The Lubin Link Podcast

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Ashia Thompson '18 details why the Lubin School of Business was the perfect fit for graduate school, what it was like working at two of the biggest accounting firms in the world, and why she decided to leave a Big Four to start her own successful firm.

This episode was recorded on December 1, 2022

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Tune into the Lubin Link podcast to hear how guests went from go-getting Lubin students to successful entrepreneurs, social media mavens, directors, CEOs, and beyond. They offer their best tips to students and share how you can make the most out of your #LubinLife.

After graduating from Queens College with a Bachelor’s Degree in history, Vito Arango decided to pursue a paralegal certificate and explore a career in the law. Vito spent over three years working as a legal secretary/paralegal before deciding it was time to pursue law school. “I am very much happy with my decision to attend law school and specifically Haub Law. I have always very much been a team player, so finding those values at a law school as important to me. In my time here I have been very much blown away by the dedication and effort that my colleagues put forward and the sense of community surrounding the professors, staff, and classmates.”

During his time at Haub Law, Vito found a passion for employment and labor law. In his 2L year, he participated in the Legal Services Externship and this past summer he worked as an intern for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, General Counsel-Employment Unit. Vito noted, “This summer, my focus was employment law through the context of the government/administrative body. I found it very interesting and was able to learn a lot from a different perspective.”

Now, as a 3L, Vito is enrolled in the Equal Justice America-Disability Rights Clinic. He is also serving as the productions editor for the Pace International Law Review and as a 3L representative for the Public Interest Law Student Organization. After law school, Vito hopes to continue his passion for employment and labor law and gain employment in a non-profit or government agency. “There is an innate sense of fairness within the areas of employment and labor law and that goes along with the importance I put on being a team player and having a sense of community. I look forward to bringing this perspective into my future career as an attorney.”

A first-generation US Citizen, Pamela Guerrero entered law school with a passion for social justice and immigration law. Throughout law school, she followed that passion by participating in Haub Law’s Access to Justice Seminar, the Access to Justice Lab, and the Immigration Justice Clinic. As a 3L, Pamela was awarded a prestigious Immigrant Justice Corps Fellowship post-graduation. Today, she is following her dreams as she works with the Refugee & Immigrant Program of The Advocates for Human Rights.

“I am a first-gen US citizen from Dominican parents who originally moved to Washington Heights, Bronx, New York, but then settled in Westchester. I came to law school because I learned of many socioeconomic inequities in the US while attending undergraduate school and wanted to be in an advocacy position to be able to address these issues. I was especially concerned with the immigration system in this country and wanted to become an immigration lawyer to provide newly arrived children and adolescents with the protection they need to thrive in the US. Geographically, Haub Law was the perfect place for me and academically I was impressed with the variety of diverse learning opportunities. The Immigration Justice Clinic and both the Access to Justice Seminar and Access to Justice Lab at Haub Law were integral in fostering my passion for immigration law and social justice.”

Pamela was an inaugural student participant in the curricular components of the Pace Access to Justice Project (Pace A2J), which is housed and coordinated within Haub Law’s Public Interest Law Center. Pace A2J serves as a hub for community collaborations, programs, scholarship, policy initiatives, and hands-on innovative academic and non-credit bearing experiential law student and alumni opportunities. The A2J Seminar provides students with an opportunity to hone in on their critical thinking, research, writing, and editing skills required for legal practice – all as related to an access to justice/social justice issue of the student’s choice. Whereas, the A2J Lab provides law and computer science and design students an opportunity to collaborate on a social justice/access to justice concerns and provide a real life solution to these issues. Pace A2J is designed to more actively engage students in learning about and contributing to real-world efforts to address the access to justice gap and Pamela feels that it does just that. “Participating in both the Access to Justice Seminar and Access to Justice Lab improved my educational experience, because it gave me a way to tangibly utilize the law for the general betterment of society,” said Pamela. “A lot of academic work in law school is very theoretical, which creates a disconnect between what is being taught and actual legal problems that exist outside of the academic setting. Both the A2J Seminar and A2J Lab bridged that gap by having participants use the law to create an application that could potentially be used by actual people in the future, having a tangible benefit to them.”

“A lot of academic work in law school is very theoretical, which creates a disconnect between what is being taught and actual legal problems that exist outside of the academic setting. Both the A2J Seminar and A2J Lab bridged that gap by having participants use the law to create an application that could potentially be used by actual people in the future, having a tangible benefit to them.”

In addition to the hands-on educational experience that Pamela feels Pace A2J provided, she notes that the interdisciplinary Lab, where students designed a tool to address low-income tenant habitability rights, was a notable curricular innovation. The Lab was co-taught by Professor Elyse Diamond at Haub Law and Andreea Cotoranu, Clinical Professor and Director of the NYC Design Factory in Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Pamela notes, “I learned from collaborating with computer science and design students from Seidenberg students that it's not enough to simply have an idea . . . it is also important to address possible limitations such as tech limitations. It was extremely valuable to have varying expertise and perspectives throughout the Lab and I feel we came up with a better end result because of this.”

Pamela remains committed to social justice issues today and credits Pace A2J with cementing that commitment. “My participation in the Access to Justice Seminar and Access to Justice Lab reconfirmed my commitment to interdisciplinary social justice work by reminding me that many social issues are interconnected. Housing problems are very relevant to my current position as an IJC Fellow, because a lot of court notification is reliant on if a client has a stable address and a lot of client's worry about housing first before anything related to immigration work. Addressing injustice in housing is a huge step in immigration work since it gives clients a chance to thrive in a stable environment as they prepare for their ongoing immigration case.”

The need for nurses is greater than ever. In these historic times, nurses are still the most trusted profession. With a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Pace’s College of Health Professions, you will make a difference in your life and the patients and families you serve.

"You have to find that passion every day," says College of Health Professions alumna Tyra Prophete, RN. "I always knew I wanted to advocate for people."

If you’re interested in supporting Provisions, here's how you can help. Start a food-drive in your department, faculty/staff councils, student organization, sorority or fraternity. The following is a wish list that will complement our larder. We ask that:

• Donations be in the form of cases
• To minimize waste, we discourage individual serve packages, wherever possible
• Gift cards from Trader Joe’s and/or Whole Foods is another option
• Check or money order payable to: Provisions—Office of Multicultural Affairs

Canned Fruit

• Peaches
• Pineapple
• Mandarin Orange Slices
• Mango Slices

Canned Vegetables

• Carrots
• Corn
• Diced Tomatoes
• Green Beans
• Sweet Peas

Canned Seafood

• Pink Salmon
• Sardines
• Tuna Fish

Canned Meat

• Corned Beef
• Spam
• Vienna Sausages

Canned Beans

• Baked Beans (non-vegetarian)
• Baked Beans (vegetarian)
• Black Beans
• Gandules/Pigeon Peas
• Garbanzos / Chick-Peas
• Kidney Beans
• Pinto Beans

Dried Beans/Legumes

• Pinto Beans
• Red Lentils
• Yellow Lentils
• Brown Lentils Green Spit Peas
• Black Beans
• Kidney Beans

Nuts

• Peanut Butter

Non-Dairy Milk

• Oat Milk
• Soy
• Coconut Milk

Fruit Juice (32oz.)

• Apple
• Cranberry
• Grape
• Mango
• Passion Fruit

Pasta/Rice/Whole Grains

• Assorted Pasta (Semolina)
• Assorted Pasta (Whole Wheat)
• Brown Rice
• Couscous
• Mac’n’Cheese
• Quinoa
• White Rice
• Wild Rice Blend

Cereal

• Bran Flakes
• Corn Flakes
• Oatmeal
• Raisin Bran

Oils/Vinegars

• Canola Oil
• Distilled Vinegar
• Coconut Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Grapeseed Oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar

Condiments/Spices

• Kosher/Sea Salt
• Mustard
• Rosemary
• Black Pepper
• Mayonnaise
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Ketchup
• Garlic Powder
• Curry Powder
• Oregano
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Parsley
• Sazon
• Adobo
• Tomato Sauce
• Tomato Paste
• Agave
• Sugar
• Honey

Pasta Sauce

• Marinara
• Tomato with Cheese

Soup/Gravy

• Assorted Beef-based Soup
• Assorted Vegetable
• Hearty/Chunky Beef-based Soup
• Beef Ramen Soup
• Chicken Gravy
• Chicken Ramen
• Chicken Noodle
• Cream of Mushroom
• Tomato
• Hearty/Chunky Chicken-based Soup
• Shrimp Ramen Soup (Individual)

Donations may be dropped off/mailed to:

Pace University
Office of Multicultural Affairs
41 Park Row, Room 910
New York, NY 10038

For further information, contact Denise Belen Santiago, PhD, at (212) 346-1546 or dsantiago@pace.edu.

Across the country, nearly 40 percent of college students report going hungry, and 52 percent have utilized food pantry services at some point. At Pace, we’re working hard to help offset food insecurity on our campuses and we need your help to do it!

Whether you’re staff or faculty or a student at Pace, your support is critical to ensuring that our classmates, colleagues, and friends stay well-fed and don’t have to make the choice between tuition/rent/gas/utilities/heath care and going hungry.

Here’s how YOU can help:

New York City Campus

Donate to Provisions

Provisions, a Bhandari Jain Family Food Pantry, is open to all students, staff, and faculty, regardless of full-time/part-time status. Any member of our community that is experiencing food insecurity is welcome at Provisions during open hours. All guests will receive a one-week disbursement of non-perishable foods—and based on availability, fresh produce. See the list of most-wanted donatable items and how to donate them. Can’t donate food? Donate your time. Provisions always needs help shopping, bagging, stocking shelves, and identifying expiring foods.

Donate to Fare Trade

Fare Trade is a student-run mutual aid program designed to alleviate food insecurity on Pace’s NYC Campus. The program partners with Provisions, Chartwells, and Auxiliary Services to provide funds to food-insecure students. Students are encouraged to reallocate their dining dollars to the mutual aid fund by requesting a "Fare Trade" at the cash registers in the cafeteria. 1 Fare Trade is fifty cents and up to ten reallocations ($5.00) can be accepted per purchase. Learn more about how Fare Trade works and how you can donate. Looking for resources outside of Pace? The Fare Trade team has put together a list of city resources you may be eligible for if you are food insecure.

Donate to the Community Fridge

Chartwells, Pace’s food service provider, has placed a community refrigerator inside the Setters Lounge for donation and use by the Pace Community. Though it’s restocked regularly with items from the cafe, a little extra help from the community is always appreciated. If you’re planning to leave food for the community, be sure to label your items with dates, contents, and allergy warnings. We encourage you to leave fresh fruits and vegetables, pre-packaged sealed and unopened food; and dairy, bread, and eggs with clear expiration dates. Please, no leftovers, no homemade meals, no unsealed pre-packaged food, no expired food.

Westchester Campus

Donate to the Mobile Food Pantry

The Pleasantville Campus’ Mobile Food Pantry has been feeding the Westchester community since 2018. The pantry itself is the product of an award-winning partnership with the nonprofit Feeding Westchester. Feeding Westchester covers food costs, and Pace staff and students volunteer their time to ensure that the 100 or so people who utilize the pantry once a month can have access to nutritious food. While the Mobile Food Pantry is not accepting food donations right now (they have partnerships with local grocery stores), they do need donations of time—reach out to Wen Xi for information about how to volunteer.

Donate to the Community Fridge

Chartwells, Pace’s food service provider, has placed a community refrigerator right inside the main dining hall for donation and use by the Pace Community. Though it’s restocked regularly with items from the cafe, a little extra help from the community is always appreciated. If you’re planning to leave food for the community, be sure to label your items with dates, contents, and allergy warnings. We encourage you to leave fresh fruits and vegetables, pre-packaged sealed and unopened food; and dairy, bread, and eggs with clear expiration dates. Please, no leftovers, no homemade meals, no unsealed pre-packaged food, no expired food.

For more information about how to help or how to get help, contact Denise Belen Santiago, PhD, on the NYC Campus at dsantiago@pace.edu or Wen Xi on the Westchester Campus at wxi@pace.edu.