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Three Sisters Get College Start at SUNY Ulster

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The Hart sisters stand with arms around each other

While they have different career plans, sisters Jacquelyn, Chelsea and Brooke Hart from New Paltz agree on the value of starting their education at SUNY Ulster.

With three attending college at the same time and being raised by a single mother who is a veteran and works for the New Paltz Police Department, SUNY Ulster’s low tuition was a key factor in their decision.

But they each also chose SUNY Ulster for its quality education, campus activities, connections and transfer opportunities.

“I chose SUNY Ulster because it is affordable while offering a great educational opportunity,” said the oldest sister Jacquelyn, who will graduate this year.

Jacquelyn, who also works at the College’s Learning Center, plans on transferring to SUNY Buffalo or SUNY New Paltz to study communications and journalism.

The second sister, Chelsea, is pursuing Environmental Studies with plans to go to SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse after earning her associate’s here in May 2016.

“SUNY Ulster was the best idea for me because it is more affordable and studying here will give me a stronger foundation in my studies before transferring to a four-year college,” Chelsea said.

Both Jacquelyn and Chelsea have been active in SUNY Ulster’s Chess Club, serving as treasurer and secretary, respectively.

The youngest, Brooke, is following his sisters’ paths. She will enroll in the fall after graduating from New Paltz High School with similar career aspirations as Chelsea to better the environment.

“I am choosing SUNY Ulster because it offers a wide variety of opportunities to its students in terms of professional connections and extracurricular activities, and it is very affordable,” said Brooke, who wants to become an environmental engineer.

Having all the sisters on campus on the same time will be enjoyable for this close-knit family who is going places. “It will be fun to share the college experience with both of my sisters while also being there to support each of them through the process,” Chelsea said.

 

 

Alumna Got her STEM Start at SUNY Ulster

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Alethea Shuman stands next to lamp

Alethea Shuman ‘2010, Drafting and Design,
Phi Theta Kappa

Close relationships with her professors kept Alethea (Schaeffer) Shuman coming back to SUNY Ulster – even after she transferred to RPI.

Starting when the Stone Ridge resident took classes during high school to when she graduated with a drafting and design associate’s degree with distinction in 2010, Alethea has had a special connection with the faculty here that she hasn’t experienced at other colleges.

“I had such a good experience at SUNY Ulster,” she says. “I really connected with the professors and they prepared me for RPI. I didn’t make as close of connections anywhere else.”

After earning a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2013, Alethea landed her first full-time job in the field at Selux, a design and innovative leader in the development of high-end architectural lighting systems in Highland.

Starting as a design engineer, she was promoted to engineering lead and now manages a team of drafters, design and manufacturing engineers tasked with developing and pricing custom products for customers’ unique needs.

While working full-time at Selux, she also is pursuing her master’s in engineering management online at Clarkson University.

Over the years, Alethea has returned to SUNY Ulster to take classes because of the “amazing professors,” crediting Drafting Professor Sal Ligotino for giving her the drafting background she needed to succeed at RPI and Math Professor Jules Albertini for the strong math basis for engineering.

As a woman working in the expanding STEM field, Alethea offers this advice: “Females shouldn’t be intimidated. There are challenges but nothing that can’t be overcome and it’s worth it.”

Three Ways to Experience the World

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Students in a boat on the Amazon river

Experiencing the world and connecting with other students from around the globe is easier than ever for SUNY Ulster students. It doesn’t have to be costly or out of reach. Here are three ways to make a difference in your education and life:

Academic Travel – International and Domestic – With group rates, knowledgeable instructors and special arrangements that take students to places you wouldn’t normally see, you’ll experience the world and other cultures in a different travel than ever before.

Our students have gone to the Brazilian Amazon, France, Italy and Mexico and other exciting

Design students invade London>
Design students invade London.

destinations over summer and winter breaks; have earned credits and resume experience for transferring; and made lifetime memories. Domestically, theater students travel to the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, and more. Our trips also are open to community members so you’ll meet interesting people right from our area.

Theatre students in Louisville for the Humana Festival.
Theatre students in Louisville for the Humana Festival.

Scholarships are available for academic travel, and peer-funding through Project Travel can make domestic and international educational travel programs more accessible.

Online International Learning – Enroll in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course at SUNY Ulster. These programs use Internet-based tools like Skype and Moodle to connect with students from other institutions around the globe, without ever leaving campus.

This spring, a new collaborative class in genetics will be offered in collaboration with an institution in

SUNY Ulster business students Skype with business students in São Paulo, Brazil.
SUNY Ulster business students Skype with business students in São Paulo, Brazil.

Mexico. Through a grant, funded by Santander Bank, a student ambassador from SUNY Ulster also will have the opportunity to visit the partner class and institution during collaborative course activities. Our students have participated in COIL classes with institutions in Beirut, Lebanon; Bologna, Italy and São Paulo, Brazil.

To find out more about expanding your horizons, contact Chris Seubert, Program Coordinator of Academic Travel, (845) 687-5134, seubertc@sunyulster.edu or Richard Cattabiani, Director of International Programs, (845) 687-5135, cattabir@sunyulster.edu.

14 Reasons Why SUNY Ulster is Awesome

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Happy SUNY Ulster students on bleachers

 

  1. You have time to find yourself and what you really want.
  2. Team spirit-we have athletics too. 
  3. Dorm Life is not that awesome, or cheap. 
  4. You can make a difference instantly. Get involved in a better campus life right away by participating in a club or student government, going on a leadership retreat, tutoring fellow students, or joining the math team. Advisors can also link you up with community programs to be involved with. 
  5. Massive student debt doesn’t have to be part of your future. Over $180,000 in scholarships are awarded each year to incoming, returning and transferring students.
  6. Flexible schedules are awesome.
  7. You can actually get to know your professors.
  8. Start Here – Go Far. Our transfer office will customize a plan so you can transfer to almost any four-year college or university you want. Our students often transfer to some of the top universities in the nation. Use your community college experience to take you where you want to be. Add an internship while attend SUNY Ulster to boost your resume.
  9. In High School? Start Now Towards College Success. Programs with credits for high school students let you get a head start on a degree.
  10. Make friends for life.
  11. Nationally Recognized as Military Friendly. SUNY Ulster is ranked among the most military-friendly schools in the nation.
  12. Career Programs -Getting You Right to Work. Career programs such as Vet Tech, Criminal Justice, Drafting, Surveying and Entrepreneurship make you job-ready in just two years.
  13. An International Community College. SUNY Ulster has a permanent research facility on the Amazon where you can go during Winter*net or Summer Session to study Tropical Field Ecology. Can’t afford to study abroad? SUNY Ulster has classes that partner with classes in other countries such as Brazil and Lebanon via technology.
  14. Internships Available Now. You don’t have to wait umtil your junior year to do an internship. SUNY Ulster students have interned at lots of resume-building institutions including MTV, the Museum of Natural History and Disney.