O’Donnell is a 2025 SUNY Empire graduate, former vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA), and a current SGA senator. Bryant is founding executive director of Raising the Vibration and a spokesmodel for HIV Stops With Me. His story can be found here. 

Ade Byron is program manager in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SUNY Empire. Their background is in using restorative practices to build resilient communities of care and belonging, and they are currently pursuing their master’s in social work at the University at Albany. 

Can you share a bit about your identity and what being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community means to you? 

Nathaniel: As a person who grew up with all the bullying that comes with being an effeminate boy in rural America, it took a long time for me to understand that I was normal, but that culture and conditioning around me was not. As I grew older and identified as a gay man, I realized that I didn’t feel like I fit in much with the cis-gay man community and explored my gender identity through drag performance and more femme gender expression.  Because of how I was raised, I still have a lot of unlearning to do to just be myself. 
 
What it means to me to be in the queer community is that I have family who gets it. We often look at DEI from a lens of “vertical” marginalized communities, such as race, religion, and ethnicity, where the person has been marginalized from childhood, but typically raised by at least one parent who shares that marginal identity. Queer people are more akin to “horizontal” marginal communities, such as people living with disabilities: children who do not have a parent or a family member who can commiserate with the experience or teach them their history and support their growth. That is why the concept of chosen family isn’t just powerful for us; it is necessary to begin the process of understanding yourself and your history. 

Bryant: I’ve been gay since my youngest years of memory. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t come out and embrace it till I was 23! The ages of 23 to 33 were years of discovering love, myself, trauma, recovery, divorce, and eventually rehab. [It was a time of being] wild and out and [I] became HIV positive. 

Ade: I identify as nonbinary, which means I don’t identify as either male or female. I also identify as queer, which for me acts as an umbrella term that identifies me as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Being a part of this community and finding others that identify with the LGBTQIA+ community has taught me so much about myself and the world around me. It opened my eyes to a worldview I was never exposed to growing up and has given me a community of people who not only accept me but understand me. I feel like a part of something larger, a part of a group of people who have shown strength, resilience, and pride throughout history and today. 

Where have you found or created communities of care and belonging that support and uplift your identity/identities within Empire State University and beyond? 

Nathaniel: In meeting with the team working on DEI initiatives in the community, I have found family that understands our experiences and who I trust to share and defend the protections that queer students have. In my personal life, I’m someone who no longer has—and never really had—a mother. Although she is alive, her faith is one that excludes my existence and pathologizes me and the rest of our community. I’ve built a  network of chosen family that is stronger than I imagined possible to fill the gaps my own family has left behind. 

Bryant: My entire SUNY Empire support system. My student body and the SGA. 

Ade: I first found my LGBTQIA+ community when I went to college. There was a lot I didn’t know about the queer community and how I fit in, but there were people who took me in and held space for me as I found myself. These people became my chosen family and helped me build the confidence to show up authentically in the spaces I occupied. At SUNY Empire, I have found community in my co-workers, both those who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community themselves and those who are allies. I’ve also found community in those who aren’t familiar with the LGBTQIA+ community but take the time to ask questions and learn or make the effort to use my correct pronouns when they aren’t used to using they/them pronouns for individuals. 

What role has community played in your journey of self-discovery and living authentically? 

Nathaniel: What I love about being queer is that we choose authentic living over fear every day. For all of my feminine attributes, I know that I had to be braver and stronger at a very young age than any of the hyper-masculine cousins and uncles I have who talk a big game but could never choose authenticity over discomfort or fear. My inspiration to choose self and choose truth has come at a cost, and the peers and leaders of the queer community have modeled that bravery over and over again for me to learn from. It’s even allowed me the time and processing to see that there are more options for people assigned male at birth to exist in the queer space as something other than just a cis-gay man. Community visibility gives me strength, inspiration, and joy. 

Ade: I was only brave enough to come out as queer after I watched people I looked up to do it first. They showed me that it was possible to exist as my full self in a space where I didn’t know it was possible to do so. Having those two role models led me to let people know who I was and then be a part of a larger community that taught me about different identities and labels until I found the ones that felt right for me. My community has helped me find home in every place I’ve been by recommending LGBTQIA+ community spaces, resources, events, and even things like cafes and healthcare.  

Thank you for engaging with this conversation and don’t forget to share your thoughts and questions on the community discussion board! 

Empire State University Student Named Director of Veteran and Military Services at SUNY New Paltz

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 3, 2025) From working in accessibility and accommodations to tackling more administrative positions, Donald “Donnie” Martin has worn many hats as a higher education professional. Now, the Kingston resident—who is currently pursuing an M.A. in higher education at Empire State University—is taking on a new role: director of the Office of Veteran & Military Services at SUNY New Paltz. 

For Martin, who earned his bachelor’s degree in adolescent education at New Paltz in 2011, the job is a natural fit. Not only has he worked as the office’s assistant director since 2023, but he is also a veteran. Following in the footsteps of his parents, both of whom served in the military, Martin was enlisted in the U.S. Navy from 2002 to 2006. While he says he didn’t start out in higher ed with the specific goal of catering to military-affiliated students like himself, he acknowledges that his personal experiences as a service member—combined with the wide-ranging work he’s done for colleges including Marist and Vassar—gives him a unique outlook on this population of learners.  

“I’m a higher education professional that happens to be a veteran. Sometimes I think that’s better because I understand how the field works versus just being a veteran advocating for veterans,” Martin says, noting that he’s also held positions in departments such as academic affairs. “I like that I took the path that I did because it gave me time to learn more about how institutions operate … I’ve gotten to understand how different divisions work and how to help veterans and their dependents navigate that system.” 

Being back in school as a student at SUNY Empire is also broadening his perspective, he says. In addition to gaining a better understanding of the needs of non-traditional learners through his coursework, Martin says the experience has helped him further empathize with his students. 

“It’s helped me be more supportive and has also made me more relatable because a lot of my students know I’m doing this and they’ll ask, ‘How’re your classes going?’” he says. “So, it’s giving me more stuff to talk to them about.” 

On track to graduate next May, Martin decided to work toward his master’s at SUNY Empire after realizing his bachelor’s degree “had taken [him] as far as it would go” in higher ed. Still, he admits that the idea of returning to school “terrified” him, both in terms of shouldering the expense and wondering whether he was up to the challenge academically. Luckily, Martin’s state employee benefits and recent changes to New York State’s Veteran Tuition Award—which make him newly eligible for tuition assistance this fall—have significantly reduced costs. And as for his academic concerns? Martin, who describes himself as a historically “average student,” is thriving.  

“It’s been just a really great experience. The professors are really smart people, and they’ve made the programs very easy to follow along,” he says.  

Martin—who, after being the first in his family to receive a bachelor’s degree, will be the first of his relatives to earn a master’s—notes that the staff at the university’s Veteran & Military Resource Center have been helpful, too. 

“They check in each semester to see if I need to use any benefits or anything,” he says, adding that he was drawn to SUNY Empire for its reputation as a “very veteran-friendly school.” “It’s definitely been a supportive environment for adult learners, and a lot of the resources are easy to use.” 

It’s the type of setting Martin strives to offer his own military-affiliated students at SUNY New Paltz, where he’ll officially assume his new director role in early June.  

“Only 1% of the nation joins the military, so it’s important to me to give back to them,” he says. “A lot of people join the military because they can’t go to college. The military is why I got a college degree, and I like being a part of helping the next generation do that [because] I know what that sacrifice means. I know how great that benefit is, and I like being a part of ensuring they get to maintain it.” 

Nominate an Outstanding Empire State University Graduate for an Alumni Award

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — May 27, 2025) — Nominations for Empire State University’s 2025 Alumni Awards are now open. This year’s awards feature a new category and an easier process for making nominations.

The nomination process is open from Wednesday, May 28, 2025, through Monday, July 28, 2025. Anyone is welcome to make a nomination, including faculty, staff, alumni, students, and friends of the university.

The alumni awards recognize outstanding graduates who have made a positive impact through their military service, or professional, philanthropic, or volunteer accomplishments. The award categories are:

  • Emerging Leader
  • Community Impact
  • Distinguished Leader
  • Veteran Service
  • Professional Excellence

The Professional Excellence Award is a new category that will recognize alumni who excel in their professions or in the organizations where they work. More information about the award categories is available online. Recipients will be honored at a special dinner on Thursday, October 16, 2025.

The awards this year will feature a simpler nomination process. To make a nomination, nominators must submit a nominating statement and the nominee’s CV, resume, or LinkedIn profile. A letter of support is optional. 

Alumni are also invited to self-nominate.

For more information, email alumni@sunyempire.edu.

SUNY Empire Spotlight: May 2025

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — May 28, 2025) The latest news on research efforts, awards, grants, and media appearances from Empire State University faculty, staff, and leadership. 

Lauren Allen and Noor Syed—both assistant professors and the assistant director and director of CAARES, respectively—received mini-grants from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

Nidal Daou, assistant professor, co-authored an article discussing positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) as related to neurodiversity-affirming practices. The article was published in the spring 2025 edition of the International Journal of Positive Behavioural Support. 

Pamela Doran, digital accessibility coordinator, received an Innovative Instruction Technology Grant (IITG) for her proposal titled “Custom Machine Translation to Support Spanish-Language Higher Education Programs.” 

Desiree Drindak, director of the Veteran and Military Resource Center, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Foreverly House by the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition. The Foreverly House is a transitional home for veteran mothers and their children who are experiencing homelessness. 

Cailyn Green, assistant professor, and Thalia MacMillan, associate professor and department chair for Health & Human Services, recently published a textbook titled “Evidence-Based Substance Use Treatment.”  

Himanee Gupta, professor, was featured on an episode of Radio Catskill, which focused on community sustainability.  

Thomas Mackey, professor and program coordinator for the digital media arts program, organized a presentation by Michele Zizza on “Disinformation, Digitization, and Destabilization,” which provided a glimpse into the contents of Zizza’s new book. Zizza’s presentation, hosted by the Center for International Education, analyzed the effects of fake news on international politics in today’s global digital era, as well as strategies for strengthening the integrity of information. 
 
Pamela Malone, strategic improvement lead and UUP Empire State chapter president, received the Judith Wishnia Award at last month’s United University Professions’ Delegate Assembly. According to UUP, the award “recognizes UUP members who have rendered exceptional service (beyond standard union work) and who have advocated tirelessly for UUP, labor, equity, and humanity.” Malone was also selected to join the statewide team for the next round of UUP’s contract negotiations with New York state. 

Aley O’Mara, CAARES program associate and training coordinator, was quoted in a WHAM article about an interactive theater game hosted by CAARES. 

Shaun Richman, program director for the School of Arts & Humanities, appeared on an episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss his new book, “We Always Had a Union: The New York Hotel Workers’ Union, 1912-1953.” 
 
Jason Russell, professor, spoke about President Trump’s impact on Canada’s election results and tariffs on Talk of the Town. 

Heather Shalhoub—librarian and coordinator for web services, user experience, and systems—was the keynote speaker at the 2025 Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by the Office of the State Comptroller’s Division of Diversity Management. “This was the first time the office celebrated Arab American Heritage Month, and it was an honor to be invited and to represent my heritage, culture, and family,” she says. 

Gayle Stever, professor, has co-authored a second-edition textbook titled “Understanding Media Psychology,” which will be published in July. Her co-authors include J. David Cohen, an adjunct instructor. Stever was also recently quoted in articles about celebrities by Cosmopolitan and Yahoo Entertainment.  

Victoria Vernon, associate professor, contributed as one of eight experts to a recently published U.S. Government Accountability report titled “Telework: Private Sector Stakeholders and Expert Views.”  

President Lisa Vollendorf was honored as one of six recipients of the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce’s Women of Excellence Award in a May 9 ceremony. She was also named to City & State’s annual Trailblazers in Higher Education list for the second consecutive year. 

Melissa Wells—assistant professor and director of teaching, learning, and faculty development—had her article, “Enhancing Faculty Integration: The Role of Structured Onboarding, Peer Mentorship, and Belonging,” accepted for publication by The Journal of Continuing Higher Education. 

Finding Balance: Brittany Leibenguth’s Path to Graduation at Empire State University

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — May 27, 2025) For students with children, juggling classes alongside the demands of parenting can be tricky. Such was the case for Brittany Leibenguth, a Navy veteran and mother of two who has been working toward a B.S. in business administration at Empire State University.  

“Having a [7-year-old daughter], sometimes my attention can get pulled at the drop of a hat,” says Leibenguth, who also has a 22-year-old son. “At first, it was hard for me to get pulled away from schoolwork and try to refocus and come back.” 

Her solution? Completing assignments in tandem with her 7-year-old.   

“She was given homework for the first time this year, so we would sit at the table together and she would work on her homework packet while I would work on my assignments. We would encourage each other to give it our best efforts and not let the exhaustion from the day get to us before we completed our tasks,” Leibenguth explains. “Some nights when she didn’t have actual homework from school, she would ask me to just make up things for her to do so we could still do it together.” 

Now, as the spring semester comes to an end, it’s safe to say Leibenguth’s efforts have paid off: The Macedon resident has just finished her degree and will attend the university’s Rochester commencement ceremony on May 29.  

For Leibenguth, who currently holds an associate degree in medical administration, the walk across the graduation stage has been more than two years in the making. She began her bachelor’s coursework at Monroe Community College and Roberts Wesleyan University before ultimately enrolling at SUNY Empire last summer. 

“[I] have been so grateful with how easy the school made it for me to jump back in and complete the degree.” says Leibenguth, who has been working full-time as a practice coordinator for Rochester Regional Health while attending classes. “My goal is to become a practice manager in the near future and, ideally, a VP down the road. My degree has given me the tools to be an effective leader in these roles by allowing me to gain knowledge of HR requirements, strategic leadership, and business management. I think with the skills I have gained from the degree program, I am prepared to handle the difficulties of a leadership position.” 

After graduation, Leibenguth plans to continue her education at SUNY Empire, where she’s just been accepted as a graduate student in the MBA program.  

For now, though, Leibenguth can enjoy what she says have been the most rewarding parts of her experience at the university: “the feeling of accomplishment and the pride that was shining on my daughter’s face when I told her I graduated.” 

Charting a New Course: A Graduate Student Discovers His Niche in Higher Ed

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — May 27, 2025) When Aaron Pieri completed his M.S. in childhood education five years ago, teaching was his primary career goal. But after spending time in the classroom, the Buffalo-area native began to have second thoughts.  

“I taught for a few years and realized that as much as I love kids, it wasn’t the right field for me,” he says. 

Not ready to give up on education completely, Pieri began looking into other outlets for his interest in the field. That research ultimately led him to Empire State University, where—after two years of full-time study—he has just completed the institution’s recently introduced master’s in higher education program, developed by associate professor emerita Tai Arnold. He’ll receive his degree at the university’s Rochester commencement ceremony on May 29.   

“It was just a matter of finding my niche,” says Pieri, who is one of three students graduating from the program this spring. “I think I found it more now in higher education.” 

Pieri’s internship with the university’s Opportunity Programs office has gone a long way in convincing him he’s chosen the right path. He began his tenure by meeting with various staff to learn more about their roles and interactions with other members of the university community. Later, Pieri had the opportunity to speak with 10 students enrolled in opportunity programs to better understand their experiences.  

“It opened my eyes and really made me realize that this is the area that I want to focus on when I graduate. And then I was invited to attend the Opportunity Programs office retreat,” he says, adding that he also attended the university’s Annual Meeting. “It was such a great opportunity for me to actually experience what it’s like to be in higher education.” 

Still, that’s not to say that Pieri—who hopes to work in academic advising and student success post-graduation—hasn’t faced challenges during his time at the university. Although the flexibility of virtual learning appealed to him, he admits that he was anxious about tackling an online degree program for the first time. But after figuring out how to stay organized and motivated, he says, he discovered some surprising “positives” to studying online. 

“I was really able to do what I needed to do to understand and relate to the material. When you’re in [an in-person] class, you kind of talk off the cuff. But when I was doing my posts for class, I could actually sit and think and let things marinate a little bit before I gave my responses,” Pieri says. “I realized, ‘Oh, you know what? This does work for me a little better than the in-person, traditional kind of learning.’” 

The online format offered other unexpected benefits, too: “Weirdly enough, I probably felt more connected to my professors here than I did than [while attending school] in person,” he says, noting that his interactions with members of the Opportunity Programs team were especially rewarding. “Being able to talk to advisors and professionals in higher education without feeling like the student definitely gave me more insight and perspective.” 

“I will miss the people that I’ve had the pleasure to work with and learn under,” Pieri continues. “I am very grateful for everything that has been offered to me and everything that I’ve been able to experience.” 

Perspective Shift: One Graduate’s Journey Through the ABA Program

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — May 27, 2025) If 10 years ago you had told Mackenzie Albert that she’d one day earn a Master of Science degree “in anything,” she says, she probably wouldn’t have believed you. And yet that’s the very achievement the graduate student in applied behavior analysis (ABA) will mark when she receives her diploma at Empire State University’s Rochester commencement ceremony on May 29. 

“Now I am all about spreadsheets and data, and I want to geek out over it,” she says. “That’s such a shift in perspective for me.” 

Prior to enrolling at SUNY Empire in 2022, Albert built a career in education. She served as a kindergarten teacher for students with autism and also worked as a special ed instructor for preschool-aged children, among other roles. After nearly two decades in the field, though, Albert—who previously earned an M.A. in special and general education from New York University in 2009—sensed she was ready for a change.  

“Teacher burnout is so high, and I was reaching that point. I couldn’t honestly see myself in a classroom case-managing students in a teacher role for the next 20 years,” she explains. “I thought, what could I do where I can use my talents as an educator in a different capacity?” 

Looking to “make a difference in a different way,” she says, Albert began SUNY Empire’s graduate ABA program as a part-time student. While enrolled, the Western New Yorker has juggled her classes alongside full-time work and personal obligations, including raising her two daughters (now ages 12 and 14). Albert credits her husband and children with helping her navigate what she says was sometimes a difficult balancing act. She says her professors and, notably, the ABA department heads have been an important part of her support system too. 

“Most of the time in college, I feel like your access to the people in charge is limited. With Dr. [Lauren] Allen and Dr. [Noor] Syed, I just felt like I had access to them, their expertise, and their mentorship, and I felt like I could be honest about struggling at moments … I didn’t feel judged for needing additional support or asking questions or needing clarification,” she says. “They’ve created a community where I feel like at any point in my career I could go back to them and they would answer an email or get on a quick call.” 

After graduation, Albert plans to continue working in her current school district, where she supports students in kindergarten through second grade as a behavioral analyst. She also aims to start networking with local clinics that offer ABA services as she prepares for where her career—and newfound confidence in her abilities—will take her next.  

“This [experience] helped me to foster and nurture my relationship with myself. I gave myself something that was really hard to do and I did it, but I also learned a whole lot about myself—that I’m stronger than I think I am and that I can do hard things,” she says, adding that she hopes her journey through the ABA program offers a positive example for her children. “We’re so much more capable than we give ourselves credit for. That was my biggest take away.”