Ginger Alvarez’s “Suitcase Full of Dreams”

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Ginger Alvarez is a mother of four determined to finally fulfill her career dreams, which she began pursuing in Guayaquil, Ecuador before moving to the United States in 2011. When she arrived, the possibilities she had access to were more limited in scope than she had imagined—with a family to maintain, she had to chart a new course that took her far from her aspirations to work in the aviation industry, until now.

Alvarez’s eldest son, who works in higher education in Manhattan, heard about Empire State University’s Spanish Bachelor of Business Administration—an opportunity that would allow his mother to earn a degree in her native language and advance her career while she continued developing her English-language skills. Alvarez enrolled, seeing a gateway back into her desired field that played to her strengths.

She is one of many whose academic and career progress has been slowed by language barriers, which is why SUNY Empire launched its business administration degree intended for native Spanish speakers. Already, the university specializes in serving diverse student populations with competing responsibilities in their personal and professional lives. For busy parents like Alvarez, the flexibility of online learning is essential to academic success and accessing new career possibilities.

Today, she lives in Queens and works as a cashier at a money transfer business while doing e-commerce, but Alvarez’s story began with “humidity and heat” in Ecuador’s largest coastal city. In 2000, when she began college, Alvarez declared a business administration major while simultaneously pursuing pilot training with the support of her parents. “At that time, my mom got cancer. They couldn’t continue paying for the programs, so I had to leave. Instead, I started working at the airport for Avianca Airlines,” she recounts. Alvarez held her job for almost eight years until her paperwork to relocate to the U.S. was finalized by which time she had two children, ages five and seven.

“I arrived in this country with a suitcase full of dreams. I thought I would keep doing airport work, but the language is very different, and it holds you back,” she says. Despite her years of experience in a different industry, Alvarez began working at a money transfer company, and eventually at restaurants. “It was the first time I’d ever worked in one, but here, you have to do everything. I liked the dining industry, and I’ve kept working in it,” she adds. Alvarez was aware that language was impeding her from obtaining jobs she was otherwise trained to do, and set out to change that.

In 2018, Alvarez earned her GED, which she pursued as a pathway to improving her English-language skills. She enrolled in LaGuardia Community College to continue learning the language under the CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP), “so that from there, I could move on to the degree I wanted: a business administration degree,” she explains. “It felt endless,” the 43-year-old comments regarding her journey to English fluency.

It was at this point, discouraged and facing the financial pressure that came with enrolling in CLIP, that Alvarez’s son turned her attention towards the Spanish BBA at SUNY Empire. “I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle it. At my age, you have so much in your head. But I took a chance,” she shares.

Online learning has been an adjustment for Alvarez, but it’s one she is navigating with the support of attentive faculty members. “I like how they run the courses, how they care. Professors will tell you, ‘If you can’t reach me through email, here is my phone number.’ They’re always present,” she says.

Besides the resources at the cohort’s disposal, Alvarez enjoys the way each subject connects with the next: “I like e-commerce, which is what Professor Claudia Lovegrove is teaching right now, and it connects with what Professor Luis Camacho teaches us, which is ethics.” The ability to think through course material in Spanish has been a great benefit—“It’s my language, so I can develop ideas faster,” she points out.

Now in her second semester of the program, Alvarez often feels motivated by her assignments, like creating a mockup of the footwear business she would run. Her professors’ what-if scenarios are engaging— “they really make you think,” she laughs, noting that she appreciates the challenge. With growing business acumen, Alvarez is starting to let herself imagine what possibilities the Spanish BBA degree might unlock. “I’m happy because I’m moving forward,” she says.

To Alvarez, the late nights poring over homework assignments after work are worth it—her dreams are becoming tangible, whether she makes her footwear business a reality, or applies her skills in the aviation industry. “This university understands who we are, our purpose to move forward. That’s why they give us flexibility,” she says, adding, “I’m confident that at some point I’m going to reach my goal.”

Five-Minute Feature: Cherrelle Hall, Assistant to the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing

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Get to know the Empire State University community through this rapid-fire interview series that bridges professional accomplishments and personal interests. What makes Empire State University exceptional? The unique people behind the work. Five minutes—starting now!

What led you to your career path?

My path into higher education wasn’t planned, but it turned out to be exactly where I was meant to be. I’ve been fortunate to gain broad, meaningful experience across the field, and I’m proud of the impact I’ve been able to make in every role I’ve held.

What is your favorite thing about SUNY Empire?

What I appreciate most about this organization is that every day brings a new opportunity to learn and grow.

What’s one moment in your career you’re especially proud of?

I’m especially proud of completing my Ed.D. It represents a significant personal and professional milestone, and the program has had a meaningful impact on my career journey in higher education.

What’s a habit you’re currently trying to build (or break)?

Reading for pleasure. Now that my studies are complete, I’m excited to get back to reading simply for enjoyment.

If you could relive one ordinary day, which would you choose?

If I could relive one ordinary day, I’d choose a day from my trip to Europe last summer. I visited France, Germany, and Belgium, and it was wonderful to take in the sights, enjoy the atmosphere, and be fully present in the moment.

Behind the Scenes with the B.S. in Biology

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The B.S. in Biology has experienced rapid growth in registration, enrollment, and faculty size since its launch in January 2025. The program includes at-home lab work for hands-on experience that is crucial to students looking to enter graduate schools and professions in the sciences, setting it apart from other online alternatives where students access labs virtually.

The faculty are active researchers who extend opportunities for students to get involved. Ahead, three of them share their experiences for a peek behind the curtain: Julie Parato, B.S. in Biology program director and assistant professor, Matt Schmidt, visiting assistant professor, and Kevin Woo, professor and chair of the Department of Natural Sciences. Parato joined Empire State University in 2020—at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schmidt has been with the university for 31 years, and Woo is nearing the 16-year mark.

What do you teach?

Parato: Mostly biology classes, with a focus on upper-level neuroscience courses because it’s my background.  

Schmidt: Most of us have a wide array of things we teach. For me, it’s genetics, evolution, and microbiology, among others.

Woo: I teach animal behavior, ecology, conservation, biology, evolution, and various courses in organismal and ecological-level biology. Occasionally, I’ll do things in environmental science like the Ecology and Earth Systems Field Research course.

What does a day in your life look like?

Parato: It’s a bit all over the place! When we teach, since we are an online university, the professors act as a facilitator. We give the students feedback while they are learning on their own time. I’m active in my field, so right now, a huge chunk of my time is spent trying to get some projects up and running that are supposed to start in March—which terrifyingly, is only next week.

Schmidt: Being one of the old-fashioned types, I spend about half of my teaching doing Teams meetings with students one-on-one or in small groups—just because that was the way it used to be before all the fancy technology.

Woo: I would say two thirds of what I do right now are dedicated to department chair work. The best part of it is thinking about investment in faculty. They come to me with questions about operations, scholarship, service, and it’s about finding ways to support faculty in various opportunities. I get a number of student queries, which we try to triage before they escalate. I act as a sort of go-between for student issues and assess whether they need the Dean’s attention. Then, there are a gazillion committees that the department chair needs to sit in on. When I get to teach, I primarily do independent studies and virtual study groups, and mentor as well.

How would you describe the program’s culture, and what makes it feel like a community?

Parato: The B.S. in Biology was the first structured program that Natural Sciences offered. When we were told we could begin to offer structured programs, biology seemed like a good choice because I was thinking about what our students would need to be successful in applying to graduate school and getting jobs. We made this program because we thought it would be more easily understood by the outside world.

In terms of making it feel like a community, it’s thanks to people like Matt and Kevin who run these independent studies and virtual study groups. Many of our courses have a discussion board component to them, and there’s a chunk of students who take those interactions very seriously. It’s nice to watch them start to make friends with each other. We build community that way.

Students also get to talk about labs with each other. They’re working with their hands, not only reading and studying—doing that laboratory component and talking about it also fosters a sense of community.

Schmidt: As far as community goes, I think all the different modalities go together. The faculty community is very strong, supportive, and friendly. I’ve had group meetings with students who are pursuing similar things, and I feel that they really appreciate it because while it’s great to be the master of your own destiny, it can potentially be isolating if you’re not interacting with anybody.

Woo: The B.S. in Biology has certainly been a long time coming, and it’s something we needed as a department and university. One of the main features is accessibility—SUNY Empire has a long history of distance learning in the online environment. The sciences used to be thought of as a service area for a long time. We had primarily only done general education courses. But we were hearing from students that they sincerely wanted careers in the sciences.

The biology program was the fastest-growing program during the 2025-2026 academic year. We’ve seen significant growth in the number of registrations—we had a growth of almost 12% across all our natural sciences courses. Our faculty has also grown 50% within the last two years, and I think that is a culmination of student interest and the desire to be professionals in the sciences. It’s encouraging locally and federally to see students seeking professional opportunities in STEM fields.  

Biology is often thought of as a very hands-on, lab-based discipline. How does the B.S. in Biology bring that dimension into online learning?

Parato: This is a real strength of the program. There are distance learning online biology programs that only offer virtual labs, but as an educator and researcher, it’s incredibly important that students learn how to actually do a laboratory experiment—how to set things up, how to troubleshoot.

Labs are heavily interspersed throughout the foundational classes, because that’s really where students have to learn what I call having a “lab-smart” sense—learning how to use their hands, figuring out written instructions and turning them into an actual experiment. This is important for students who go on to join a lab or a graduate program. The fact that we do this is a benefit to the students because it makes our degree transferable to graduate schools that aren’t looking for online-only laboratory experience.

There are biological supply companies, like Carolina, that we use for our lab kits. We work with Carolina to set up the supplies that students need into one kit, and then students can purchase it and have it sent to their home. Students complete the labs at their homes and document their work through pictures. Carolina has tutorial videos on how to set things up. We are also working on making some additional recordings to put into our courses. And, of course, we have excellent tutors who are always willing to work with students who have questions.

Woo: The ways we do the labs are evolving. We are trying to think outside the box about how else we can be helpful to students engaging with the laboratories so they can execute them from beginning to end.

What usually draws students to this program, and how is the department prepared to help them thrive?

Parato: We get a mix of students. Historically, our student population was thought to be students who were returning to school or adult learners. But in our biology program, we get students who have just left high school. Part of that may be that people got used to online learning during COVID, and they realize they can do an undergraduate degree online now. These are more traditional students who want to pursue a biology degree to go to graduate school.

We have people who have earned associate degrees at other schools and work in a more clinical field, but they are not able to progress in their career without a bachelor’s degree. SUNY Empire is good about taking transfer credit, but we also intentionally built the biology program to accommodate these students who have taken lower-level coursework at other institutions, and it feeds nicely into our program.

Sometimes we get students who want a change in their career—I have a student right now who has a master’s degree in a non-science field and is also a lover of paleontology. He’s a researcher at heart, but he needs to get a more foundational college degree in biology before he can move forward. We get a variety of students, and it’s excellent that we’re able to help such a diverse group of learners coming to our university.

Schmidt: I love that we’re seeing younger students enroll. Certainly, the pandemic was not a good thing, but I think in a strange way it gave some validity to online learning that people had not embraced before then.

Woo: Many of our faculty are engaged in active research, so students who are seeking graduate placement might want that kind of research experience, like conference presentations or publications. We are carving out these opportunities where students can work with faculty of the Department of Natural Sciences on research projects.

We are lucky to have been recently awarded a grant that supports student presentations at conferences, and that’s coordinated in conjunction with the Dean of Students, Melissa Aponte.

What is a resource you recommend to students or rely on as a faculty member?

Parato: PubMed is an excellent resource. It’s a search engine for biomedical articles—both review articles and experimental articles. It’s a resource that students can use even after they graduate if they are interested in reading more about a topic in biology, medicine, health science, and more.

Schmidt: While not strictly related to Biology, I like to have students browse Scientific American. There are many fascinating articles there.

Woo: We have been employing more open educational resources (OERs) to both significantly reduce the cost and increase accessibility of these tools within our courses. For Animal Behavior, we might use Behayve or ZooMonitor to conduct and record behavioral observations and automate data organization. For data, students and I would use Jamovi when conducting analyses relevant to experimental and observation projects.

What is your favorite part about being involved with the program?

Parato: Seeing students graduate. What makes me the happiest are those emails where they say: “Just checking in, but I’m on my way out. Thanks for everything.”

Also, echoing what we’ve already said, we talk a lot about our programs at department meetings and with each other. There’s such a synergy among the faculty—I think everyone is motivated to make sure this program is successful, and that our students can leave here with the opportunities that they want. In part, I think it’s because we are a great group.

Schmidt: Not unpredictably to those who know me, the best part for me is when I’m meeting one-on-one with a student. It’s not like, “here’s the professor, and here’s the student.” It’s more of a collaborative learning experience where two or three minds are exploring together.

That’s the reason I went into biology in the first place. Many times, a question they ask or an observation they make might lead me a bit deeper into my own thoughts, things that I might have left out, or things that I forgot about for a while. So, that moment of “wow, this really is important to understanding the world around me and my own life” that reverberates back and forth is very fulfilling to me.

Woo: I look forward to commencement. I think SUNY Empire has the best graduations of any institution I’ve ever been at. You get a sense of sincere appreciation and accomplishments from students who have worked so hard—students who have families taking care of children, taking care of elderly relatives, working two to three additional jobs. They’re doing all the work they need to do, and meeting expectations among all their personal commitments as well. When they arrive at the end, there is a grander sense of achievement.

Once they cross the stage, and they’re seeking professions in STEM, they’re the representatives and stewards of the university. They’re going out there with the SUNY Empire name, and we have to ensure that they are not only fulfilled by their time here, but that they can say to others that the university has a great B.S. in Biology program. I think that circular approach creates a sort of positive feedback loop. It’s not only great for the program itself, but also for the future of the sciences.

The Public Affairs Playlist: Meet Professor Nadine Wedderburn

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This excerpt is taken from “A Deep Dive With Nadine Wedderburn.” Read the full story.

Professor of Public Affairs and Policy Nadine Wedderburn joined Empire State University in 2010, witnessing the university’s transitions in the last sixteen years and delivering course material throughout it all. Wedderburn teaches in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences while simultaneously conducting research focused on the Caribbean, sociology, and criminal justice, among other topics. 

Wedderburn’s vibrant background populates the screen; a large map of the Caribbean displayed behind her head. Her braids drape neatly over her shoulder as she smiles.

Can you tell me about your hometown and upbringing?

Wedderburn: I was born in the parish of St. Ann in Jamaica of the West Indies in the Caribbean. My hometown is Salem, a small district. We refer to what the United States would call towns or villages as districts in Jamaica. It is a small fishing village. I live right by the sea, and that has also made a lifelong impression on who I am today.

I look forward to going home because it’s sort of a ritual for me. My mother is still there, so we go to the beach every morning to begin the day. Being from Jamaica, the country is known for tourism, and people go to the beach as part of their vacations. For me, it’s a little different. I like to commune with the fisher people on the beach, find out how things are going with them.

It’s also a remembrance of how my ancestors got to the island in the first place—knowing that people of African ancestry came to the island by way of the transatlantic slave trade, on ships. I always have thoughts of what that must have been like and how that has changed the landscape over time.

What were some of your early interests and passions?

Wedderburn: I’ve always loved to learn. I learned to play the piano at a very young age, so I developed a deep love for music early on. For me, music is more than the genre, it’s a language. I like to think that it’s also helped develop my critical and analytical mind.

I also developed a love for math early on. And perhaps, just interesting people. Growing up in Salem, I was constantly around people of all walks of life. From early on, I was always seeing people from other parts of the world coming to my little town. I’ve always been curious about what other people’s lives are like. I also love to read. I developed a rabid appetite for reading early on.

Let’s talk about your professional trajectory. What drew you to Empire State University, and what are some of the courses you teach?

I started a degree in mathematics at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. At the time, my father thought that getting a degree in math wasn’t promising professionally, so he encouraged me to look into engineering.

It took me to Rochester Institute of Technology, and I completed a degree there in civil engineering technology. For a number of years, I worked in construction management and then went back to school and did a master’s in engineering management at Florida Institute of Technology. I worked following that degree as well. Then, around the September 11 attacks, I was in Florida working in construction management, and we were laid off because the company was based in New York.

I started looking at a doctorate in urban planning because that’s what I really wanted to do to begin with. I had hopes of going back to Jamaica to get involved in land planning and urban development. At the time I entered Florida International University and started looking at the urban planning program, it wasn’t quite turning out to be what I wanted, so I moved into the public administration program, and I graduated with a Ph.D. in public affairs.

The common advice when you have a Ph.D. is to go into teaching. I took the advice about teaching quite seriously and started pursuing jobs in higher education.

I went to Latham—at the time—for my interview with SUNY Empire, got hired, and haven’t looked back since. I teach in the public affairs program. Some of my courses are Public Policy, Public Administration, and Social Welfare Policy.

I’ve also taught courses like Cultural Diversity Competence, Diversity in the Workplace, and more recently, I’ve been teaching Race, Crime, and Justice. And, of course, with my love of the Caribbean, if the need arises, I may also teach a course in Caribbean Studies. In higher education, the assumption is that you specialize in one area, but my life has been quite interdisciplinary, and I believe in bringing that to my teaching.

What topics does your research center on?

Wedderburn: My teaching informs my research, and I believe in keeping my teaching as current as possible. I find myself researching sociology, criminal justice, and politics a lot.

On a more direct level, I spend a lot of time looking at slavery archives in Jamaica, because my current research wants to get at the origins of education policy in Jamaica.

In a few days, you’re presenting “A Soundtrack for Liberation.” What can you share about this project?

Wedderburn: Thanks to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I received a grant to prepare this multimedia presentation. I had read Ruha Benjamin’s “Imagination: A Manifesto,” and it’s a powerful book to me. What it says is that imagination is liberating, yet many people’s ability to imagine, or their being granted permission to even imagine, has been restricted.

There is a sense that we think of imagination as this sort of illusory, magical thing, right? That, if all we’re going to do is sit and imagine all day long, we’re not going to get very far. But she points to the fact that everything begins with that—imagination—good and bad. Imagination is power.

And then, of course, I shared my love of music earlier. As a Jamaican, logically, I always fall back on Bob Marley. I thought, what if I put together a soundtrack for Ruha Benjamin’s book to make the presentation more engaging?

How do you encourage your students to think about their roles as future public administrators in creating change?

Wedderburn: I would like to think that my teaching inspires students to be changemakers. What I try to do is find real-life situations that match the curriculum and talk about that—whether in a reflection, paper, or discussion post—so they get to share and learn from each other in that way.

Beyond Bob Marley, what is on your personal soundtrack? What music inspires your work?

Wedderburn: My playlist is a mixture of classic reggae, up to the 1980s, then dancehall. I also love African music, what’s known as Afrobeats, which is sort of a misleading term. To me, all the music of the diaspora is Afrobeats, because how are you going to listen to salsa and not hear the drums in that? Where do you think that came from?

And finally, what is one thing you feel is important to share this Black History Month?

Wedderburn: Though we set aside a month to recognize the achievements and history, Black history is celebrated every month in many households across the country. Black people celebrate achievements every day; Black people’s history is ever-present with them. It’s important for others to recognize that fact, because this country’s successes and failures have a lot to do with how Black history is celebrated.

A Deep Dive with Nadine Wedderburn, Professor of Public Affairs and Policy

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Professor of Public Affairs and Policy Nadine Wedderburn joined Empire State University in 2010, witnessing the university’s transitions in the last sixteen years, and delivering course material throughout it all. Wedderburn teaches in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences while simultaneously conducting research focused on the Caribbean, sociology, and criminal justice, among other topics.  

Her vibrant background populates the screen; a large map of the Caribbean displayed behind her head. To the left, a dense collection of books—keywords like “caste” and “metaracism” are discernible from the computer camera’s vantage point—and in the right-hand corner, a colorful purple and green tapestry with a pattern. Her braids drape neatly over her shoulder as she smiles.

Can you tell me about your hometown and upbringing?

Wedderburn: I was born in the parish of St. Ann in Jamaica of the West Indies in the Caribbean. The parish of St. Ann is one of 14 parishes in the country—the island is divided into parishes based on colonial history. St. Ann, on the northern side of the island, is the third-largest parish. My hometown is Salem, a small district. We refer to what the United States would call towns or villages as districts in Jamaica.

Salem is where I grew up, where my parents raised me. My parents are from other parts of the island, but they made their home in Salem, off Runaway Bay in St. Ann—that has shaped my life. It is a small fishing village. I live right by the sea, and that has also made a lifelong impression on who I am today.

I look forward to going home because it’s sort of a ritual for me. My mother is still there, so we go to the beach every morning to begin the day. Then, I walk on the beach, do a few laps up and down getting some morning exercise. Being from Jamaica, the country is known for tourism, and people go to the beach as part of their vacations. For me, it’s a little different. I like to commune with the fisher people on the beach, find out how things are going with them.

It’s also a remembrance of how my ancestors got to the island in the first place—knowing that people of African ancestry came to the island by way of the transatlantic slave trade, on ships. I always have thoughts of what that must have been like and how that has changed the landscape over time.

What were some of your early interests and passions?

Wedderburn: I’ve always loved to learn. I learned to play the piano at a very young age, so I developed a deep love for music early on. For me, music is more than the genre, it’s a language. I like to think that it’s also helped develop my critical and analytical mind. There’s so much about music that’s mathematical.

I also developed a love for math early on. And perhaps, just interesting people. Growing up in Salem, I was constantly around people of all walks of life. From early on, I was always seeing people from other parts of the world coming to my little town. I’ve always been curious about what other people’s lives are like. I also love to read. I developed a rabid appetite for reading early on.

Do you have a favorite book? If so, what is it?

Wedderburn: I’ve had favorite books at different stages in my life. Right now, my favorite book is called “Homegoing.” It’s written by a Ghanaian-American woman, Yaa Gyasi. It’s my favorite right now because of the style of writing or structuring the book. It follows generations of Africans through two sisters’ lives and their family life cycles in alternating chapters. It’s fictional, but it’s based on historical facts.

When I was growing up, my favorite books were the “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories” by Carolyn Keene. It was a challenge, because it wasn’t easy to get those books in Jamaica at the time. I’d go to the library and find them, and then there were some missing ones … every now and again, if I had a relative that was coming from the U.S., they might bring me two books. We would also do exchanges with friends at school.  

[Wedderburn enthusiastically shares more titles, particularly the “Sweet Dreams” novel series. Her face lights up as she lists the books of her teenage years.]

Going back to your perspective as a native Jamaican—and this is a loaded question—is “ethical tourism” possible in Jamaica?

Wedderburn: In my mind, any activity that extracts resources from a place or people without any deliberate return or reciprocity—and by deliberate, I mean meaningful—cannot be ethical.

I would say the same for exploitation, if you’re going to take advantage of people without considering what their needs are in a fair and just manner. People say, “well, people are getting jobs, right?” Yes, but at what rate of pay? People are getting jobs, but there is no thought about how their families and children are being cared for.

I still see things like these happening in Jamaica, and they continue to happen at remarkable rates. I remember when hotels in Jamaica were probably no more than 100 rooms. Sprawling landscapes are what hotels are all about now—they take up all the beachside properties, with very little access for Jamaican people who live there. It remains to be seen what sorts of remedies we can put in place to address those issues.

Let’s talk about your professional trajectory. What drew you to Empire State University, and what are some of the courses you teach?

After finishing high school, I started university. Speaking to my love of math, I started a degree in mathematics at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. At the time, my father thought that getting a degree in math wasn’t promising professionally, so he encouraged me to look into engineering. He thought that had a promise of a more lucrative career upon graduating, so I did it.

It took me to Rochester Institute of Technology, and I completed a degree there in civil engineering technology. For a number of years, I worked in construction management and then went back to school and did a master’s in engineering management at Florida Institute of Technology. Around the September 11 attacks, I was in Florida working in construction management, and we were laid off because the company was based in New York. Everything in New York shut down for quite a while.

I thought, “I don’t know what I’m going to do—let me go back to school.” I started looking at a doctorate in urban planning because that’s what I really wanted to do to begin with. I had hopes of going back to Jamaica to get involved in land planning and urban development. At the time I entered Florida International University and started looking at the urban planning program, it wasn’t quite turning out to be what I wanted, so I moved into the public administration program, and I graduated with a Ph.D. in public affairs.

I went to Latham—at the time—for my interview with SUNY Empire, got hired, and haven’t looked back since. I teach in the public affairs program. Some of my courses are Public Policy, Public Administration, and Social Welfare Policy.

I’ve also taught courses like Cultural Diversity Competence, Diversity in the Workplace, and more recently, I’ve been teaching Race, Crime, and Justice. I teach the Public Administration Capstone. With my love of the Caribbean, if the need arises, I may also teach a course in Caribbean Studies. I’ve taught courses for Black women writers at a women’s and gender studies residency. Even courses like Diversity in the Workplace have been informed by my training in public administration. In higher education, the assumption is that you specialize in one area, but my life has been quite interdisciplinary, and I believe in bringing that to my teaching.

I enjoy teaching educational planning because I like seeing how students bring their own experiences to their learning to help them complete their degrees. Credit for Prior Learning has been an important part of my teaching journey.

What topics does your research center on?
Wedderburn: My teaching informs my research, and I believe in keeping my teaching as current as possible. I do a lot of research in order to teach. I find myself researching sociology, criminal justice, and politics a lot. I don’t claim to be a political researcher, but I read widely to stay current.

On a more direct level, I spend a lot of time looking at slavery archives in Jamaica, because my current research wants to get at the origins of education policy in Jamaica. In order to do so, I have to go back to pre-emancipation times, because what we call public education really started with how enslaved people were informed and made aware of their situation at the time, and their rights. A lot of that was controlled, as you can imagine. I’m interested in finding out how much enslaved people educated themselves in community, so that’s where my research engines are spent these days. The time before last that I was home, I went to the archives at the National Library of Jamaica to get some information.

How do you encourage your students to think about their roles as future public administrators in creating change?
Wedderburn: I would like to think that my teaching inspires students to be changemakers. In higher education, we constantly dance between the curriculum to be taught and what students want. Students come to us with their own ideas and questions about what the course can offer them.

What I try to do is find real-life situations that match the curriculum and talk about that—whether in a reflection, paper, or discussion post—so they get to share and learn from each other in that way. I challenge them with difficult questions, because it gets them to go a bit deeper than the surface.

In a few days, you’re presenting “A Soundtrack for Liberation.” What can you share about this project?

Wedderburn: Thanks to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I received a grant to prepare this multimedia presentation. I read Ruha Benjamin’s “Imagination: A Manifesto,” and it’s a powerful book to me. What it says is that imagination is liberating, yet many people’s ability to imagine, or their being granted permission to even imagine, has been restricted.

There is a sense that we think of imagination as this sort of illusory, magical thing, right? That, if all we’re going to do is sit and imagine all day long, we’re not going to get very far. But she points to the fact that everything begins with that—imagination—good and bad. Imagination is power.

I thought of making a presentation on that. I’m sure she’s not the first or only one to have brought this up, but Benjamin brings it into the current moment. She asks, how much do we encourage each other to imagine? So, teachers, how do you encourage students’ imagination and creativity while teaching? Even looking at the government—because as a public policy person, policies are not created in a vacuum. We can be more creative with our public policy if we’re going to truly serve all the people we intend to serve. What does that say for policy makers, elected officials, to be able to imagine newer and better things?

And then, of course, I shared my love of music earlier. As a Jamaican, logically, I always fall back on Bob Marley. I thought, what if I put together a soundtrack for Ruha Benjamin’s book to make the presentation more engaging?

It comes down to five songs interspersed with quotes from Benjamin’s book to encourage our community to imagine a new world, a better world, or at least begin to think of the power of imagination to make a better life for all of us. I’m looking forward to presenting it and hearing what people have to say.

Beyond Bob Marley, what is on your personal soundtrack? What music inspires your work?

Wedderburn: My playlist is a mixture of classic reggae, up to the 1980s, then dancehall. I like Tanya Stephens, Shaggy, Beres Hammond and Beenie Man. My dancehall taste probably falls off around the year 2000. I like R&B—love Mary J. Blige. I also love African music, what’s known as Afrobeats, which is sort of a misleading term. To me, all the music of the diaspora is Afrobeats, because how are you going to listen to salsa and not hear the drums in that? Where do you think that came from?

I like happy music, but music that is soulful—a lot of what we call “oldies,” artists like Otis Redding, Sam Cooke. I love jazz because of my love for piano music.

What’s one song you think everyone should listen to?
[Wedderburn laughs, bewildered at the prospect of choosing just one song. She decides to take some time to think and later sends an email with her selection: “Just Do You” by India.Arie.]

And finally, what is one thing you feel is important to share this Black History Month?
Wedderburn: Though we set aside a month to recognize the achievements and history, Black history is celebrated every month in many households across the country. Black people celebrate achievements every day; Black people’s history is ever-present with them. It’s important for others to recognize that fact, because this country’s successes and failures have a lot to do with how Black history is celebrated.

Dentist Goes Back to School to Learn the Business Side: Angélica Farfan on Finding the Spanish BBA

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Following her move from Mexico to the United States, Mexico City-trained dentist Angélica Farfan began to rebuild her career without a local dental credential. Fortunately, she discovered a door intended for her to walk through—a Spanish-language Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Empire State University.

Farfan experienced a harsh reality that many foreign professionals face when she relocated to the United States—credentialing barriers to employment and education. For many, studies completed outside the U.S. are not recognized upon entry to the country—often, they find themselves back at square one where their academic and professional careers are concerned.

Credential verifications pose barriers—they are not free of cost, incur translation expenses for those whose documents are not in English, and often involve long waits. For those with medical credentials, verifications are even more complex. However, not having them done has been known to land many highly skilled professionals who migrate to the U.S. in positions of underemployment. Without verification, years of specialized training can mean little in a new country, but not everyone can afford to undergo the verification process while going without a paycheck.

Farfan—who was top of her class in dentistry school and subsequently headed two private practices in Mexico City—ran into this roadblock. She had to figure out how to reframe her career.

Born and raised in Iztapalapa, a borough of Mexico City, Farfan felt called to the medical field at an early age. “I truly love my profession,” she says, noting that she decided to become a dentist at the young age of 13. “There were many obstacles in my way, but never anything that could stop me from pursuing my path,” she adds. Ever driven, she believes in making the most of the opportunities one has access to.

Her desire to contribute to the well-being of patients motivated her to pursue a degree in dentistry at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). By the time she finished the program, she had earned the Gabino Barreda Medal for the best GPA of her graduating class. At UNAM, she also studied orthodontics, though she was unable to formally specialize in it at the time due to financial barriers.

Eventually, Farfan and her family made the decision to move abroad to the U.S. “The first year, I dedicated myself to studying English so I could work,” she explains. It wasn’t until her second year in the country that she was employed as part of a team hired by dental clinics to provide orthodontic services. Still, Farfan couldn’t help but feel held back— “Since I don’t have a dentistry or orthodontics degree that counts here, I don’t earn what a credentialed orthodontist earns,” she points out.

In her journey to learn English, a language school advised Farfan to pursue her GED. The thought of it felt like backpedaling—she already had college credentials, so she was hesitant. “They said it would help with my English, so I enrolled in the classes … I wasn’t interested in the GED itself; my goal was something else,” she explains.

An avid reader, Farfan typically visited the library to borrow books twice a week. It was on one of these outings that she came across an advertisement in La Voz, which announced the launch of SUNY Empire’s Spanish BBA.

“I feel really proud of my language. I’d love to speak English at the same level I speak Spanish, but I haven’t managed to yet. When I saw the announcement for a bachelor’s degree entirely in Spanish, I said, “That’s me!” What did they ask for? The GED. I had it, so I started,” she says. Propelled by the encouragement of her husband and daughter, Farfan wasted no time in applying.

Embarking on this academic journey posed a pivot in Farfan’s career—one that she was glad to make. She approached this change with enthusiasm: “A lot of people have asked me why I’m studying business administration when I’m a dentist,” Farfan laughs, “Because I already know dentistry—I need to learn administration! I’m very excited about the opportunity to go back to school.”

The Spanish BBA was designed for learners like Farfan, who are in search of a door to empowerment and economic mobility that honors the preference to learn how they do best: in their native language. To the dentist, language matters. “I could have done it in English,” she asserts. “I’ve done many things in English. It’s never been a matter of language stopping me. What [this program] gives you is comfort—knowing that you understand word for word, and being able to clearly express what you think.”

Farfan has experienced the program thus far as a growth opportunity, learning to navigate online learning, finding motivation in challenging courses, and realizing that the concepts taught by her professors are as applicable to daily life as they are in the world of business. “It’s changing my perspective a lot,” she comments. Looking beyond, she recognizes how significant a program like this is on a larger scale: “Thank you for thinking of Latinos, so we can continue growing professionally,” she says.

Five-Minute Feature: Winnie Yu, Director of Communications for Advancement and Community Engagement

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Get to know the Empire State University community through this rapid-fire interview series that bridges professional accomplishments and personal interests. What makes Empire State University exceptional? The unique people behind the work. Five minutes—starting now!

What led you to your career path?

As a child, I always enjoyed reading and writing, and was especially fond of magazines. In second grade, my mom gave me money for the school bake sale, and I spent it on copies of YM, a magazine for young teenagers. So even though I always said I wanted to be a doctor, my actions suggested otherwise.

I wound up going to Syracuse University to study magazine journalism, and worked as a magazine editor, newspaper reporter, and freelance writer. When it was time to get a “real job,” I landed at the NYS Department of Health, then made the leap to higher ed by going to SUNY System Administration and in 2021, arrived here at SUNY Empire.

What is your favorite thing about SUNY Empire?

I love meeting and talking to our alumni! SUNY Empire has an incredible and growing pool of graduates who have taken their degrees and gone on to do great things, whether it’s in their careers or in their communities. Many of them have lived very interesting lives.

I’m thinking of Alborz Noorani ’16, who came to us after being banned from a college education in his native Iran for being of the Baha’i faith. He is now training to become a surgeon in Toronto. There’s also Edwin Gibson ’12, who overcame his stutter to become a prolific stage actor and member of the award-winning cast of “The Bear.” And Dora Cervantes ’18, ’19 and Julie Frietchen ’18, ’19, close friends who came to SUNY Empire together and have since achieved high level positions at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. I could go on and on.

Our alumni are wildly talented and are out there making an impact. Many also have very fond memories of their time at SUNY Empire and will reel off names of professors and mentors they had.

What’s one moment in your career you’re especially proud of?

I actually have two. One was early on when I was just out of college and working as an intern at The Wall Street Journal. I wrote a story about the challenges that Asian American managers face, and the story landed in the European and Asian editions. Back then, there was no Internet, so this was the equivalent of going viral!

The other special moment grew out of a book I wrote for the American Academy of Pediatrics called “Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Every Parent Needs to Know.” Though I collaborated with two pediatricians, I did all the research and writing, and I knew almost nothing about autism when I started. I was thrilled when the book won the 2013 Medical Book Award from the American Medical Writers Association, in the Public/Healthcare Consumers category.

Why is it important to share alumni and donor stories with the university community?

This is so important! Alumni and donor stories go hand in hand when it comes to demonstrating the impact and importance of what we do at SUNY Empire. Alumni stories showcase the accomplishments and talents of our graduates; donor stories demonstrate the impact of philanthropy on our students as they make their way to becoming alumni. Of course, many of our alumni are donors, who want to pay it forward by giving back.

Sharing these stories with our university community affirms that the work we do every day — no matter how seemingly insignificant — is making a huge difference in the lives of our students, as well as their families, communities, and chosen professions.

What’s a quote or saying that resonates with you?

Again, I have two. In college, I had a magazine professor named John Keats who told us that every story should be summed up in this way: “What in 10 words or less is all this nonsense about?” In other words, the essence of a story should always be easily summarized. It really applies to anything we write or present. His quote later became the title of a book about his thoughts on good writing, compiled posthumously by one of his students.

The other quote comes from Helen Keller: “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Her words speak to the power of collaborating. Whether it’s colleagues coming together on projects, neighbors uniting to protest something in their community, or friends and family working in harmony to face a challenge, there is always strength and power in numbers.

A Deep Dive With Doug Gruse, Chief Marketing Officer

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Doug Gruse spends his days overseeing marketing strategy for Empire State University. As chief marketing officer, he works with his team of 17 to create meaningful campaigns that resonate with potential students.

But for Gruse, the job goes beyond enrollment numbers. At the core of his passion for marketing is the desire to make the field a more honest and creative one—a philosophy that guides each decision the team makes. For the last three years, he has worked to make the university’s image embody its mission, centering the authenticity and uniqueness that characterize SUNY Empire learners.

In Saratoga Springs, Gruse sits at his office desk, almost in line with the far corner of the room. Behind him, windows flank his left and right, and in the space between them, next to his head, hangs an abnormally large clock shaped like a wristwatch. Whether it tells the time or is purely decorative is unknown. Gruse sports square-shaped tortoiseshell glasses, a plaid stone-gray suit jacket over a charcoal-colored shirt, and a two-tone grey bowtie.

Can you tell me about your hometown?

Gruse: I moved a few times. I was born in Indiana, and when I was in grade school, we moved to Louisiana—that’s what I would consider home. I have lived in seven different states. I attended middle school, high school, and college in Louisiana, but I’ve been in New York for 18 years now, which is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere.

Do you mind if I ask why you moved around so much?

Gruse: Maybe I have wanderlust. When I was a kid, we moved because my dad moved with his company and had good opportunities in Louisiana. It was very “fish out of the water” for us, but it was also cool. After that, I wanted to see different things.

I ended up moving to New Jersey when I met my husband. He’s from New Jersey and we were dating long-distance. I said, “Why not?” He subsequently moved to Louisiana for me. After we went through a couple of hurricanes together, we decided to go somewhere else. His criteria were that it couldn’t be 100 degrees every day, there couldn’t be hurricanes, and there couldn’t be animals that can kill you. So, New York was a pretty good fit. I moved here for a job; we’ve been here ever since and love it.

What was your upbringing like?

Gruse: When I really think about the heart of my family, my mom was from Northern Michigan—a little resort town—and her family had a restaurant there. In my childhood, we would go every summer and spend most of it with my grandparents. A lot of that centered on the restaurant.

I was in the kitchen helping my grandfather—it was probably more annoying than helpful, but it was exciting for me. My grandmother was a nurse. She would go to work all day, and then come back and still do work at the restaurant. We’d have our family meals there. It was such a big part of our identity that it’s what I think about when it comes to family.

[A day after his interview, Gruse sends a photo of his great-grandparents, Fremont “Mont” Withers and his wife, Zelma—the founders of “Mont’s” restaurant—white-aproned and leaning against the establishment’s entrance. It was taken sometime in the 1930s, Gruse says.]

When I was in kindergarten, my dad was a news reporter. There was a local zoo that he had featured in some stories, and a tiger at the zoo had a litter of cubs that she had rejected. The zoo director took one of the cubs in, somebody else took in another, and my family fostered the third one for six months. I named her Ginger, which was my favorite character on Gilligan’s Island, because in my head there was a point where she wore a tiger-striped dress. Somehow, in kindergarten it just made sense. I had the best show-and-tell experience of any kid.

Ginger grew fast. She was big by the time we had to give her up. It was really sad. After the foster period, my mom was contemplating keeping her, maybe building a large enclosure, but my dad said no.

Out of curiosity, how different was it from caring for a cat or a dog?

Gruse: It was similar to a cat. I’ve had cats and dogs, and we had a pet dog at the time who did not love having a tiger in the house, especially as the tiger grew and would kind of prey on her.

There was special food we had to feed her. It came in a can and was called ZuPreem—it’s very strange that I even remember that. It was like wet cat food, though at first, we were bottle feeding her. It didn’t feel that abnormal. She was very affectionate. Who could ask for more in kindergarten, right?

What were some of your early interests?

Gruse: I was always reading and making art. Those were my big things. I’m the youngest of three, and my middle brother and I shared a bedroom—we’re only a year and a half apart in age—and he was very good at convincing me of the things I should want for Christmas, which were really things that he wanted.

For example, Star Wars was a big part of our childhood, and I liked it, but wasn’t into the toys. Yet, that became a huge part of my Christmas list every year. At the same time, I would get lots of books and art supplies, so I was all set.

Let’s fast forward to college. If I’m not mistaken, I think you went to school for journalism.

Gruse: I did. I was in the journalism school at Louisiana State University, and my focus was in advertising.

Did you work as a journalist at some point?

Gruse: I did. It’s funny. My dad was a newspaper editor, and I spent a lot of time with him in his office. I swore I would never work for a newspaper. Then when I moved to Philadelphia, a job opened up at a newspaper and I thought, OK, I guess I’ll do that for a while. I ended up working in newspapers for 16 years and in fact moved up here following a job in journalism.

What was your beat?

Gruse: I covered arts and entertainment and features, and then ultimately became the online editor because I saw technology was changing. I thought I needed to embrace that, and it was a good opportunity for me to learn. Throughout my career, I call myself a slasher—not in the sense of Freddy Krueger, but I’ve had a lot of different jobs. I’ve found that I’m a writer slash editor, slash designer, slash marketer. The industry has changed so much, and I’ve jumped around.There’s so many different things that I’ve had to be, and I like that. I think that actually fits my personality really well. I get bored.

The nice thing about journalism—and I assume advertising, too—is that every day does look a little bit different.

Gruse: Well, especially marketing today. I mapped things out three years ago when I started at SUNY Empire, and we’ve evolved so much just by paying attention to what’s going on both in and outside of higher ed and thinking about how people are consuming information, how they’re connecting with culture, and then making sure that we’re meeting them where they are.

How do you think your journalism background informs your work as a marketer?

Gruse: Everything for me really is storytelling. Whether it’s doing visual art or working as a writer, I’ve always liked telling other people’s stories. And I think good marketing today focuses on that. It’s what our campaigns here at the university focus on. We’re telling our students’ stories and why we make sense for our students and letting them drive that narrative authentically. It’s so moving. It’s exciting. It never gets boring. I love talking to our students. I love hearing how we’ve changed their lives in ways that they never thought would be possible. That’s the great thing. I’ve always believed in higher ed. Knowing that higher education can be accessible to everyone at SUNY Empire and seeing that every day is very meaningful to me.

How do you define marketing and how is it an effective tool for the university?

Gruse: When I was in college, marketing was thought of as selling. It had this very manipulative, corporate feel. That was one thing I never loved about it. I always wanted something that was honest, and I think it’s evolved a lot because consumers are savvier. Marketers have had to realize they need to be authentic to optimize their messaging.

For me, marketing today is communication and matching people to the products and services that they would value. That’s the great thing about my job here—I feel good about the product that we’re marketing. It’s something I really believe in. We’re very honest in our messaging. We help the people who need us the most make a decision to get where they need to go for that next step in their lives.

SUNY Empire students vary widely in age. How do you tailor marketing campaigns to a multigenerational audience?

Gruse: I’ve done a lot of research on generations and how they differ. It’s important to think about the motivations of each one and how we connect with them through messaging, but also where they’re engaging. At the university, we have marketing tracks for undergrads that we call Gen. Z, and it’s basically 18- to 24-year-olds. Then we have what we call millennial-plus, and that focus is ages 25 to 45. Before, the university was marketing to 18- to 65-year-olds, and the messaging and delivery were exactly the same. So, we’ve really thought about what that 20-year-old needs to hear from us and what that 35-year-old needs to hear from us.

In the How You Do University campaign, we’re telling student stories, but we’re connecting students to similar students so they can see themselves and be inspired by people who are very similar to them. I think there’s a lot of meaning in that … we have students entering at different phases of life, so their stories are all different. How do we connect them? How do we tell that story in a way that feels individualized, but also cohesive? That’s where I think understanding the generations is very important.

What have previous experiences taught you about what makes a good team?

Gruse: When I think about what I value in a team, it’s seeing everyone’s perspective and bringing it all together. I’ve tried to build a team that’s diverse. I want them to really understand our students, which are themselves very diverse and eclectic. I want each of them to have an authentic voice.

We have a brand, and we have to adhere to brand standards, certainly, but I want to know how everyone on the team fits within that brand. I want us to always try to push boundaries a bit, and sometimes you have to rein it in. However, for creatives, it’s important that work doesn’t become routine and that they feel like there’s an opportunity to grow. I always try to encourage that.

Everyone has the thing that they’re good at. The way they see the world is unique. Even if there are just slight differences in people’s life paths, it reflects in perspective. It’s good to play to the strengths of each individual.

We have one last question for you, and it’s kind of a silly one. We’ve noticed that you’re always wearing a bow tie. Why?

Gruse: One of my Boomer bosses had a policy that proper men wore ties to work if they wanted to be respected. I thought it was ridiculous. I went and bought ties, and they drove me crazy because they’re long. I’d catch them in the car door or my desk drawer. I thought, why do I have this weird fabric just hanging here from my neck? It seemed so weird, especially for work. So I thought, I’m going to wear that tie that you’re demanding, but I’m going to wear a bow tie. Having come from the South, bow ties are sort of proper culture. So it was a little bit of sticking it to the man to wear one. And there’s a little bit of irony to it. I just think it’s kind of funny. So how do you be professional but still add a little humor? That’s why I like wearing bow ties. And now it’s become such a thing that if I’m not wearing one, people comment on it. It’s a little bit of snark as to why I wear a bow tie, but also now I really do love them.

[With a smile, he says he probably owns at least 60 bow ties. Later, after counting them, he reveals that he owns 96.]

What do you look for in a bow tie?

Gruse: So, it has to be one that I can tie myself; pretied bow ties are a no. I’m holding on to this principle. So that would be the first thing. And second, I like patterns. That’s important to me, and I want them to be playful in some way, ideally. And I really like to mix and match patterns in general. So, like a plaid jacket, a funky bow tie, a striped shirt.  I think it’s funny. You’ve got to have a quirk, right?

Chief Marketing Officer Doug Gruse Talks Creativity Culture

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This excerpt is taken from “A Deep Dive With Doug Gruse.” Read the full story.

Doug Gruse spends his days overseeing marketing strategy for Empire State University. As chief marketing officer, he works with his team of 17 to create meaningful campaigns that resonate with potential students.

But for Gruse, the job goes beyond enrollment numbers. At the core of his passion for marketing is the desire to make the field a more honest and creative one—a philosophy that guides each decision the team makes. For the last three years, he has worked to make the university’s image embody its mission, centering the authenticity and uniqueness that characterize SUNY Empire learners.

In Saratoga Springs, Gruse sits at his office desk, almost in line with the far corner of the room. He sports square-shaped tortoiseshell glasses, a plaid stone-gray suit jacket over a charcoal-colored shirt, and a two-tone grey bowtie.

What was your upbringing like?

Gruse: When I really think about the heart of my family, my mom was from Northern Michigan—a little resort town—and her family had a restaurant there. In my childhood, we would go every summer and spend most of it with my grandparents. A lot of that centered on the restaurant.

I was in the kitchen helping my grandfather—it was probably more annoying than helpful, but it was exciting for me. My grandmother was a nurse. She would go to work all day, and then come back and still do work at the restaurant. We’d have our family meals there. It was such a big part of our identity that it’s what I think about when it comes to family.

When I was in kindergarten, my dad was a news reporter. There was a local zoo that he had featured in some stories, and a tiger at the zoo had a litter of cubs that she had rejected. The zoo director took one of the cubs in, somebody else took in another, and my family fostered the third one for six months. I named her Ginger, which was my favorite character on Gilligan’s Island, because in my head there was a point where she wore a tiger-striped dress. Somehow, in kindergarten it just made sense. I had the best show-and-tell experience of any kid.

Ginger grew fast. She was big by the time we had to give her up. It was really sad. After the foster period, my mom was contemplating keeping her, maybe building a large enclosure, but my dad said no.

Let’s fast forward to college. If I’m not mistaken, I think you went to school for journalism.

Gruse: I did. I was in the journalism school at Louisiana State University, and my focus was in advertising.

Did you work as a journalist at some point?

Gruse: Yes. It’s funny. My dad was a newspaper editor, and I spent a lot of time with him in his office. I swore I would never work for a newspaper. Then when I moved to Philadelphia, a job opened up at a newspaper and I thought, OK, I guess I’ll do that for a while. I ended up working in newspapers for 16 years and in fact moved up here following a job in journalism.

What was your beat?

Gruse: I covered arts and entertainment and features, and then ultimately became the online editor because I saw technology was changing. Throughout my career, I call myself a slasher—not in the sense of Freddy Krueger, but I’ve had a lot of different jobs. I’ve found that I’m a writer slash editor, slash designer, slash marketer. The industry has changed so much, and I’ve jumped around.There’s so many different things that I’ve had to be, and I like that. I think that actually fits my personality really well. I get bored.

How do you think your journalism background informs your work as a marketer?
Gruse: Everything for me really is storytelling. Whether it’s doing visual art or working as a writer, I’ve always liked telling other people’s stories. And I think good marketing today focuses on that. It’s what our campaigns here at the university focus on. We’re telling our students’ stories and why we make sense for our students and letting them drive that narrative authentically. It’s so moving. It’s exciting. It never gets boring. I love talking to our students. I love hearing how we’ve changed their lives in ways that they never thought would be possible. That’s the great thing. I’ve always believed in higher ed. Knowing that higher education can be accessible to everyone at SUNY Empire and seeing that every day is very meaningful to me.

How do you define marketing and how is it an effective tool for the university?

Gruse: When I was in college, marketing was thought of as selling. It had this very manipulative, corporate feel. That was one thing I never loved about it. I always wanted something that was honest, and I think it’s evolved a lot because consumers are savvier. Marketers have had to realize they need to be authentic to optimize their messaging.

For me, marketing today is communication and matching people to the products and services that they would value. That’s the great thing about my job here—I feel good about the product that we’re marketing. It’s something I really believe in. We’re very honest in our messaging. We help the people who need us the most make a decision to get where they need to go for that next step in their lives.

What have previous experiences taught you about what makes a good team?

Gruse: When I think about what I value in a team, it’s seeing everyone’s perspective and bringing it all together. I’ve tried to build a team that’s diverse. I want them to really understand our students, which are themselves very diverse and eclectic. I want each of them to have an authentic voice.

We have a brand, and we have to adhere to brand standards, certainly, but I want to know how everyone on the team fits within that brand. I want us to always try to push boundaries a bit, and sometimes you have to rein it in. However, for creatives, it’s important that work doesn’t become routine and that they feel like there’s an opportunity to grow. I always try to encourage that.

We have one last question for you, and it’s kind of a silly one. We’ve noticed that you’re always wearing a bow tie. Why?

Gruse: One of my bosses had a policy that proper men wore ties to work if they wanted to be respected. I thought it was ridiculous. I went and bought ties, and they drove me crazy because they’re long. I’d catch them in the car door or my desk drawer. I thought, why do I have this weird fabric just hanging here from my neck? It seemed so weird, especially for work. So I thought, I’m going to wear that tie that you’re demanding, but I’m going to wear a bow tie. Having come from the South, bow ties are sort of proper culture. So it was a little bit of sticking it to the man to wear one. And there’s a little bit of irony to it.

What do you look for in a bow tie?

Gruse: So, it has to be one that I can tie myself; pretied bow ties are a no. So that would be the first thing. And second, I like patterns. That’s important to me, and I want them to be playful in some way, ideally. And I really like to mix and match patterns in general. So, like a plaid jacket, a funky bow tie, a striped shirt.  I think it’s funny. You’ve got to have a quirk, right?

Five-Minute Feature: Katie Meyers, Office Assistant for Accounting Services

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Get to know the Empire State University community through this rapid-fire interview series that bridges professional accomplishments and personal interests. What makes Empire State University exceptional? The unique people behind the work. Five minutes—starting now!

What led you to your career path?

I started my college journey in nursing, but balancing full time work and single motherhood at that time, the course load became too demanding, and I stepped away for a bit. When I returned, I knew I wanted to move into a professional office role, so I enrolled in the Business Administration A.A.S. program.

Two required accounting courses completely changed my direction. I realized how much I enjoyed working with numbers, solving discrepancies, and making everything balance. That experience led me to pursue my B.S. in Accounting at SUNY Empire.

During my final year, I worked as a student assistant in the Accounting Services department, and shortly after graduating, I was offered a full time role in the same office. I’m still early in my career, but I’ve found a place where I feel supported, challenged, and excited to grow for years to come.

What is your favorite thing about SUNY Empire?

How accessible it is to so many people. The university’s ability to support students and help them achieve their goals through an online learning platform is truly a gift for those with busy lives, unique circumstances, or non-traditional schedules. I feel honored to be part of an institution that is committed to making education attainable for everyone—no matter where they live, how old they are, or what stage of life they’re in.

What’s one moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?

We’ve been working on improving the travel pre-approval process to make it more user-friendly. As part of that project, I was asked to develop a way to automatically send travel vouchers directly to travelers’ email accounts. I was proud to find a solution using Microsoft Excel that now allows us to send vouchers automatically. It was exciting to contribute to a smoother, more efficient experience for our travelers.

What fictional character resonates with you the most?

Wonder Woman resonates with me because she is a strong woman who knows she can take on anything, yet she still leads with compassion. I became strong because, at one point in my life, strength was the only option I had—and over time, it became part of who I am. Like her, I believe I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. At the same time, I have a big heart that helps me see things from other people’s perspectives, and that balance of strength and empathy is something I really connect with.

What’s something that always makes you feel grounded?

My family. I am a mother to a total of six children (four biological and two bonus) and a wife. Whenever I need a moment to remember what my life is truly about, I turn to them. Sometimes it’s a bear hug from my husband or cuddles from my boys, and other times it’s simply standing back and watching them play. I love my family—they definitely keep me on my toes, but they are also my whole world.