As Hillary Clinton’s executive assistant, Opal Vadhan is living the dream she started building at Pace: She’s making an impact.

Sometimes you meet a person and you just know they are going to do amazing things. Opal Vadhan is one of those people.

Before graduating from Pace in 2015, Vadhan had accomplished more than many people do in their entire careers. She was a two-time recipient of the New York Women in Communications Scholarship. She interned at NBC Nightly News, Sony Music, the Rachael Ray Show and MSNBC. She was a campus editor at large for HuffPo and freelance reporter for TV ASIA. She went on mission trips to Jamaica and was an energetic and devoted resident assistant on campus. And she was awarded one of the most prestigious and competitive internships in the nation—at the White House.

She was living the American Dream—the one that her mother and father had come to this country from India to give her—and she wasn’t ever going to stop.

“After graduating from Pace, I knew I wanted to work in public service and politics,” Vadhan says. “I was interviewing for jobs in the Obama Administration. Then my mentors told me that I would get the best experience and learn a lot by working on a presidential campaign. At the time, I didn’t know a lot about Hillary Clinton, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if this is what I was supposed to do. But I gave it a try.”

Vadhan got a job on Hillary for America’s advance team. In politics, an advance team oversees all the logistics, including travel arrangements and scheduling, for the candidate’s appearances. Everything from a dinner at a restaurant to a 10,000-person rally—the advance team is responsible for planning it all.

After advance training in New York, Vadhan landed her first stint as a “RON” (remain overnight—the person who stays overnight with the candidate and her traveling party on the road) in Columbia, South Carolina, and then another trip in New Hampshire.

That’s when Vadhan saw firsthand who Hillary Clinton is—and why she was destined to become Vadhan’s hero.

“We were in New Castle, New Hampshire, and she was going to a town hall,” she remembers. “She got in her car, but there were a few hotel guests taking pictures. So she got out of the car to speak with them and take pictures with them. Then she came back to where I was standing with two hotel cleaning staff who were about to clean her room. She spoke to them and took pictures with them—and they were absolutely overjoyed.”

“I was so amazed that this woman who had a town hall to go to took the time to do that,” Vadhan continues. “It was such a beautiful moment! I walked back into the room and started crying. I called my mom and said ‘This is the woman I’m going to work for and going to give my life to.’ Here we are running for president and she’s talking to these women, talking about their kids, what they want to do in the future. Hillary Clinton is doing things for the good of the people and she cares.”

In the months that followed, Vadhan worked hard on the campaign. She loved her colleagues. “I was amazed by everyone’s kindness and willingness to teach younger members of the team,” she says. And each day, she grew prouder of the work she was doing and the “brilliant, kind, and compassionate” person she was doing it for.

Then came Election Day.

“For me, it was one of the biggest days of my life,” Vadhan says. She was on the team responsible for Secretary Clinton’s hotel logistics, which meant she spent Election Day at the Peninsula Hotel in Manhattan. But first, she had something else to do. “We had some members of the senior staff who had arrived off the plane to the hotel around 4:00 a.m.—and then I went home to Queens to vote with my mom around 6:00 a.m. I could not believe the woman on the ballot was the woman I worked for. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

As the results rolled in, excitement turned to devastation for Vadhan, her team, and more than half of the country. But there was still work left to do—and a concession speech to give. And that was one of the moments that Vadhan says captured the candidate she had grown to know and admire.

“Right before she’s getting in the car to give her concession speech, Secretary Clinton turned around and said ‘Opal, how was your high school reunion? I know you were excited about it,’” Vadhan recalls. “We had talked about it the week before during a RON in Miami. Things were really busy, but she said ‘you have to go to your reunion.' Now here was Secretary Clinton about to give one of the biggest and most difficult speeches of her life, and she’s asking me about my reunion. Too few people got to see the Hillary Clinton I got to see—the woman who cares about everyone and is determined to make peoples lives better.”

"Growing up, I didn’t see many role models like me. People said my dreams were too big and put me down and I know I want to leave the world a better place than when I found it.”

There was a bigger lesson that day for Vadhan. “Watching her give that concession speech showed not only me but also millions of people that she was still committed to uniting us as a country,” she says. “And no matter how heartbroken we are, it showed that we can keep going and it’s our responsibility to continue to try to help as many people as possible.”

That’s exactly what Vadhan did.

“I knew as soon as the next day that I didn’t want to stop working for her,” she says. “I felt like I had so much more to serve, to give, and to learn.”

Today, Vadhan is Hillary Clinton’s executive assistant.

“I’m grateful and I have to pinch myself every day that this is my job and I’m on a team with incredibly talented people,” she says. “This was my first job out of college, and I get to work for the most accomplished woman in the world—a First Lady, a Senator, a Secretary of State, and the first female Presidential candidate for a major party. My boss has changed lives, saved lives, and made the world a better place. I always knew I wanted to help people and I get to help people through her.”

For Vadhan, each day is a new lesson from her idol. Whether it’s little things like learning how to make really strong tea or big things like fighting for what’s right and practicing the discipline of gratitude, her boss is her teacher.

Here’s one example. “One time, I was with her and [Communications Director] Nick Merrill. I had lipstick in my teeth. She said to me, ‘Go to the bathroom, you have lipstick on your teeth.’ I turned to Nick, and said ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ She said, ‘Us girls have to look out for each other.’”

As for what’s next, Vadhan has come to realize that the best things in life happen when they are completely unplanned. But there’s one thing she’s sure of. “I know that I want to continue to make a difference and help people—whether it’s working for people like my boss or volunteering with kids in need. Growing up, I didn’t see many role models like me. People said my dreams were too big and put me down and I know I want to leave the world a better place than when I found it.”

“My one piece of advice is to always dream big, work really hard, be grateful, pay it forward, never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something…and remember the world is yours.”

Pace University is planning a full return to campus for the Fall 2021 semester, with fully in-person classes, activities, and events at all three of its campuses: lower Manhattan, White Plains and Pleasantville.

In announcing a return to a more traditional campus experience, Pace University President Marvin Krislov expressed gratitude for all of the hard work, dedication and resilience of students, faculty and staff who worked diligently through the global pandemic, and said that the decision to fully re-open campuses for in-person is being guided by federal, state and local public health guidelines.

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"I'm very much looking forward to seeing all our students and faculty in person for the Fall 2021 semester, and seeing our campuses bustling again​," said Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University. "I've been impressed at how well the students, faculty, and staff have adapted and succeeded through the last year of pandemic, but I'll be even more pleased to see us all back to something close to normal Pace University life."

At the onset of the global pandemic in spring 2020, Pace University quickly pivoted to remote learning. As the Covid 19 pandemic continued through the year into 2021, the University adapted its operations with a combination of in-person learning, remote classes and hybrid options – all while adhering to the most stringent safety protocols such as regular cleanings and disinfection; social distancing and mask wearing; and routine and consistent testing and monitoring, among many other safety measures aimed at keeping the campus community safe.

As Pace returns to as close to a normal and traditional college experience and we turn the corner on the pandemic, many safety precautions will be kept in place, while paying close attention to public health guidance – all with a goal of providing students a safe environment to pursue their education. There will be online and hybrid course options as well. Additionally, New York State recently announced that universal eligibility for vaccinations – including those 16 and older – would be effective April 6, 2021.

“For so many students and faculty, campus life is an integral part of the college experience, which is why we are eager to return to a more traditional college environment,” said Pace Provost Vanya Quiñones. “The lessons we’ve learned during the pandemic showed how adaptable we are as a community. We will use those lessons to complement our traditional experience, but I’m excited for a return to normal and seeing a vibrant campus.”

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique program that combines rigorous academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides. From its beginnings as an accounting school in 1906, Pace has grown to three campuses, enrolling 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 150 majors and programs, across a range of disciplines: arts, sciences, business, health care, technology, law, education, and more. The university also has one of the most competitive performing arts programs in the country. Pace has a signature, newly renovated campus in New York City, located in the heart of vibrant Lower Manhattan, next to Wall Street and City Hall, and two campuses in Westchester County, New York: a 200-acre picturesque Pleasantville Campus and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains. Follow us on Twitter or on the Pace News website.

Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law is ranked number one in the country for environmental law by the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, released today.

This ranking is the latest major success for the program, which has consistently been rated among the very best in the country. In the past few years the environmental law program has recruited top faculty who are recognized scholars in climate change law, international human rights law and natural resources and food systems law.

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“At Pace University, we educate students to help change the world,” said Pace University President Marvin Krislov. “Our environmental law program, which trains attorneys for this critically important field, has long been world-renowned. Congratulations to the faculty, staff, and students of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law on this recognition, and thanks to the Haub family for their commitment to the environment and to our law school.”​

“For decades our environmental law program has led the way in training environmental defenders and advocates who have gone on to serve in law firms, government agencies and NGOs around the world,” said Dean Horace Anderson. “We are proud that the faculty scholarship, teaching quality and the experiential learning opportunities we provide our students are recognized at the pinnacle of the field.”

The environmental law program is widely known for its signature programs including the Environmental Litigation Clinic, the Food and Beverage Law Clinic and the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, and last year it launched the innovative Environmental Law and Policy Hack Competition. The environmental law program’s clinical training helps it remain at the top among law schools nationwide.

"We are very proud of the work the environmental law program does in training practitioners, advocates and environmental defenders," said Jason J. Czarnezki, Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law and Associate Dean and Executive Director of Environmental Law Programs. "We seek the aggressive reduction of carbon emissions in the face of the global climate crisis, and we fight for environmental, social and economic justice."​

Haub Law offers more than 40 environmental law courses. Students can research cutting-edge areas of the law through on-campus centers and institutes that focus on various areas of environmental law, including the Pace Energy & Climate Center and the Land Use Law Center, and they can represent public interest groups as student practitioners in the Environmental Litigation Clinic. Students can choose from unparalleled opportunities to develop their skills internationally and through on-the-job practical externships.

Haub Law is only one of two law schools worldwide to be a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which allows students to draft memoranda, debate issues and attend meetings, including the World Conservation Congress and U.S. National Committee meetings. The Law School is also Co-Secretariat to the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, helping to nurture environmental legal education and promote the conceptual development of environmental law internationally. Through the United Nations Diplomacy Practicum, students provide assistance to UN country Missions by attending their meetings and preparing research on issues such as climate change, renewable energy, fisheries protection, and forest management. These opportunities provide Haub Law students with the tools they need to be leaders in environmental law.

About the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University offers JD and Masters of Law degrees in both Environmental and International Law, as well as a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in Environmental Law. The school, housed on the University’s campus in White Plains, N.Y., opened its doors in 1976 and has more than 9,000 alumni around the world. The school maintains a unique philosophy and approach to legal education that strikes an important balance between practice and theory. Haub Law launched its Environmental Law Program in 1978; it has long been ranked among the world’s leading university programs. Pace’s doctoral graduates teach environmental law at universities around the world. Pace’s J.D. alumni are prominent in environmental law firms, agencies and non-profit organizations across the U.S. and abroad. In 2016, the Law School received a transformational gift from the family of Elisabeth Haub, in recognition of its outstanding environmental law programs. For more information visit http://law.pace.edu

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique program that combines rigorous academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides. From its beginnings as an accounting school in 1906, Pace has grown to three campuses, enrolling 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 150 majors and programs, across a range of disciplines: arts, sciences, business, health care, technology, law, education, and more. The university also has one of the most competitive performing arts programs in the country. Pace has a signature, newly renovated campus in New York City, located in the heart of vibrant Lower Manhattan, next to Wall Street and City Hall, and two campuses in Westchester County, New York: a 200-acre picturesque Pleasantville Campus and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains. Follow us on Twitter or on the Pace News website.

Jackie DelliSanti ’20 started her academic career as an undecided major. “Pace offered a wide variety of majors that could be possibilities for me—some that other schools do not have,” she explained. It was only natural that she would gravitate toward the women’s basketball team, having played in high school.

When I came to campus, everyone was friendly and very welcoming. The coaches and other staff were very honest, [and] I felt that they truly had my best intentions at heart.

By then, DelliSanti already had a long history working with children through sports camps, which is how her plans for the future began to take shape. That and the fact that she knew she didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk. “I wanted to be of use to people,” she told us. “Teaching gives me the opportunity to do this.” Ultimately, DelliSanti chose to major in teaching students with disabilities, a cause that has always been near and dear to her heart. “In high school, I was part of the Special Olympics,” she said. “It is the best feeling to see someone you helped be so thankful and happy.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows DelliSanti that she ultimately chose to pursue a career in teaching, or that she will continue her education at Pace for a master’s in special education. Teaching requires equal parts discipline and patience, two attributes that are absolutely essential for any successful student-athlete. And DelliSanti has played not just basketball, but also soccer, lacrosse, and even volleyball! “I would not describe myself as someone who quits when things get tough. I like to rise to the challenge,” she explained. “Having a good game and being recognized for my hard work is something that drove me even further.”

She’s been named “Setter of the Week” by Pace Athletics numerous times, and she even caught the attention of the Patch local news station, which interviewed her recently about her time at Pace and plans for the future. “Time really does fly,” DelliSanti said, reflecting on her incredibly successful sports career with 1,298 points, 724 rebounds, and 248 assists in 111 games. She was named team MVP in her junior year, and as a senior, she was second in assists. And she had a lot of wisdom to share.

“Get involved and meet new people,” DelliSanti advised the incoming first-year students in Fall 2020. “Clubs, school events, and other activities [are] available on campus help you build a network that you will need when you will eventually graduate. Professors and other personnel can be good references when you need a job, too, so talk to them. They won’t bite!” She added that rather than let intimidation overtake you, focus on your ambition and go for what you want. “College is what you make of it.”

DelliSanti is still deciding whether to continue her stellar sports career and take up coaching one day, but really, it’s clear that she will always take the court with her. She is passionate, motivated, and focused thanks to her immense athletic skill and the support she received from her friends and coaches. “Being on a team is an experience I would not trade,” she said. “Through basketball, I made so many friends that I still have today.”

We’re excited to see what the future holds for DelliSanti, and for all her fellow Pace graduates from the Class of 2020!

Alexander Romans ’21 only started painting last summer, but he’s already taking the art world by storm. Known as Harris-Lee Rose, he’s been featured in art exhibitions both locally and internationally, and he’s even posting videos of his late-night painting sessions.

Finding the right college was pretty straightforward for Alexander Romans ’21. “I grew up in the tri-state area and wanted to make sure that I stayed close to the city while in college,” he told us, and Pace was a natural fit. However, he was on quite a different path when he first started out, and it wasn’t until he completed a sixth-month internship in the real estate industry that he began to reassess his plans.

“I was full of confusion, unease, and slight frustration,” Romans told us. “I knew I didn’t want to work in the field because my heart simply wasn’t in it.” To release some of that frustration, he began painting—and his love (not to mention talent) for the medium took off. “I haven’t stopped ever since,” he said, having switched to a major in art with a focus in graphic design that very next semester.

Romans has built quite the name for himself online since. Under his artist name Harris-Lee Rose, he posts Instagram pictures and YouTube videos of his process, most of which occurs late at night. “I normally create around 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. If I’m having a very unique night, then I will continue on until sunrise the following morning,” he explained. He also plays music to keep him going, although “after an hour or so, the music tunes out and simply becomes background sounds.”

“I truly never thought I would be involved in the art world, let alone be an artist."

It’s no easy feat for anyone to launch a social media presence. Romans is as much an artist as he is a marketing and brand strategist, expertly incorporating his creative process and completed works into weekly vlogs. “I approach marketing myself as another artistic outlet,” he told us, “as well as a form of personal and public documentation of my artwork and process. I only act on what feels true and creative to me—nothing else.”

And the art world is taking notice. He’s participated in group art exhibitions both locally and internationally, including a recent solo exhibition right in his home state of New Jersey. With that experience under his belt, Romans is already looking toward the future. “I plan to start painting on clothing, illustrate [and] write a book, and continue to document and push toward getting deeper into the art world,” he said.

To date, his most memorable moment was seeing his work displayed in a public space alongside other artists. “I truly never thought I would be involved in the art world, let alone be an artist,” Romans told us. “It all seemed—and to a degree, still does—very surreal. It [...] seems to all be moving so fast.” We can’t say we’re surprised. He’s too talented not to be noticed and uplifted into the art industry!

With everything he’s accomplished so far, and so quickly, we had to ask: does he experience “art blocks” that slow or prevent his creative process? The answer: yes, but he has a clever way of dealing with them. “The only way I deal with ‘art blocks’ is by switching my medium, and it works every time for me. If I’m exhausted mentally of painting, I will draw—and vice versa.”

Romans is well on his way to taking the art world by storm, and we can’t wait to see where his next project will take him. Be sure to keep an eye on his social presence—this artist is going places.

Seven days is all we need. Maybe you’ve seen these words around campus, maybe you haven’t, but we’re pretty sure you will. In a big way.

Launched by Sports Marketing major Eli Simmons Jr. ‘21, SVNCLO is a brand for everybody. Taking its moniker from Eli’s idea that seven days is all we need to make a dream come true, he brought SVNCLO to life through fresh designs infused with a sense of nostalgia and some help from his community in Pleasantville.

“When I think of the number seven or seven days, I think about how God created the earth in seven days,” explains Eli. “So, that played a part into “SDiAWN 1,” or Seven Days is All We Need, which happens to be my first collection.”

SVNCLO, which follows a streetwear model of new periodic design drops, has been steadily growing. For Eli, his favorite design is ‘Wire Time,’ a graphic introspective representation of a time in his life when he was finding himself through his talents. “I thought about how each element [of the design] referred to this moment in my life,” he says. “The desert represented this feeling of being alone and to myself; the barbed wire displayed how I can sometimes trap myself in my thoughts; the fire was me breaking through both of these elements in this new stage of my life, aka the square.”

For Eli however, it’s about a lot more than the clothes. Over the summer, he was able to combine his passion for design with advocacy and social justice. He created a line of tees aimed at raising awareness around police brutality and the communities it impacts, including our own. All the proceeds earned from the sale of those shirts was donated to the DJ Henry Dream Fund, the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, Reclaim the Block, and the Run with Maud campaign.

“I decided to create shirts that said, ‘For Seven days We Won't Forget You.’ To me, this meant that for all of the individuals who were brutally mistreated by police—whether that be during police stops, within jails, during protests, or within their own communities—we would never forget their names and importance to the BLM movement.”

When students returned to campus in the fall, members of the Pace Community, led in large part by student athletes, came together to raise their voices against racial injustice and police brutality. INearly 100 students marched from the Pleasantville Campus to Thornwood, NY, where Pace student and football player Danroy “DJ” Henry was killed by police in 2010.The march made a strong impression on Eli.

“The Pleasantville march for DJ Henry was an amazing way to feel connected to my peers and see how we were able to come together as a community to support the same cause,” says Eli. “Overall, it was definitely a good moment for Pace.”

On top of running his own brand, Eli is also heavily connected to campus life. He serves as the Senator of Pace’s Black Student Union in Pleasantville, played on the Pace Football team, and volunteers with the Pace Mobile Food Pantry.

“With being involved in these clubs and organizations, I am able to find other creatives who are willing to help me in creating my visions when I am in the process of releasing a new collection for SVNCLO. I believe that having students participate, brings awareness to the brand in general,” he says. In addition to wearing his clothing line, other Pace students get in on the action by modeling for SVNCLO, using Pace’s Pleasantville Campus as the backdrop.

“Initially when I started having students wear my brand on campus, I realized it brought a lot of brand recognition to their friends and over time it grew to the whole campus,” he says. “It was an amazing feeling to see all of the support around me and people wearing my brand for all seven days of the week.”