Tech Times Fall 2021

TechTimes FALL 2021

T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E B R O O K LY N T E C H A L U M N I F O U N D AT I O N

Resilience And the Tech Spirit Students Tell Their Stories

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

This Is Our Time

FA LL 2021

MY FELLOW TECHNITES and those who support us: It is with great honor and reverence that I greet you for this special edition of our alumni magazine. It finds us in a series of unprecedented times. It is a first for me, as I am a first for you; however, the celebration of our common bond remains, albeit in uncommon times.

Here we find ourselves managing though the Covid19 pandemic that is layered with the complexities of renewed social consciousness. It has been a call to action for many, a time for change for some, a period of reflection for others, and major breakthroughs for more than a few. It’s hard to imagine anyone has been untouched.

The universe has determined that this is our time; the past 18 months have been challenging. We can’t promise that the upcoming 18 months will be any less taxing, but we can expect a one-of-a-kind celebration of our distinguished 100 year tenure. We have been granted the opportunity to witness history in the making as our beloved alma mater turns its first century. Trust that you will not want to miss all that we have in store!

The iconic Brooklynite Shirley Chisholm is quoted as saying that “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.” Living in these times has required many to step up to the plate in assuring that our family, friends, and community are cared for in ways not previously determined.

It is this creative and innovative spirit that I applaud. The response to the pandemic required that we have a greater sense of community in problem solving. You will see this in reading here about our Tech brethren and sisters.

Our stories reaffirm that our alumni and students continue to demonstrate resiliency, ingenuity, leadership, and unparalleled human kindness. We can all stand proud in the shared accomplishments of the Tech community. As we approach our centennial may we all continue to find the silver lining, live life unapologetically, and make the most of these unprecedented Tech Times!

Denice Clarke Ware ’83 President Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation

TechTimes The Magazine of The Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation Covid-19 transformed Brooklyn Tech, much as it transformed the world. In these pages we explore how the school, and its students, rose to the challenge.

Editor In Chief and Chief Writer Ned Steele ’68 Art Director Nicholas E. Torello Creative Strategies Editor Chelsea Erin Vaughan Writer Amanda Tukaj ’15 Principal Photographer Kyle Han ’20 Intern Katelyn Tsui ’21 Student Liaisons Samuel Greenberg ’22 Nino Sikharulidze ’21 Lucy Vuong ’22 Andrew Zhou ‘21 ©2021 Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, Inc. Published annually.

Articles may be reprinted with permission.

Alums: Send yourletter to editor, or personal or professional update for publication in Class Notes to: neds@mediaimpact.biz

FORT GREENE PARK on a steamy early summer day was the primary setting for principal photographer Kyle Han’20 to work his magic. For his student subjects, it was a day with personal meaning that transcended the shoot: They gathered and posed in the shadows of the school most of them had been unable to enter for 16 months. At their side were classmates and friends they had not seen in person for more than a year. It was a reunion day of sorts, and hopefully a harbinger of a return, some day, to normalcy.

Additional photography took place earlier, on a nippy winter break day on the Brooklyn waterfront. A warm salute to the student subjects, who were far colder than their portraits let on.

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ABOVE: JASON MARTIN.. BELOW: NED STEELE ‘68

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHY IN THIS ISSUE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Tech In The Time Of Covid 6 Students: Adapting, Learning, Growing 19 Graduation Day 20 Alumni: Rising To The Challenge 25 Tech, Together 26 Alumni News 42 Alumni Foundation Annual Report

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATION Rebecca Ronning ’20 symbolically recalls how hardships collided with happier moments interacting with classmates online: “The combination made for a good representation of the Tech spirit that kept us going through it all,” she told us.

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F R O M T H E P R I N C I PA L IF I WERE TO SUMMARIZE last year succinctly, a few words come to mind: community, resilience, fortitude, and rigor. I believe Tech utilized an educational model unrivaled in New York City: We facilitated high level instruction and learning for students in person and remotely simultaneously.

Teachers went beyond the extra mile for their students, teaching those attending in person while students at home were engaging live and synchronously. Between remote and in person, the class was whole. This meant transcending our former comfort levels and skill sets.

Teachers were up to the task and the outcomes were evidence of that.

We did not reduce any classes, all classes from major classes to electives to our vast College Board Advanced Placement program went full steam ahead. There wasn’t a school in this city, specialized or not, that could come near our model. Talk about “thank a teacher.” I hold deep gratitude for the exceptional work the entire staff did during incredibly challenging times, both professionally and personally. They defined going above and beyond!

Our students received admission to colleges on a consistent level as the past, with more scholarships than ever before. We are most fortunate to have a

partnership with the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation and our Parents Association. I work regularly with the foundation’s Chief Educational Officer, Dr. Mathew M. Mandery, to coordinate our educational programs. This was particularly helpful in meeting the challenges that resulted from the pandemic. Of particular importance was the Faculty Grant Program that is supported by the Alumni Foundation and the Parents Association. As a result, we funded programs that were made available to all students, providing supplementary support for their classes – many of which culminate with exams in college credit -bearing Advanced Placement courses.

Toward the end of the year the Parents Association and the Alumni Foundation sponsored a virtual “prom celebration “ for the senior class who could not have an in-person prom. Quite a memorable event for them. The year ended on a positive note with a live commencement at Arthur Ashe Stadium with Tech alum Justice Tanya Kennedy giving the keynote commencement address.

As the 2021-22 year unfolds, although it presents some challenges the evidence from last year indicates that we are up to the task.

I thank you all again for your generous support of Tech.

It is making a difference.

David Newman Principal

EDITOR’S NOTE

IF YOU’VE FOUND the pandemic to be a stressful time, – of course you have – imagine experiencing it as a high school student.

If working from home amid the chaos and worse was a struggle, think of all that plus the pressure of getting into college. Imagine life through the prism of a belief that your entire future was on the line while everything you knew as “normal” was evaporating.

We at TechTimes couldn’t imagine this reality, but we wanted to find out. We felt and hoped that somehow, amid the anxiety and craziness, our beloved alma mater and the amazing students it educates would find a way to prevail.

So we talked (virtually) to dozens of students, faculty and staff. In these pages we step back from the typical third-party editorial voice, and enable them to speak directly to you.

There’s no sugar-coating this past year. The pain, loss, suffering and sacrifice many of them endured should not be overlooked. But as you meet them here* we think you’ll be as awestruck as we were over how insightfully they assessed their situation and how resourcefully they dealt with it.

But you won’t be surprised. They are, after all, Technites.

And of course our alumni family, so full of medical professionals, scientists, goodhearted people and committed professionals: they stepped up too, to serve their communities in time of need. You’ll read about them here also.

May you be as inspired and proud as you turn these pages as we were in creating them.

Ned Steele ’68 Editor in Chief *And please don’t forget to see the bonus online content, with many videos.

FREE ONLINE BONUS! A rich package of bonus videos and articles awaits you online.

Look for this icon inside and hover your mouse over it.

TechTimes went to press in mid-September as school was reopening. All content in this issue reflects the events of the 2020 and 2021 school years.

Share your news or thoughts on the stories in this issue... Email to ➜ neds@mediaimpact.biz 2

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THE TIME OF COVID SILENCED SPACES: THE AUDITORIUM. PHOTO BY CAROLINA HOJAIJ

In a crisis of unprecedented proportions, Brooklyn Tech faced the challenges – and prevailed.

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T BROOKLYN TECH, it was the same as it was everywhere: an unrelenting nightmare with waves of loss, stress, and anxiety.

But through it all, there was more: There was resilience. There was strength.

There was resourcefulness.

And at last came near-normalcy: In June, a Graduation Day with cheers, confetti, and perhaps more joy than any before it – over what the graduates had gone through to get there.

Brooklyn Tech prevailed.

“EVEN WHEN THE WORLD STOPS, YOU CAN’T.” - Student Saira Masud

It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t ideal. As the long school year’s end finally approached, principal David Newman would say: “We’re in a war. We got beaten up a bit, but victory is coming. Everybody rallied together like soldiers.”

A SAMPLING OF WHAT it was like for “everybody” – six thousand students and three hundred staff: • Three out of four students attending class from home via laptops (the school provided one million dollars’ worth of them to those in need) – many in small apartments with sisters, brothers, and even parents doing the same in adjoining rooms.

• About 700 students per day venturing into the school, just a handful in each classroom.

Between classes: footsteps resounding FALL

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discomfitingly in silent hallways, the usual signs of exuberant humanity eerily absent.

An unfamiliar new norm for in-person “hybrid” students: two days in school, then two days at home as other students went in: Was today an Odd “A” day, or an Even “B” day? Every three weeks the calendar offered a day off – a mental health break for all.

A school day redefined as four double periods. Lunch reduced to a grab-and-go bag to take home at day’s end. Virtual gym: do the workout in your bedroom. Virtual “office hours” with teachers, to compensate for the lost face-to-face time.

Teachers and students alike discovering that it was possible, sort of, to do a lab experiment online. Teachers learning to talk to a computer rather than a human audience.

The social relationships that mark adolescent life brutally interrupted, only to re-emerge in new forms: group hangs on Zoom for homework sessions, late-night online group chats.

Failing students (there were slightly more than usual) getting an “Incomplete” and a Tec hTi m e s

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semester to make it up.

Even while dealing with chemistry or calculus, students asked by parents to help care for younger siblings – an unexpected early preview of adult life and parenthood.

Seniors, some with relatives falling ill and even dying from the coronavirus, facing college applications on top of their regular course work.

“EVEN WHEN THE WORLD STOPS, you can’t,” said then-sophomore Saira Masud, attending school from an apartment with two siblings plus a mom also taking remote classes.

As Saira shows us, this is a story of resilience.

As then-junior Maddox Clarke, experiencing the oddity of near-empty classrooms, nonetheless observed, “The Brooklyn Tech machine is still running.”

EVENTS AND PROGRAMS WERE VIRTUAL. INNOVATION AND IMPROVISATION KEPT “THE TECH MACHINE” RUNNING. WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG

SILENCED SPACES: CAFETERIA, A HALLWAY. PHOTOS BY KYLE HAN ‘20 (L), ISABELLA BLANCO ‘21 (R)

COVER

For instance: Through logistics wizardry, administrators found a way for all scheduled classes to take place, live and synchronous, all year. It was a feat some smaller schools could not achieve, Most of the school’s approximately 200 clubs and activities functioned in some form online: Members of the origami club crafted their creations on kitchen tables, then The Alumni Foundation posted photos online. and the TechTimes The perennial champion team express their girl’s Step team, accustomed condolences to all to performing under bright members of the Tech lights and big crowds, competed community who lost from their bedrooms by Zoom loved ones during the – a synchronous display of 15 pandemic. dancers, each in her own tiny onscreen box.

Three plays were staged online – each actor in his or her home. Props were mailed to the cast; costumes were whatever the performers found in their closets.

Sports shut down for a year, partially reopening in spring 2021. Competition took a second seat to conditioning and simply to “getting kids together

for some sort of normalcy,” athletic director Josh Rubin said.

The sophomore class organized a “Mental Health Week” of stress-easing activities: origami, games and creative writing.

The Alumni Foundation’s Con Edison summer internship and Weston Research Scholars programs carried on virtually. With the college labs that host the Weston students shut, students improvised home replications of their experiments or researched online. They presented their work at semester’s end in a virtual science fair. Two seniors co-authored a study that got published in a research journal.

The Alumni Foundation staged a popular “I Am Brooklyn Tech” virtual event featuring celebrity alums, entertainment, and large doses of school spirit. Homecoming went virtual as well, Alumni and parents teamed to fund a virtual Senior Gala, to replace the prom that couldn’t be.

And fittingly, a reality-bending year closed with the school shut all summer for repairs. Summer school enrollees were handed a Metrocard and directions to the alternate location….. Stuyvesant High School. ■ FALL

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STUDENTS

AN ORAL HISTORY: STUDENTS AND THE PANDEMIC

RESILIENCE “Their resilience is a superpower.”

– Math teacher Heather Berry THE PANDEMIC has hurled experiences at young people that adults two and three times their age struggle to cope with. Put to this test, teenagers learned things about themselves, and about life, that many adults are still working on.

Some may have been hurt to varying degrees, but they have grown wiser and stronger. Prevailing through a pandemic, they are better prepared for what life may bring next. Here on the next 12 pages, largely in their own words, are their stories.

Illustration by student artist Isabella Blanco ‘21 Principal photography for this section by Kyle Han ‘20

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STUDENTS

FEVER DREAM

“A giant curve ball thrown at me.”

– Beck Almawaldi

“I was preparing for the Science Olympiad state competition when Covid hit. It was supposed to be the Saturday that school closed. I was really crushed. It felt like a fever dream.” – Teodora Dragic, Class of 2021 Teodora continued her Weston Research Scholar project, studying the atomic structure of topological insulators, at home with a graduate student sending her readings taken in a college lab. Teodora is now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania.

••• “It was a giant curve ball thrown at me. I missed my friends, and it was harder to study and do my work from home. My friends checked up on me, and I checked up on them. We made the best of it.”

– Beck Almawaldi, Class of 2021, now a freshman at Binghamton University ••• “It wasn’t the Tech we’re famous for, its size…there was no one in the hallways.” – Maddox Clarke, Class of 2022, Biological Sciences major ••• “In most of my classes, I was the only one. The rest of my class was on the laptop on the teacher’s desk.” – Samuel Greenberg, Class of 2022, Law and Society major FALL

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STUDENTS

ADAPTING

Sam Ashkenas

Maddox Clarke

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Intellect Chen

“The days blended together, and there was a very narrow tunnel of things every day. You had to make an active effort to make time for the things you cared about. I would go for a walk, or hang with my siblings, to make each day a little different.” — Darlene Uzoigwe, Class of 2021, now a freshman at Harvard University ••• “I made friends on Instagram, I just wrote to as many people as possible. Group chats formed.

That’s how I made my first set of friends.” — Samuel Ashkenas, a freshman last year ••• “Texting or seeing [classmates and friends] on Zoom became the highlight of my day – knowing they were always there to support me kept me motivated.” — Intellect Chen, Class of 2022, Architecture major ••• “To maintain a positive mindset, I took time every day to do something I enjoyed, whether making myself a good cup of coffee, playing video games, or calling my friends.

Social media was a great help.

Group chats, friend groups, spontaneous chats, conversations on the side while we were doing homework. Maybe our interactions came in a Zoom call, but we could still communicate.” — Lucy Vuong, Class of 2022, Applied Mathematics major WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG

STUDENTS

“I made each day a little different.”

Darlene Uzoigwe

“Social media was a great help.”

Lucy Vuong FALL

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STUDENTS

Wait Til Next Year

Sam Byars (l) and Ethen Wang (r)

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CALL THEM phantom freshmen.

Not once in their first year did Samuel Byars or Ethen Wang set foot in school. Attending class from home, they were Tech-less Technites.

They were among the nearly 8 in 10 Tech students who went remote. All the dramas, traumas, exhilarations and anxieties of a normal freshman year were experienced online. They met no teachers or potential friends in person. There were no cafeteria lunches, or mad dashes from second floorto eighth to change classes.

Samuel had seen the school once, for his eighth grade tour. Ethen had never been closer than the Chucky Cheese at Atlantic Terminal Mall: “I’ve seen it from pictures – a big brick building in downtown Brooklyn with a giant radio tower.”

But these are resourceful young men. Ethen applied online to become class secretary. Samuel, a longtime online gamer, knew how to develop a virtual community of friends.

They and all 1,500 freshmen followed the classic Tech firstyear curriculum: geometry, biology, English, design & drafting for production, and more. The school offered guidance services, tutoring, peer mentoring, and extracurricular and social activities virtually.

The two young men faced sophomore year with optimism.

“The Tech I thought I’d be going to can exist,” Samuel said. “The main thing I’m looking forward to is … everything.” ■ WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG

Easy Decision

COVID-19 literally tore Amy Delgado’s family apart.

Dad and an older brother remained in Queens for work and college. Amy, her sister, and her mom repaired to a rural family home three hours away.

As the pandemic raged, only doctor appointments and major family events brought Amy back to the city. Then one day an e-mail arrived: a studio appointment for her senior yearbook portrait photo to be taken. In Brooklyn.

“Mom,” she told her mother firmly, “I have to go.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Mom drove her in. The scene

was surreal: ultraviolet lights, temperature scans, instant cleaning of anything touched by human hands. Amy was instructed to wait her turn socially distanced, and to drop her mask only when the camera snapped.

With that, Amy was officially in the yearbook and an alumna-to-be.

“I didn’t want people to not remember that I went to Tech,” she said later. “My picture in the Blueprint is the evidence that I was a Brooklyn Tech student.”

Amy, there you are forever on page 116, forever an alum.

Amy Delgado is now a freshman at Binghamton University. ■ FALL

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STUDENTS

Nafisa Azizi lost two relatives to Covid.

LOSS AND GROWTH Numerous members of Nafisa Azizi’s family, in New York and in Bangladesh, got Covid. Two died.

“I had to do my college applications while people around me were getting sick, and I had to be a role model for my younger siblings. It was a lot to go through mentally and emotionally. It made me reconsider my priorities: It all goes before school. It is important to put your loved ones and health before everything.”

Nafisa, Class of 2021, applied to fifteen colleges. With six admissions offers, she chose Rice University.

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When Maylin Rosales ’22’s Weston Research Scholar project – on ozone’s effect on grass germination – shut down, she didn’t. She replicated her lab setup at home, building a miniature greenhouse in her living room. Stuck on how to find an ozone dispenser during a pandemic, she tracked down a government scientist in Colorado who advised her where to find one.

••• Pre-Covid, stage crew member Cliff Stern ’22 handled spotlights, fog machines, and sets. Tech’s 2020-21 virtual productions handed him new challenges: livestreaming, running chat boards, creating Zoom backgrounds.

“The pandemic, and everything that came with it, was a horrible experience. But amidst it, I was able to learn new skills and work with new people to ensure that ‘the show went on.’”

••• Heeyun Kim and Katelyn Woo reached the finals of the state Science and Engineering Fair, but it was cancelled. Undaunted, they wrote a paper about their work: “The Development of a Super-Hydrophobic Surface Using Electrodeposition and Precipitation of a Polymer Chain.” It was accepted for publication by a peer-reviewed science journal.

Heeyun is now a freshman at Columbia University; Katelyn is at Binghamton University.

••• “My parents were both working and needed me to help take care of my younger sister and brother.

Maintaining my own grades while helping them with school was challenging. I learned to appreciate everything I have. There are a lot of things in this world I took for granted.” – Anesa Azad ‘21 , now a freshman at Boston University

Maylin Rosales

Cliff Stern

Heeyun Kim

Anesa Azad

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“Built-in breaks kept me motivated.”

Andrew Zhou

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“I’ve always pushed for perfection.”

Elsie Park

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LESSONS LEARNED

Matthew Mentis-Cort

“There is no such thing as adults.

When it comes down to it, no one really knows what they’re doing because life can be so fickle. There will be no one who has the right answer all the time. So you shouldn’t hold yourself up to such high standards that you are afraid to mess up. You will come out of the situation just fine.” — Matthew Mentis-Cort, now a freshman at Cornell University ••• “I’ve always pushed myself for perfection. This pandemic showed me that there are times when my work will fall short, or that I may not always be able to handle all my tasks at any given moment. I did the very best I could to survive outside of normal circumstances.”

— Elsie Park, now a freshman at Grove City College ••• “Instead of seeing difficult circumstance as something that holds you back, see it as something for change, opportunity, and innovation.” — Andrew Zhou, now a freshman at the University of Rochester ••• “Before, I was always moving around.

I was dependent on my friends for validity. When school closed, I stopped. I stabilized and I homed in on my mental health and academics. I got a deeper understanding of my schoolwork and myself.” – Saira Masud, junior Aeronautics major ••• “It’s good to be productive and push yourself to do the best, but it’s also super important to take the time for yourself. You don’t want to push yourself to your limit and have mental breakdowns.” – Joanna Lin, now a freshman at Cornell University ■ FALL

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STUDENTS

Samuel Greenberg

The College Challenge

THE TEENAGE COMING of age ritual of touring college campuses before applying was stopped frozen for 2020-21. Consider senior Teodora Dragic, who applied to 27 schools but visited none.

She had hoped to see many: “You see students walking around; you see what the communities are like. Is the environment cutthroat or supportive? Would I have access to the kind of science research I was doing at Tech?”

Teodora watched two dozen of the online virtual tours colleges were offering as a substitute. She said later, “There’s always the what-if: what new knowledge might I have come across? But I made the best of the situation and took advantage of what was presented.”

Twenty colleges accepted Teodora. She is now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania.

••• Elsie Park, who led middle-school tours at Tech, knew the value of in-person visits. When that option vanished, she implemented Plan B: Elsie reached out to graduated Technites at colleges on her radar for unvarnished intel. She studied the “confessions” social media pages where students dish the real scoop on their school. She found her new home at Grove City College.

••• Bariat Bashiru was able to visit just a few schools. “I am not sure how I’d fit into most campuses. Some people say you can walk onto a campus and know it’s a place where you could exist,” she said. Bariat took her touring virtual and landed a spot at Washington University.

••• Samuel Greenberg said of the online tours: “You can’t put the vibe of a school into words or a PowerPoint.” Sam gets all over New York in his wheelchair, but he’d like to check the accessibility situation at the schools he’s considering. Fortunately, he gets a second chance: he’s a senior this year. ■

Teodora Dragic

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STUDENTS

Denis at his desk in Moscow

THIS PAGE PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SUBJECTS

Time-Zoned

SOPHOMORE DENIS KHORUZHIK and junior Nicholas Di Girolamo went remote for the pandemic year … really, really remote.

Exemplifying a citywide mini-trend, they attended online school an ocean apart from Brooklyn.

Denis, an aero major, spent six weeks at his extended family’s home in Russia. Math major Nicholas stayed with relatives in Italy for three months. Navigating time differences of up to eight hours, they attended class, did assignments, and took part in extracurriculars.

“Reliable and apparently seamless” is how chemistry teacher Dr. MacRae Maxfield described Denis’ weekly participation in Science Olympiad, the rigorous citywide scholastic competition. …Except for the time Denis went missing for one afterschool session: it took place past midnight Moscow time, the hour when Russian authorities shut down the internet. Still,

Nicholas Di Girolamo

he earned an uncommonly high ranking in the event.

Class time in Brooklyn was dinner time in Russia. Denis would occasionally flip his camera off while his grandmother served him sausages and dumplings.

How was attending school from Moscow different than back home?

“Colder,” Denis told us.

••• Nicholas, in Rome, developed a routine: after classes ended at 8:00 PM Italy time, he joined his family for dinner. Then, homework. Midnight wasn’t bedtime: it was socializing online time with school friends already awake for the next day. As a result Nicholas soon found himself doing regular all-nighters.

Most students and his teachers knew his whereabouts, but any doubt was erased the time a Roman ambulance’s siren blared through an open window into his laptop microphone.

“Where are you, Italy?” asked one incredulous classmate. ■ FALL

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STUDENTS

For The Win

Strategies that got students through the year “I liked to do things that made me happy: roller skating, embroidery, reading, and dancing around.”

– Bariat Bashiru, now a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis

“Going outside into my backyard or an uncrowded park nearby calmed me down and cleared my head.”

— Nafisa Azizi

“Do the work. Fall in love with it, find a routine, stick with it, and hold on tight. It gets better from there.”

– David Li, now a freshman at Boston University

“If it was due on the 19th, I tried to finish it on the 17th so I didn’t have to worry those two days.”

– Katelyn Woo

“A to-do list. Nothing is more satisfying than finishing a task and crossing out a few words on a sheet of paper.”

— Intellect Chen

“Before sleep, I ran a simulation of the next day in my head.”

— Heeyun Kim

“Not watching that last YouTube video or playing that last game.”

— Matthew Mentis-Cort

“Things that made me happy.”

Bariat Bashiru

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“Do the work.”

David Li

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STUDENTS

June 23, 2021: The first time in over a year most of the young people in these photos can see, high-five, and hug each other.

Graduation Day, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Billie Jean King Tennis Center.

These smiling students endured what none of us before them ever had to. We honor their achievements. We respect their courage and resilience.

They and nearly 1,500 classmates are now members of our 70,000- plus alumni

GRADUATION PHOTO S BY KYLE HAN ‘20 AND HADRIAN CHAN ‘20

family. We welcome them warmly.

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ALUMS FIGHT COVID COVID HEROES

FOOD CHAIN

Alisa Payne talks with a crew member on set.

ALIGNED Alisa Payne ’94

What does a film producer do during a pandemic-induced industry shutdown?

Alisa Payne ’94 produced a film.

Rejecting all the reasons not to make a movie in the summer of 2020, Payne masterminded 26 location shoots in six cities to deliver for broadcast the compelling HBO production “Between the World and Me,” the adaptation of an acclaimed Ta-Nehisi Coates book, in a mere 16 weeks.

Bringing Coates’ words to screen was an urgent priority for the project team in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. Payne accepted the challenge: “It aligned with who I am as a person.”

Compounding the project’s complexity was the need to scrupulously adhere to a myriad of Covid-era restrictions. “Good old Brooklyn Tech ingenuity” got her through, Payne says.

“Between the World and Me” was nominated for a Critic’s Choice award and received a 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating. The film features a future Brooklyn Tech alum: Payne’s son Maddox, then a sophomore, had a cameo.

Payne says she hopes her work “will effectuate change and make viewers work towards a truly anti-racist society.” ■ 20

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Donald Hong ’75 knows what to do with 11,000 gallons of milk and a trailer of cauliflower and bananas: give them away.

The real estate entrepreneur started a food pantry in a vacant Manhattan storefront as Covid tightened its grip in March 2020. Before long the nonprofit group he heads, UA3, was a fourborough behemoth of benevolence distributing food to other pantries across the city.

From Sunset Park to the South Bronx, Hong’s UA3 orchestrated an intricate supply chain that in one year brought six million pounds of meats, produce, cereals, and those 11,000 gallons of milk per week from federal warehouses and supermarkets to senior centers, public housing, and other underserved groups.

Deliveries of cartons grew so tall that local pantries literally couldn’t handle them. So UA3 bought a forklift to facilitate the transfers.

“When there’s a fire, someone has to put it out,” Hong says. “We saw the need and the suffering. It was a calling.” ■ To learn more about UA3: https://www.ua3now.org/

UA3 volunteers prepare food for distribution at a Brooklyn park.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ARIA ISADORA; COURTESY OF THE SUBJECT, COURTESY OF THE SUBJECT, KYLE HAN ‘20

Donald Hong ’75

COVID HEROES

Dr. Konrad Hayashi was a point person for the military on Covid protocols.

ON DUTY

Konrad Hayashi, M.D. ’73 The epic saga of the Diamond Princess gripped the world in the pandemic’s early days: a cruise ship with 3,711 souls aboard, hundreds of them Covid-afflicted, stranded in quarantine for weeks.

Eventually the US government flew 328 Americans home to safety. Among the physicians it dispatched to support them was Konrad Hayashi , M.D. ’73.

“On pretty short notice” the lifelong public health physician for the military and the Centers for Disease Control was working 16-hour shifts, screening passengers’ health signs and symptoms until all were cleared or sent to hospitals, then monitoring the quarantined.

Throughout the pandemic Dr. Hayashi continued to serve on Covid duty, screening arriving civilian air passengers in Seattle and later overseeing mass vaccinations of soldiers in Georgia.

After years of dealing with the likes of Ebola, SARS and Zika, Dr. Hayashi was a likely candidate to join the front lines.

“When the opportunity came to help out I said certainly, I’d be glad to,” he said. ■ FALL

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COVID HEROES

DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE Brielle Cardieri, M.D. ’12

When the pandemic struck New York, Brielle Cardieri volunteered to accelerate her graduation from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and join the front lines fighting Covid two months early.

“The thought of not helping felt so wrong to me,” she recalled a year later.

On April 20, 2020, she donned protective gear, scrubs, and her Brooklyn Tech sweatshirt to report for her first shift at Mount Sinai as Brielle Cardieri, MD.

Immediately assigned to a Covid unit at Mount Sinai, Brielle worked 12 hour shifts for weeks until the crisis abated. Death and despair were a constant presence, but so was the triumph of saving a life.

Dr. Cardieri is now a second year psychiatry resident at Mount Sinai. On weekend shifts with their relaxed dress code, her preferred outfit is scrub pants and a Tech t-shirt. ■ 22

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SUBJECTS

Wearing Tech attire for her first day was a conscious choice: “My time at Brooklyn Tech exemplifies best my appreciation for the places that contributed to all that I have learned.”

COVID HEROES

At the terrifying height of New York’s outbreak, Ayisha Edwards, M.D. ’92 told her classmate and friend Marsha Stephanie Blake ’92 how Covid patients were arriving at her hospital workplace “in droves,” amid a dire shortage of personal protection equipment for staff.

ACT OF LOVE Marsha Stephanie Blake ’92

Blake is an Emmynominated actress (When They See Us, Orange is the New Black,) whose work was sidelined by the pandemic lockdown. She dug a sewing machine out from her closet, and watched YouTube tutorials to refresh her sewing skills. Dr. Edwards and her colleagues quickly had a box of beautiful masks made with love.

Soon Blake was working into the night regularly, crafting masks for health workers, other essential workers, and finally anyone who asked.

Bolts of dazzling Africaninspired fabric arrived to add a dash of flair. By July 2020, with the crisis easing, she had made and mailed more than 500 masks at her own expense.

“People would stop me in the street. I’d get requests on Instagram from people all over the country,” Blake recalled. “I was a one-woman sweatshop.” ■ FALL

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SEAT AT THE TABLE Stefanie Watkins Nance, M.D, M.P.H. ’87

Dr. Watkins Nance is now Commander of the Medical Readiness Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base, which is responsible for protecting the health of all military personnel in the nation’s capital region.

PLANNING AHEAD Johann Clendenin ’67

Post-pandemic life will be about reinvention: people and organizations needing different things, and wanting them in different places. Consider food: more is heading toward homes and less to office lunchrooms and restaurants. The global supply chain of just about everything is getting a shakeup.

Preparing for this new era is Johann Clendenin ’67. A lifelong logistics expert, he runs a business developing a massive “smart city” distribution complex in upstate Newburgh, near Stewart Airport. The planned facility is to serve New York City’s myriad needs for supplies of PPE, refrigerable vaccines, food, and consumer goods.

Clendenin expects the pandemic’s effects to linger for three to five years, with restaurant servers needing “billions of masks and gloves” and health Schematic models like providers storing vaccine. “A city waking up needs this show how vital goods get new logistic support,” he says. ■ from factory to end user.

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An Air Force Colonel, Dr. Watkins Nance commanded a squadron providing care for 5,200 active duty military and oversaw the quarantine of 1,124 airmen at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.

Contributing to a book on racial disparities in Covid treatment, she hit the lecture circuit – on Zoom, radio, and in person around the US and Latin America – exhorting Black and brown communities to get vaccinated. Refusing compensation even for travel expenses, she said: “I am paid by the numerous testimonies of people who got vaccinated after hearing me speak.”

Sixth generation military, she tells her story: I am a Black female physician, raised by Black and brown communities, educated by Black and brown medical professionals and am here to serve Black and brown communities.

Vaccine hesitancy is a real and legitimate fear based on the atrocities of the past, so I always use this quote in my lectures: “Don’t let the atrocities of the past kill us in the present by allowing fear to paralyze us from getting this life-saving vaccine.”

I feel I have an inherent added responsibility to speak. We have a seat at the table unlike back in the times of the Tuskegee experiment. It is a small seat, as Black female physicians only make up 2-3% of all physicians in our country, but those of us who sit in that seat have a job to do. I ask for nothing in return as I consider it my duty. If I don’t speak up, who will? If not now, when? ■ WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG

LEFT: COURTESY OF THE SUBJECTS. RIGHT: ABOVE, KYLE H AN ‘20. BELOW, DAVID KIDD

COVID HEROES

ALUMNAE

TOGETHER, #1

By Amanda Tukaj ’15

Mary Cao ‘14 and Jackie Salwa ‘14 went not merely through four years of high school together as friends, but then Boston University and now Harvard Law School. After a decade together as classmates, they say there’s no doubt: Tech was the hardest academic experience of their lives.

Jackie, who started her law school journey a year ahead of Mary, supports and mentors her friend.

“Going to Brooklyn Tech is a very distinctive experience. To have someone who knows exactly what I’ve been going through has been really helpful,” Mary said. “Jackie helped me so much with my essays when applying to law school and how to structure my LSAT studying schedule…. although we came from a very competitive environment, we’re able to work together.”

Both former Law & Society majors, they say Tech taught them not only the importance of hard work, but also to help others. “It’s not a zero-sum game,” Jackie said. “And I don’t think either of us would have gotten as far as we have if we didn’t have that understanding.”

Covid-19 complicated their academic experience, but the friendship continued strong. Even in difficult times, they grabbed morning coffee together at outdoor cafes in their downtime.

“It is pretty unique to have someone who not only went through high school, college, and law school with you, but that you are also really close friends,” Mary said. “I hope that in our professional careers we’re able to continue uplifting each other.” ■

That’s Lucy on the left and Willa on the right at graduation 2021

TOGETHER, #2

Back in 2018 TechTimes spotlighted identical twins Lucy and Willa Meissner, freshmen already on a trajectory to excel.

“We stick together all the time,” they told us then.

Their back-story revealed why: the bonds of sisterhood provided the strength to help them through a family tragedy.

The 2021 update: true to form, both young women majored together in Applied Mathematics and, at June’s graduation, joined the ➜ Tech alumni family.

And that signaled life’s next adventure: college. Only for now, the togetherness is online: Lucy is a freshman at Carnegie Mellon; Willa is at McGill University.

“Though we’ll be in different countries for college, we know that we always have each other’s backs, no matter how far away we get,” Lucy said. ■

FAM I LY

Mary (left) and Jackie (right) meet up at Harvard Yard.

PHOTO; JASPER WALDMAN ’20

“When people see us in a hallway or in a room together, there’s a list of questions we know we’ll be asked.

One is, ‘Whoa! Do you guys do everything together ?!’”

“In short, the answer is yes.

We have truly stuck together through thick and thin. When we were nine, our dad had a stroke. He was pronounced brain-dead and taken off the machines that kept him alive.

His death was a tremendous heartbreak… the worst possible thing in the entire universe. As time went on, we realized that being together was one of the reasons we got through everything.

If we didn’t have each other… it’s hard to think about. The strength we feel from having each other in our lives is all we really need.

So, we stick together all the time.

Being in Brooklyn Tech together was the exact right choice. We know our dad would be proud of all that we’ve become and are becoming. We miss him, but with every achievement is a thought that he is there somewhere and smiling.

We feel the Tech family’s support. Since we were young we’ve been interested in mathematics and performance. Tech’s advanced academics and its majors are preparing us for college and the real world, but it has a drama and music program. We were in Fiddler on the Roof, the spring musical – a great way to incorporate the arts into our lives.” ■

Susan Mayham ’76 contributed to the development of this story. Adapted from a post on Humans of Brooklyn Tech, a student-run social media page.

“I don’t exactly know yet what kind of career I will want, but I’ve always enjoyed the idea of being a powerful businesswoman.

I might want to be a Finance major. I love math. I learn it quickly. I love to solve problems... even the tricky ones.

Tech’s math club pushes our limits, and the musical made me feel so comfortable that I even want to be on stage.”

--WILLA

“My life doesn’t have an end goal just yet, and my career path is totally invisible to me now.

However, I know I love design, and want that to incorporate somehow. I think I’ll be leaning towards the industrial design major, though anything can happen in the next year.

I’m ready for whatever my next years at Tech will bring!”

--LUCY

Together Willa and Lucy Meissner, Class of 2021 FALL

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ALUMNI

ALUMS STEP UP VS. COVID MEDICINE/HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Howard Bolling ’57 Having kept his Chicago pharmacy going for 48 years, he stayed open through the pandemic despite two robberies, continuing to fill prescriptions for his community.

the personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage he and his colleagues faced.

Robert Roswell ,MD ’94 Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, he wrote a blog on health equity and Covid.

testing to students and faculty at schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan that remained open through the pandemic.

Leland Yu ’08 Raised $24,000 from his 62-mile ‘Run for Chinatown’ to feed frontline pandemic workers and support local Chinatown businesses.

Marybel Velazquez ’83, BSN, RN, MPH, SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS Lena Chang ’87 Policy Advisor, Commissioned Corps Lena is a cardiology nurse Daniela Fera ’01 of the U.S. Public Health Service practitioner and cardiac clinical Assistant professor of biochemistry (former Asst.

Health Services program director for Mount Sinai at Swarthmore College; recipient of a Administrator and senior staff Hospital Union Square and Mount nurse, Federal Bureau of Prisons) prestigious 2021 $100,000 research Sinai Beth Israel. She told the MARGARET award that recognizes young scientistMURPHY ’83 Alumni Foundation Facebook page teachers for outstanding work. Research in the story of one severely ill patient SAMARITANS the Fera lab focuses on understanding the her team had saved: The patient saw the Daniel Arbeeny ’80 development of antibodies against viruses. post, because he too was a Tech alum – a Donated masks to the Cobble Hill Nursing fact Lena hadn’t known when he was in her Eugene Samolewicz ’76 Home after his father died there of Covid. care. “I was so amazed and grateful for An engineer and factory maintenance a victory like this one,” she later told an Danny Carbano ’96, lead who “loves to build a better machine,” interviewer.

Zelnor Myrie ’04, Eugene in just six weeks at the The Technite who made the remarkable Akel Williams ’05 pandemic’s outbreak built two recovery was Harold Peaks ’85, who posted The V-Spot, a Crown Heights machines for the Pennsylvaniaon the Facebook page, “I am eternally restaurant owned by former BTHS based synthetic fiber manufacturer grateful.” math teacher Danny Carabano, he works for, to produce enough Kasey Halsey ‘14 distributed hundreds of plant-based of the specialty material for the In his second year of medical school at Latin meals. NY State Senator ultrafine filtration in N95 masks for Brown University, Kasey contributed Zellnor Myrie was co-organizer of PHIL ANDREWS ’81 500 million masks. to Covid research as a research the weekly food drive, with Akel volunteer at Rhode Island Hospital, Williams.

Not one to rest, he then worked 16 using artificial intelligence (AI) to hour days to complete in two weeks a third Jonathan Gao ’20 help distinguish Covid from other machine that ordinarily would take three A CUNY Hunter College student pneumonia on chest CT imaging. months to build. pursuing a degree in chemistry, he Kaedrea Jackson MD, MPH ’97 3D-printed and donated BUSINESS An emergency room doctor nearly 3,000 face shields MUCH MORE ONLINE! at Mount Sinai Morningside, Phil Andrews ’81 and ear savers to frontline SEE THE BONUS working the front lines As president of the Long Island African healthcare workers. With PACKAGE FOR MORE throughout the Covid crisis.

American Chamber of Commerce, he support from other Tech ALUMNI COVID She was featured in the NY established a partnership with a bank alumni he started a Covid HEROES IN MEDICINE, Daily News as one of the first to facilitate access to federal funds to relief fundraiser that raised SCIENCE, SAMARITANS to get vaccinated, to set an help its members and other local small $2,500.

AND BUSINESS example for others. businesses survive during the Covid Margaret Murphy ’83 Bilal Khan MD ’01 pandemic.The organization helped Chair of the Mobilizing Foundation A pulmonary critical and intensive care several hundred small and medium sized (www//:mobilizing.org), started in March doctor at hard-hit Norwalk Hospital, CT, businesses apply for PPP loans and get 2020 to help eradicate Covid 19 by Bilal launched a fundraiser to address providing free and subsidized weekly pool funding. ■

We Stood Strong

BY NINO SIKHARULIDZE ’21

IT IS NO SECRET that 2020-21 was a year of personal, spiritual, and universal challenges.

We lost, we grieved, we reminisced, but we also fought, we grew, and we overcame. And now, while looking towards a new horizon and thinking about the year ahead, we are stronger than we have ever been; we are stronger than we could ever have imagined.

This power, this strength, this motivation is where the hope for a better future can grow. Here lies the potential for brighter days - our brighter days. This 26

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year also showed us the importance of creative expression in overcoming challenges. With barriers in place, we learned how to make our voices heard.

And just like Ms. Angelou’s caged bird that continues to sing, we were persuaded that there is no weapon powerful enough to defeat the resounding voice of selfexpression.

So, let us make our voice loud and clear: we believe in our resilience, we believe in brighter days… There are better times ahead. ■ Adapted from Nino’s “Letter from the Editor” in the “Pandemic Digest” of Horizons, Tech’s literary-art magazine. She is now a freshman at Harvard University.

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FACING PAGE PHOTOS: TOP LEFT, KYLE HAN ‘20; TOP RIGHT. JASON FRANCIS

BY LISA TROLLBACK

ALUMNI

They Built a Quilt

A SILENT BUT POWERFUL reminder of the pandemic is headed for prominent display in Tech, if all goes to plan: the Quarantine Quilt.

Inspired by the AIDS quilt of a generation ago, it is a composite work by dozens of Tech students, faculty, parents, and alums, each contributing a small square. The pieces do not necessarily literally reference Covid-19, but “each one tells a story,” according to substance abuse counselor Ramona Richardson, who drove the project.

Crocheted or knitted, the squares were mailed or dropped off throughout the year to Ms. Richardson, a crochet hobbyist (and adviser to the school crochet club) who years ago contributed a work to the AIDS quilt. “I wanted there to be something when we came back to school to say that we all did something while we weren’t together,” she said.

Sadly, the project took on a very personal note for Ms. Richardson: she lost her husband to Covid-19 during the pandemic.

At press time, the quilt consisted of about 90 squares, measuring about five feet square. Sitting incomplete in Ms. Richardson’s office, it was already a living statement of resilience in a painful time. ■

Sew Right THAIS JIMENEZ ’91

NEW LEADERS FOR ALUMNI BOARD

AS TECH MARKED 50 years of women students, Denice Clarke Ware ’83 was elected Alumni Foundation board president. A retired Verizon executive, she has been a board member since 2014.

The Brooklyn native, daughter of immigrants from Panama and Jamaica, was a graphic communications major and a member of the cheering squad.

(See her letter on the inside front cover.)

Also elected: vice president Bola Oyedijo ’92, and incumbent reelected vice presidents David Lee ’78, Susan Mayham ’76, and Anthony Schirripa ’67; and secretary Ned Steele ’68.

Jim DiBenedetto ’71 is the new treasurer.

Two new Directors have been elected: Amy Kong CFA’99, who previously served on the board from 2013 to 2015, and Giselle Williams EdD ’92. Amy is chief investment

officer of Barrett Asset Management. Giselle is director of curriculum and content for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Marcel Vaughn-Handy, formerly director of development, has been appointed acting executive director. She replaces Liz Sciabarra, who stepped down from that position but continues to serve the Foundation as a special advisor. ■

A F T E R E A R LY R E T I R E M E NT, n e two rk e n g i n e e r Thais Jimenez used the pandemic shutdown time to contemplate her next steps. She settled on converting her stress-relieving hobby, quilting, into a business.

Able to turn out 12 to 15 oversized quilts a year, she says: “I won’t make a million dollars, but this is my passion.

And I get to use the math and design skills I first learned at Tech.”

Here, a memorial quilt to honor a customer’s late mother, made with the mother’s clothes. ■

Power Performer With all other Con Edison student internship programs cancelled for the pandemic, Leon Bukhman ’00 scrambled to save the company’s long-running Brooklyn Tech internship program.

Bukhman, a compliance manager for the utility and leader of the program, restructured it and turned it virtual: The students were assigned projects to tackle online from home.

A “very strong cohort” of 10 Technites went to work in six company departments, and as restrictions eased some could be welcomed inside Con Edison facilities, Bukhman said.

Small wonder the program is his passion: as a member of the first intern cohort back in his Tech days, Bukhman parlayed the experience into a career at the company. ■ FALL

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Pamela Pamela TaylorTaylor Hurst Hurst ’76 ’76 Vaughn Vaughn Danvers Danvers ‘77 ‘77 Toni Jessop Toni Jessop ’77 ’77 Robyn Robyn Allen-McKinnon Allen-McKinnon ’78 ’78 Michelle Michelle Danvers Danvers FaustFaust ’78 ’78 Lisa Morris Lisa Morris Mathis Mathis ’78 ’78 LornaLorna DaleyDaley ‘79 ‘79 Judy Judy Moody Moody ‘79 ‘79 Denise Denise Jeffrey-Elbert Jeffrey-Elbert ’79 ’79 Jacqueline Jacqueline MayoMayo ‘79 ‘79 Sandra Sandra SmithSmith ’79 ’79 Nadine Nadine Bryant Bryant ‘80 ‘80 Heidi Heidi Cox ’80 Cox ’80 Vanessa Vanessa Furgerson Furgerson ‘80 ‘80 Rochelle Rochelle Hall-Rollins Hall-Rollins ’80 ’80 Yvonne Yvonne Harding Harding ‘80 ‘80 Jackie Jackie Hartley Hartley ’80 ’80 ShellyShelly Holder Holder ’80 ’80 Tammra Tammra Nelson Nelson ‘80 ‘80 Valerie Valerie OliverOliver ’80 ’80 Cassandra Cassandra Simmons Simmons ’80 ’80 Carole Carole SmithSmith ‘80 ‘80 Lorri Pierce Lorri Pierce VannVann ‘80 ‘80 RobinRobin Boyd-Clark Boyd-Clark ’81 ’81 Charmaine Charmaine Danvers-Lowe Danvers-Lowe ‘81 ‘81 Allison Allison Edwards Edwards ’81 ’81 Pia Farena Pia Farena GeroGero ’81 ’81 Traci Traci Hughes-Velez Hughes-Velez ’81 ’81 Tami Tami Johnson-McGee Johnson-McGee ’81 ’81 RosiaRosia Blackwell Blackwell Lawrence Lawrence ‘81 ‘81 Lynette Lynette Pinckney Pinckney ‘81 ‘81 Germaine Germaine Walker Walker ’81 ’81 Adriane Adriane Louard Louard BrownBrown ‘82 ‘82 Tara Bullock Tara Bullock Edmonds Edmonds ’82 ’82 Lesleigh Lesleigh Irish-Underwood Irish-Underwood ’82 ’82 Stephanie Stephanie M. Mack M. Mack ’82 ’82 RobinRobin Matthew Matthew ‘82 ‘82 Lisa Edmiston Lisa Edmiston ’83 ’83 CarinCarin Hanley Hanley ‘83 ‘83 DanaDana Jenkins-Krind Jenkins-Krind ’83 ’83 Lolade Lolade Samuel-Cash Samuel-Cash ’83 ’83 Denice Denice Clarke Clarke WareWare ’83 ’83 Kim D’Abreu Kim D’Abreu ‘84 ‘84 Danielle Danielle Eaddy-Alleyne Eaddy-Alleyne ’84 ’84 Maxine Maxine Herbert Herbert ’84 ’84 Valarie Valarie Hollingsworth Hollingsworth ’84 ’84

Thank You our COVID-19 DELTA SIGMA THETA

to all of Heroes SORORITY, INC.

Stephanie Roddy Holloman ’84 Wanda Russ Kenscoff ’84 Tatia Mays-Russell ‘84 Dorene Terry-Bess ’84 Michelle Fuller ’85 Nadine Rosemond ’85 Miranda McFadden ’86 Stephanie Smith ’86 Stefanie Watkins Nance ‘87 Jen Payne Parish ’87 Tamara Jackson Britt ’88 Felicia Brown ‘88 Deirdra Smith ’88 Erika Balfour ’89 Nicole Bryan ‘89 Michelle Marshall Durant ‘89 Kea Hodges ’89 Zola Mashariki ‘89 Sharen Cox Phillips ‘89 Simone Barnett ’90 Thelma Evans ’90 Joann Lewis ‘90 Tanisha Mallet ‘90 Natasha Davis Bolden ’91 Jeanique Riche Druses ‘91 Laura Harding ‘91 Shahara Jackson ‘91 Thais Jiménez ’91 Keisha Mondi Johnson ‘91 Ava-Marie Madeam ’91 Janel Shervington ‘91 Jada Thompson ’92 Naneka Brathwaite ‘93 Faith Bynoe ‘93 Shelia Collins ’93 Celeste Douglas ‘93 Dalela Harrison ’93 Kinda Grant ‘96 Felicia Staton Olivas ‘96 Aisha Greene ’97 Ericka Merkman Williams ‘97 Trudy Smith Amin ’00 Laschaunda Cogburn ‘03 Vanessa Deravin ‘07 Antoinette Nelson ’07 Yesseña Brown ‘08

THANK YOU BROOKLYN TECH HEROES Michael G. Reiff Electrical ’72 Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation Investment Committee Member

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Larry Lee Cary (Chem. ’70) President (2013-2021) of the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation During my eight years as president, through the support of alumni, the Foundation encouraged classroom innovation by providing hundreds of thousands of dollars through its Faculty Grants program. It doubled the number of student internships to 400 a year. TechTimes became an annual publication. New or refurbished state of the art labs were created, including the Materials Testing Lab, the Environmental/Greenhouse Lab, the Industrial Design Lab, and the Forensics Lab. The pandemic required the Foundation to adapt and innovate. Student internships became virtual as many institutions limited access. The Titans of Tech Dinner was replaced with an online celebration of the school, its alumni, and students. Homecoming also became virtual.

During my presidency, the Foundation initiated and maintained a test prep admissions outreach program directed at middle schools in Brooklyn’s underrepresented communities. It had the highest rate in the city for successfully enabling Black, Latino, and female students to be admitted to a specialized high school.

The Foundation became the rational voice in the public debate over continuing the Specialized High School Admissions Test. It continued to support merit in the selection process while also supporting measures to promote diversity in the student body. I oversaw the Board’s transformation from one that was overwhelmingly white and male when my tenure began into a Board that better reflects the generational diversity of our alumni. Today, most of the Board is Black, Latino, Asian or female.

The pandemic made last year very difficult for Tech’s students and threatens to make this year difficult as well.

Throughout, the Foundation has and will continue to perform its mission… but only if you help.

Tech transformed my life trajectory. I was a poor working-class kid, raised by a single mother who came to this country as a child not speaking English, who would drop out of high school to help support her family. Today, I am a successful labor lawyer with my own firm. My story in one form or another is common because Tech is the city’s oldest, largest, and most successful antipoverty program.

Now more than ever, with the stresses of the pandemic, I ask you to recognize the unique role Tech played in your life and “pay it forward”: Please donate your time and money to help the Foundation continue to enhance the transformational education our students both need and deserve. Please donate today! ■

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IN MEMORY OF MY BROTHER STANLEY GOLDMAN ’65 (passed 2016) Arnold Goldman, M.D., ’73

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ADAM J. CIRILLO

BROOKLYN TECH FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME The Adam J. Cirillo Foundation would like to welcome the 2021 class of the Brooklyn Tech Football Hall of Fame: Al Veling, 1945 Charlie Assiff, 1949 John Jackson, 1953 Mike Lettieri, 1964 Joe Pangia, 1964 Doug Leary, 1970

Paul Nealy, 1973 Rich Cummins, 1976 Horace Davis, 1984 Wayne Moffitt, 1993 Ike Ajoku, 1999 Jason Tillery, 2005

Jim DiBenedetto, 1971 Join us at the Hall of Fame Luncheon on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at The Staaten for the induction of the Class of 2021 and a Private Screening of BONDED IN BLUE.

BONDED IN BLUE

“The Legacy of Brooklyn Tech Football” Private Screening - November 14, 2021 The new documentary film, BONDED IN BLUE, celebrating 100 years of Brooklyn Tech Football, will be shown in a Private Screening at the Hall of Fame Luncheon on November 14, 2021 at The Staaten, 697 Forest Avenue, Staten Island, NY. Please Join us. Ticket price of $125 in advance ($150 at the door) includes the Private Screening of BONDED IN BLUE, Cocktail Party, Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon.

Tickets available at bthsfootballalumni.org/hall-of-fame-luncheon.

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THE CLASS OF 1973 CONGRATULATES THE CENTENNIAL CLASS OF 2022 AND WISHES THE INCOMING CLASS OF 2025 BEST OF LUCK. We also salute the Doctors of the Class of 1973: Ronald Adams, MD, Cleveland, Ohio Joseph Carrozza, MD, Albany, NY Arnold Goldman, MD, Forest Hills, NY Konrad Hayashi, MD, Decatur, GA Angelo Illuzzi, DO, Dubois, PA Rafael Medina, MD, Williamsville NY Stephen Urciuoli MD, Weston, CT

We are excited to announce our 50th Anniversary Class Reunion in 2023.

Stay tuned for more information! You won’t want to miss it!

Tom Hernandez Bob Prendimano Marshall Haimson Leroy Basnight Contact us at 917-559-3600 or Visit the BROOKLYN TECH CLASS OF 73 Facebook Page bit.ly/BTHS73

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The board members of the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation thank the administrators, faculty and staff of Brooklyn Technical High School for their outstanding dedication and hard work in guiding the school and its students through the immense challenges of the Covid pandemic shutdown. Through their efforts, 6,000 students received the best education possible under these unprecedented circumstances.

John Albert ‘91 Wilton Cedeno ‘82 Horace Davis ‘84 Jim DiBenedetto ‘71 Tomas Hernandez ‘73 Lesleigh IrishUnderwood ‘82 Penelope Kokkinides ‘87 Amy Kong ‘99 Edward LaGrassa ‘65

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David Lee ‘78 Salvatore Lentini ‘79 Susan Mayham ‘76 Margaret Murphy ‘83 Bola Oyedijo ‘92 Achilles Perry ‘58 Valmira Popinara ‘18 Anthony Schirripa ‘67 Deepti Sharma ‘04

Ned Steele ‘68 Denice Clarke (DC) Ware ‘83 Michael Weiss ‘57 Giselle Williams ‘92 Leonard Riggio ‘58 Honorary Director Marcel Vaughn-Handy Acting Executive Director Student Representatives: Sam Greenberg ’22 Rommy Sasson ’23 Lucy Vuong ’22

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2022 is a BIG YEAR for Tech It’s the 100th Anniversary of Brooklyn Technical High School!

This phenomenal milestone will be highlighted with amazing events: • Reimagined Homecoming experience on April 8 and 9, 2022 celebrating classes ending in 0, 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 • Brooklyn Tech 5K Run • “50 Years of Cheer” Cheerleading Celebration • Future World Vision Conference and Student Exhibition Fair • Gala at the breathtaking Glasshouses in Manhattan on November 19, 2022!

BE A PART OF IT ALL! Let’s make this the BEST Homecoming and Centennial Year experience!

Become a Class Rep Inquire about the events that excite you.

Spread the word about 2022!

Contact Carolina Hojaij, Director of Alumni Engagement and Inclusion at Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation at chojaij@bthsalum.org to get involved

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I thank the teachers and staff for all they did to continue the students’ Tech education through the Covid shutdown.

I salute the students for their perseverance in the face of adversity.

Edward T. LaGrassa ’65

100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE! 100 years of transforming young lives!

100 years of helping shape the nation!

Tech is truly a National Treasure!

Congratulations to us all!

Achilles Perry ’58

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Thank You to All in Our BTHS Family Who Served on the Frontlines During COVID-19.

You Are Our Heroes and Your Selfless Service and Courage Deserves Our Respect and Applause.

Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy ’85

Are you a Technite living outside of the New York metro area?

Stay connected with fellow alumni by joining a club in your region or getting one started!

A special nod to our first-ever club in Las Vegas, NV, founded by Bobb Litt ’72!

Attend the first meeting this fall by emailing Bob at bthsinlv@bobspoint.com or visit the LV Club website bit.ly/BTHSLV Contact Carolina Hojaij, Director of Alumni Engagement and Inclusion at Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation at chojaij@bthsalum.org to get involved 40

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The TechTimes team applauds the BTHS staff for their strong commitment to student education during these challenging times. We are privileged to share the stories of those amazing students in these pages.

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BTHS CHAMPIONS

PROUD TO SUPPORT BROOKLYN TECH Michael Weiss 1957 Louis D. Greenzweig 1964 Jack Prince 1966 Carlton P. Tolsdorf Jr. 1968 Tom La Guidice 1971

Jonathan Dubin M.D. FACC FASE 1974

Penelope Kokkinides 1987

Phillip Joseph 1976

Bola Oyedijo 1992

Salvatore Lentini 1979

Simon Harrison 1982

Joseph Cuzzocrea Sr. 2006 HON, Pat Cirillo Cuzzocrea 2006 HON, and Joseph Cuzzocrea Jr. 1984. In photo Coach Adam C. Cirillo’29

Harvey Aronson, MD 1962 Would like to hear from fellow students in Mr. Eigen’s math class and fellow chemistry students.

Carl Rod M.S. RRT RCP 1966 From one healthcare provider to all the rest.

You’ve done a great job.

Together we will beat this pandemic.

A SILVER LINING?

BY DEV PUROHIT ’21

NO ONE ELSE in Brooklyn Tech history had to do what the Class of 2021 had to do: Apply to colleges during a global pandemic. Take the hardest classes offered in any high school, anywhere, completely online – behind a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. No one else needed to avoid meeting their families, their friends, and their classmates for more than an entire school year. No one.

I believe we don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we accomplished. We had to continue being students at the largest high school in the country, test-driving ways of learning that no one had ever tried before. We had to adapt to new rules, new lessons, new expectations, new obstacles, and a new reality. And then we had to go through a college applications process like no other.

It was never easy for the Class of 2021. We missed experiences that make the quintessential high experience: Prom, our Masquerade Ball, our senior year, time with friends, finding new friends in a school where every year you can find people you’ve never met before. We missed all that and more.

The Class of 2021 graduated carrying a legacy: as one of the strongest classes to walk the halls of Tech. It faced incredible odds and defied expectations at every turn. Each of us has the capability to be a fierce advocate, a leader in our field, a changemaker, an activist, and much more.

The Class of 2021 is formidable, strong, and prepared to face anything the world can throw at us. ■ Former Student Body President Dev Purohit is now a freshman at Colby College. Adapted from his Commencement speech to the graduates

Stan Rowin 1967 Freelance Corporate Advertising Editorial Photographer stanstudio.com

Donald Sigman 1947 Norman Henderson 1954 Robert Raifman 1958

Martin Brooks 1968 Thank you for all that you do!

Joel Chesler 1962 Barry Korn 1962 Rolf Lohse 1962

Arthur Shapiro 1970 In Memory of my brother Dean Shapiro, Class of 1968.

Michael Hoffman 1966

Jeff Taffuri 1971 Congrats to Doug Leary and the rest of the BTHS Football Hall of Fame Inductees.

Andrew Alper 1970

Gail Reilly What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.

Sue Mayham 1976

James Kerr 1966 Edward Lobel 1966 Marty Friedman 1970 Adrian Willis 2022 Justin Schechter 1973 Phil Andrews 1981 Keegan Monti-Kewley 2001 Michelle Samuels 1985

REC E NT ALUM COM M E NTARY

The Crisis Generation

BY SOLENNE WOLFE ’20

ON MARCH 13, 2020 I unknowingly attended my last day of high school. A few weeks later, like thousands of high school seniors around the country, I officially commenced into adulthood.

The high school graduating class of 2020 might be seen as the Crisis Generation. Born in the wake of 9/11, starting kindergarten in 2008 during the Financial Crisis, graduating fifth grade just months after the Sandy Hook shooting, and stepping up from middle school right into high school as Trump stepped into the Oval Office.

Until March, my main responsibility was to wake up and make it to school in time for my P.E. class at 7:56 am. Instead of senior year slump and Senior Skip Day on Coney Island Beach, senioritis has been replaced by the coronavirus, and student chatter about the chants of “Black Lives Matter.”

Seniors are being thrust into this burning world a lot faster than we thought we’d be. We are supposedly shaping the world for the future, and yet we don’t have the simple pleasure of a moment of closure.

We haven’t had a senior spring to negotiate what sorts of adults we might want to be, what kinds of friends we want to have around, what major to study in college. There is no telling how much I want a moment to think back on the formative years I spent in high school and to have the pain and growth we have all gone through recognized. But that moment of closure should exist for all of humanity, and until it does I’ll wait. ■ Excerpted from a 2020 student essay published in last year’s online bonus package FALL

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• ACE Mentor Program – Through our partnership with ACE we have been able to expand the number of internship experiences available to Brooklyn Tech students to seventy placements • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – A new partnership that will pair Brooklyn Tech and our Middle School STEM Consortium to utilize ASCE’s Future World Vision to engage secondary students in activities to pursue STEM education and careers.

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) – This new partnership initially connects ASME with our Mechatronics and Robotics major.

• Con Edison – Con Edison continues to be a lead partner supporting multiple programs. Their recent grant enabled us to build a greenhouse as an extension to the environmental science lab. In addition, they support our Robotics Team and a summer internship program for rising Brooklyn Tech seniors.

• DOW – our partnership with DOW Inc. is providing funding for equipment in the Materials Testing Lab. • Long Island University – the partnership with the School of Pharmacology provides research opportunities for Weston Research Scholars. LIU has sponsored two new majors – the first is an accelerated program leading to a PhD in Pharmacology and Physical Therapy and the second is in Advanced Health Professions • Leon Root MD Motion Analysis Lab – Hospital of Special Services – This new partnership provides research opportunities for Weston Research students and visits to the lab by Tech students.

National Grid – Our partnership with National Grid continues into its ninth year supporting the Middle School STEM Pipeline Program.

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• New York Institute of Technology – we are working with NYIT to develop ties to our media major. NYIT continues to provide support to make the course management software, Moodle available to Brooklyn Tech on a school-wide basis.

• NYU Tandon School of Engineering – Continues to provide research internships, access to the ARISE Program, ties to the ACE Mentor Program and the Dynamic Systems Lab. • Picattiny Arsenal – Picattiny Arsenal has provided a mentor and financial support for our robotics team.

• Rutgers University – The Civil Engineering Department of Rutgers School of Engineering is providing professional advice in the development of our Materials Testing Lab and has provided tours of their facilities.

• Stevens Institute of Technology – Our partnership with Stevens continues to develop. It provides internships for Weston Scholars and dialogue between Stevens professors and Brooklyn Tech faculty.

• Turner Construction - Worked with Turner to make a comprehensive scholarship/internship program in construction management at Pratt Institute available to Brooklyn Tech students.

Continued to work with Turner to maintain our connection with the Turner Youth Force program.

• Urban Glass/ St. Francis College - The Tom Volpe Glass Technology Initiative pairs Urban Glass, St Francis College and Brooklyn Tech in providing students in Brooklyn Tech’s Industrial Design major with experiences at Urban Glass and in developing entrepreneurial skills.

• Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology – A new partnership has enabled us to replace computers in the Environmental Science Lab.

PROGRAMS LEANDRO P. RIZZUTO INTERNSHIP PROGRAM- Provides field based opportunities for our students.

• The Architecture Construction

Engineering (ACE) Mentorship Program continues to be a popular program with over 90 Tech students participating.

• Our ‘flagship’ internship, The BTHSCon Edison Summer Internship Program, provided internships for students from the Electrical, Megatronics & Robotics, Physics, Software Engineering and Mathematics majors.

• Futures and Options popular program providing career exploration and internships At least a third of the 50 internships posted on the school website are from Tech alum.

WESTON RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM – Josh Weston ’46 sponsors a research programs designed to pair students with a Brooklyn Tech mentor and an external mentor to pursue research in all STEM areas.

• Coordinated research experiences for sophomores, juniors and seniors in the program.

• Produced a research journal documenting the work of the Weston Research Scholars Class • Held virtually a Weston Research Scholars STEM Fair to provide additional opportunities for Weston students to present their work.

• Conducted virtually the recognition program and White Coat Ceremony which included a welcoming of new members.

MIDDLE SCHOOL STEM PIPELINE PROGRAM Brooklyn Technical High School in collaboration with the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation and National Grid launched the STEM Pipeline program in July 2013 to introduce Middle School students to the exciting world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The program is designed to develop the next generation of STEM leaders by opening the world of science and technology to middle school students and prepare them for the challenges facing them in high school, college and careers. Preparation for the Specialized High School Admission Test, SHSAT, is incorporated into the program WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG

PHOTO BANNER: PHYLLIS WITTE

PARTNERSHIPS ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR BROOKLYN TECH STUDENTS

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to enable access to the specialized high schools.

We draw our participants from seven Brooklyn middle schools that are underrepresented in the specialized high schools.

This past year the program was conducted virtually. The program is being transformed to a Future World Vision STEM Pathways Program that will be initiated in the 20212022 school year. year.

JEFFREY M. HAITKIN ‘62 FACULTY GRANT PROGRAM - supports faculty projects, student activities, and curriculum enhancements. The grant program, enables teachers to attend professional conferences, earn additional professional credentials, receive training to stay at the cutting edge of their craft, bring teaching tools to the classroom that otherwise would not be available, expand instructional opportunities for students. Grants have been awarded in many categories including: NASC;LEAD conference for the Student Government Organization; DNA Lab materials; College Board Training for teachers teaching Advanced Placement and the Capstone Project; Chemistry manipulatives for classroom use; National Society of Black Engineers, Debate, Mock Trial, AMC Math Contest; Science Olympiad and a host of other items.

SCHOLARSHIPS - Office manages $17,000 in scholarships annually started by alums in memoriam or for subject area recognition. Our office obtains the names of the nominees, makes certain that each meets the selection criteria, presents

letters at Senior Awards night and makes disbursements before the end of the school year.

RUBY ENGINEERS – Leadership and selfesteem building group for young women founded by Susan Mayham ’76.

EVENTS/ACTIVITIES/ INITIATIVES

MIDDLE SCHOOL OUTREACH The Foundation continues to work with Brooklyn Tech to make students and parents of Brooklyn Middle schools aware of the opportunities of attending a specialized high school, the admission process and preparing for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test.

CAREER DAY - We recruit speakers with the help of alums, friends, local community, and the Parents Association. We generally have 200 attendees who cover close to 250 classes consisting of junior and senior major classes, freshman and sophomore English classes, freshman DDP classes, AP Computer Science, and sophomore digital electronics classes RECENT ALUMNI DAY - Our target audience base consists of individuals that were five years out, or less. Alums are given schedules of two-three classes within their previous major, or those that were closely aligned with their college studies.

They are also given different key-points to speak on, depending on whether they were freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors.

HOMECOMING We held our first virtual Homecoming this past year on Friday May 20 in the evening and on Saturday May 21 in the afternoon. Homecoming was highly successful with alumni from classes of 1946 through 2019 participating. Being virtual, we were able to include Technites that might not otherwise have been able to attend. Alumni from the UK, Germany and Hong Kong participated as well as alums from all over the US. Each day included live and recorded segments. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

ACCOUNT STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES AND CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

UNRESTRICTED SUPPORT

TEMP RESTRICTED

PERM RESTRICTED

TOTAL 2020

TOTAL 2019

959,510

243,118

1,202,628

489,365

REVENUE

238,943

201,700

440,643

1,509.631

NET ASSETS RELEASED FROM RESTRICTIONS

149,912

(149,912)

TOTAL SUPPORT AND REVENUE

1,348,365

294,906

1,643,271

2,498,896

EXPENSES

1,803,150

1,803,150

2,280,119

CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

(454,785)

294,906

(159,879)

218,877

NET ASSETS BEGINNING OF THE YEAR

4,753,822

1,667,716

7,817,212

14,238,750

14,019,873

NET ASSETS END OF THE YEAR

4,299,037

1,962,622

7,781,212

14,078,871

14,238,750

Parentheses indicates a negative number

TITANS OF TECH DINNER – I Am Brooklyn Tech 1This year a virtual celebration “I Am Brooklyn Tech” was held in place of the Titans of Tech Dinner. The event was highly successful in bringing together the Brooklyn Tech community to celebrate the very special qualities of Brooklyn Tech. Four themes of Brooklyn Tech (Unique, Creative, Innovative, and Inspiring) were emphasized throughout the event. Brooklyn Tech alumni of all generations shared their stories highlighting these themes. The event was participated in by thousands of individuals.

Prior to the celebration, four Think Tanks took place with each being led by prominent Brooklyn Tech alum. The topics of the Think Tanks includes Future World Vison, Space -the Final Frontier, Artificial Intelligence, and the Mathematics of Sports. These sessions incorporated a question and answer portion to enable participants to interact with the presenters.

Founders Day – This event celebrates the creation of Brooklyn Tech and its rich history. This year it was held virtually in June.

TECH CELEBRATION - We recognize former faculty, alumni who have graduated within the last 25 years, alumni who have had sports careers seeded in Tech, distinguished alumni and friends of Tech who have provided extraordinary service.

HALL OF FAME – Alumni are honored for their extremely successful careers and their outstanding contributions to society.

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Lifetime Giving $1,000,000 + Isaac Heller ‘43 Norman K. Keller ‘54 Leonard Riggio ‘58 Leandro P. Rizzuto ‘56 Charles B. Wang ‘62 Josh S. Weston ‘46 $500,000 + John A. Catsimatidis ‘66 & United Refining Company Fred M. Grafton ‘44 Victor Insetta ‘57 Achilles Perry ‘58 Floyd Warkol ‘65 $250,000 + James Fantaci ‘64 Erik Klokholm ‘40 Mary Jane & Richard H. Schnoor ‘49 $100,000 + Harold Antler ‘46 Charles A. DeBenedittis ‘48 Susanne D. Ellis Howard Fluhr ‘59 & The Segal Company Jeffrey M. Haitkin ‘62 Herbert L. Henkel ‘66 Stuart Kessler ‘47 Alfred Lerner ‘51 Richard Mack & Stephen C. Mack Frederick C. Meyer ‘40 Michael F. Parlamis ‘58 Lee James Principe ‘56 Louis H. Siracusano Sr. ‘60 George J. Suffal ‘53 Thomas J. Volpe ‘53 Michael A. Weiss ‘57 $50,000 + David Abraham ‘48 Martin V. Alonzo ‘48 Willard N. Archie ‘61 John Arfman Anthony J. Armini ‘55 Larry Birenbaum ‘65 Peter J. Cobos ‘72 Robert F. Davey ‘58 Jacob Feinstein ‘60 Peter A. Ferentinos ‘55 Joseph J. Jacobs ‘34 Eric Kaltman ‘60 Joseph J. Kaminski ‘56 Richard M. Kulak ‘56 Rande H. Lazar ‘69 William L. Mack ‘57 Michael Minikes ‘61 Carmine A. Morano ‘72 Robert C. Ochs ‘59 Sherman Rigby ‘46 Anthony P. Schirripa ‘67 & Mancini Duffy Alan M. Silberstein ‘65 $25,000 + Martin V. Alonzo Jr. & Marlene Alonzo & Sabrina Alonzo Anonymous ‘67 Lawrence A. Baker ‘61 Douglas Besharov ‘62 Robert H. Buggeln ‘57 Larry L. Cary ‘70 & Cary Kane, LLP Dorcey Chernick Joseph M. Colucci ‘54 Louis C. Cosentino ‘61 Kenneth D. Daly ‘84 John di Domenico ‘69 James DiBenedetto ‘71 John J. Eschemuller ‘65 Andras Frankl ‘67 Penny & Jason Haitkin Lawrence S. Harte ‘49

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Alice C. Hartley Glenn Y. Louie ‘59 Lawrence C. Lynnworth ‘54 Penelope Kokkinides ‘87 Mathew M. Mandery ‘61 Robert Marchisotto ‘47 Betty J. Mayer Arnold J. Melloy ‘40 Margaret Murphy ‘83 & NYStaffsearch Murray H. Neidorf ‘45 Eugene Picone ‘76 Bert Reitman ‘63 John B. Rofrano ‘61 Patrick Romano ‘43 Edward R. Rothenberg ‘61 George E. Safiol ‘50 Harry Scheuer ‘48 William Sheluck Jr. ‘58 John C. Siltanen ‘31 Lawrence Sirovich ‘51 Ned Steele ‘68 Chester Wong ‘94 William H. Wong ‘64 Wellington Yee $10,000 + Jeanine Aguirre-Ramirez ‘88 Frederick H. Ajootian ‘41 Joseph Angelone ‘63 Mark Arzoomanian ‘83 Tony Bartolomeo ‘70 Emanuel Becker Cindy L. Bird-Kue ‘86 Harry H. Birkenruth ‘49 Samir K. Bose LeRoy N. Callender ‘50 Wilton Cedeno ‘82 Nicholas Y. Chu ‘77 John V. Cioffi ‘67 William A. Davis Jr. ‘59 Thomas C. DeCanio ‘63 Al D’Elia ‘67 Murray Dropkin ‘62 Jonathan D. Dubin ‘74 Leonard Edelstein ‘55 Jeff Erdel ‘63 Charles D. Federico ‘47 Richard R. Ferrara ‘59 Victor M. Finmann Keith Forman ‘76 Bernard R. Gifford ‘61 Jeffrey L. Goldberg ‘69 Robert J. Golden ‘63 Jacob Goldfield Domingo Gonzalez ‘72 Eugene J. Gottesman ‘47 George Graf ‘70 William H. Henry ‘57 K. Steven Horlitz ‘64 Joy H. Hsiao ‘87 Edward H. Kadushin ‘57 Charles Kyrie Kallas ‘37 Leslie P. Kalmus ‘56 Steve H. Kaplan ‘63 Elizabeth Korevaar Eliza Kwong ‘93 Edward T. LaGrassa ‘65 Richard E. LaMotta ‘60 Franklin F. Lee ‘77 Salvatore Lentini ‘79 Michael Levine ‘61 Stephen J. Lovell ‘57 John M. Lyons ‘66 Sidney A. Mayer ‘46 Susan Mayham ‘76 Victor Montana ‘60 & Patricia Vasbinder Ellen Mazur Thomson George W. Moran ‘61 John Moy ‘58 Shana Mummert John R. Murphy ‘61 Michael D. Nadler ‘52 Alan S. Natter ‘69 Hau Yee Ng-Lo ‘80 Floyd R. Orr ‘55 FALL

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Michael G. Reiff ‘72 Daniel K. Roberts ‘43 Edward Roffman ‘68 Robert M. Rosen ‘51 William J. Rouhana Jr. ‘69 Edward P. Salzano ‘64 Alfred Schroeder ‘46 Phyllis Scroggie Irwin I. Shapiro ‘47 Moshe Siegel Roy B. Simpson ‘41 Lauren Soloff Barry Sohnen ‘70 Daniel Stahl Jonnie Stahl Ronald P. Stanton ‘46 Stuart Subotnick James Spool ‘46 Joseph N. Sweeney ‘48 Michael Tannenbaum ‘58 Daniel Tomai Wesley E Truesdell ‘46 Armand J. Valenzi ‘44 George L. Van Amson ‘70 Salvatore J. Vitale Jr. ‘56 Ralph B. Wagner ‘51 Louis Walkover ‘37 Denice C. Ware ‘83 Stephen Weinryb ‘75 Anre Williams Steven Wishnia ‘66 Douglas Yagilowich ‘76 Peter Yan ‘88 Randi Zinn $5,000 + Ron S. Adler ‘68 Louis G. Adolfsen ‘67 Kenneth S. Albano ‘68 Michael A. Antino ‘60 Joseph F. Azara Jr. ‘64 Donald Bady ‘48 Rudolph Bahr Jr. ‘41 Randell Barclay Eric D. Barthell ‘75 Theodore Bier Syd Blatt Anthony Borra ‘58 Marty Borruso ‘71 Thomas Breglia ‘76 Robert B. Bruns ‘55 Charles Cahn Jr. Dominic N. Castellano ‘45 Joseph A. Cavallo ‘58 Sylvia Cember Samuel D. Cheris ‘63 Robert J. Ciemian ‘59 Leonard B. Comberiate ‘69 Deirdre D. Cooke ‘80 Peter J. Coppolino ‘61 Brian Cosgrove Joseph L. Cuzzocrea Sr. ‘06 & Patricia Cirillo Cuzzocrea ‘06 Kenneth D’Alessandro ‘66 James E. Dalton ‘49 Fred M. Del Gaudio ‘71 Frederick DeMatteis ‘40 Lucia DeSanti Edward Diamond ‘63 Ronald T. Diamond Robert C. DiChiara ‘63 Robert H. Digby ‘61 James Dimon Robert J. Domanoski ‘47 Mary-Jean Eastman Barry D. Epstein ‘58 Domenick J. Esposito ‘65 Samuel Estreicher ‘66 Murray Farash ‘52 Arthur A. Feder ‘45 Robert Femenella ‘72 Al Ferrara Clifford H. Fisher ‘59 Keith Franklin ‘78 David L. Fung ‘81 Arnold Goldman ‘73 Adrienne D. Gonzalez ‘94 Herbert A. Granath ‘48

Kenyatta M. Green ‘89 Michael Greenstein ‘65 Robert Gresl ‘46 Arnold Gruber ‘59 Mario Guerrero ‘86 William L. Haines Steven A. Hallem ‘72 Konrad E. Hayashi ‘73 Robert J. Heilen ‘53 Gordon H. Hensley ‘47 John Hensley Christopher Hong ‘09 Clifford A. Hudsick ‘61 Piper Jaffrey John Jarrard Allan C. Johnson ‘28 Michelle Y. JohnsonLewis ‘79 Gerard Justvig ‘75 Peter Kakoyiannis ‘65 Sheldon Katz ‘52 Arthur H. Kettenbeil ‘67 Carl H. Kiesewetter ‘55 Kiseon Ko Eugene V. Kosso ‘42 Bert Krauss ‘50 Danny Lee-Lap ‘91 Joel F. Lehrer ‘48 Marvin J. Levine ‘65 Nathan Lipke ‘92 John Liu ‘98 Raymond M. Loew ‘58 Carol Loewenson Thomas Lowry Joel O. Lubenau ‘56 Frank R. Luszcz ‘61 Taahira Maynard ‘99 Stephen Mazur Steven D. Menoff ‘72 Ira Meislik ‘41 Michele Meyer Edward D. Miller ‘56 Joseph Montalbo ‘74 Francis C. Moon ‘57 Alfred J. Mulvey ‘67 Kaeisha T. O’Neal ‘99 Bola Oyedijo ‘92 Robert J. Paterna ‘72 Robert J. Pavan ‘47 Regina M. Pitaro Lee H. Pomeroy ‘50 Jeff Porrello Valentine P. Povinelli Jr. ‘59 Bertram Quelch ‘45 Joan Riegel Jonathan Riegel David Rios Charles J. Rose ‘70 Edward M. Rosensteel ‘74 Herb Ross ‘41 Randi Rossignol Lawrence G. Rubin ‘43 Dan M. Ruesterholz ‘56 Richard K. Ruff ‘58 Seth Ruzi ‘76 Erwin L. Schaub ‘46 Roger E. Schechter ‘70 Ernest R. Schultz ‘25 Richard Schwartz ‘53 William B. Siegel ‘66 Leon C. Silverman ‘57 Michael Simpson ‘90 Irwin Smiley ‘46 Jonathan D. Smith ‘80 Richard E. Sorensen ‘60 Robert J. Stalzer ‘59 Mitchell E. Stashower ‘83 Ivan D. Steen ‘54 Robert C. Stewart Robert Sumanis Peter M. Taras ‘77 Richard S. Taylor ‘57 John Thonet Mike Trovini Richard W. Turnbull ‘69 David W. Wallace ‘42 Elizabeth M. Wieckowski ‘79 Grayling G. Williams ‘76

Russell P. Wong ‘79 William C. Wurst ‘67 George A. Yabroudy ‘48 Joni A. Yoswein Lloyd Zeitman ‘69 Barry Zemel ‘64 Laurie Zephyrin ‘92 Erwin A. Zeuschner ‘53 Wei-Jing Zhu ‘86 Corporate & Organization Sponsors Air Products Alfa Piping Corp American Express Foundation B T Alex Brown BDO Seidman, LLP Bonanza Productions Inc Brooklyn Nets BTHS Alumni Long Island Chapter BTHS Parent Association, Inc Burson-Marsteller C. R. Bard Foundation Care2 Cellini Fine Jewelry Ceramax Co., LTD Charles B. Wang Associates Inc Charles B. Wang International Foundation Chase Manhattan Bank Chicago Bridge & Iron Company Cirocco & Ozzimo, Inc Computer Associates International, Inc Con Edison Construction Resources Corp of New York Cowles Media Foundation Credit Suisse Securities Daikin Applied Deutsche Bank Duggal Color Projects, Inc Eastern Metalworks of NY, Inc El Paso Energy Foundation FIRST GameStop Corporation Gateway Institute for PreCollege Education Gatorade Company GE Foundation GIBC Digital GiveSmart US, Inc Goldman Sachs Gives Annual Giving Fund Goldman Sachs Matching Gifts Program Haights Cross Operating Company HC12 Net Heritage Mechanical Services, Inc Hines Interests LP - East Region IBM Ice Air, LLC Ingersoll Rand InnoCare Services Company LLC Itron ITW Foundation Jaros Baum & Bolles John Wiley & Sons, Inc JPB Foundation Keyspan KSW Mechanical, LLC Laura Berdon Foundation Liberty Science Center Lucent Technologies M & I Electric Industries, Inc

Marathon Bank Math For America Inc MBS Textbook Exchange Merrill Lynch & Co Found Metromedia Company Miller Proctor Nickolas Inc. Morgan Stanley Cybergrants National Basketball Association National Grid National Hockey League Foundation National Society of Black Engineers New York City Urban Debate League Octagon P.J. Mechanical Corp Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Pennoni Associates, Inc Pension Review Pfizer Inc Piper Jaffrey Polytechnic University Raytheon Company Related Construction Holdings, LLC Ridgewood Foundation Ridgewood Savings Bank Robinson Silverman Pearce Aronsohn & Berman LLP SIAC Simatelex Manufacturing Co Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP SPX Cooling Technologies SRS Enterprises, Inc Starlite Printers Sterling Project Development Group Structure Tone, Inc T.E.C. Systems, Inc TD Bank Textron Charitable Trust The Benevity Community Impact Fund The Dow Chemical Company Foundation The Durst Organization The Hyde Agency The Jay Chiat Foundation, Inc The Kahn Family Charitable Foundation The Lotos Foundation The McGraw-Hill Companies The New York Community Trust Time Warner Truist Comprehensive Turner Construction Co. Verizon Foundation, Inc. Walentas Foundation Warner Brothers Television Wasserman Foundation Zoppas Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology Group, LLP WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG

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The list reflects total lifetime giving through June 30, 2021 above $5,000. Many thanks to all the contributors who have not yet reached that level but whose contributions are making a difference at Brooklyn Tech.

BROOKLYN TECH ALUMNI FOUNDATION Officers President Denice Clarke (DC) Ware ‘83 Vice Presidents David Lee ‘78 Susan Mayham ‘76 Bola Oyedijo ‘92 Anthony P. Schirripa ‘67 Treasurer Jim DiBenedetto ‘71 Secretary Ned Steele ‘68 Directors John Albert ‘90 Wilton Cedeno ‘82 Horace Davis ‘84 Tomas Hernandez ‘73 Lesleigh Irish-Underwood ‘82 Penelope Kokkinides ‘87 Amy Kong ‘99 Edward T. LaGrassa ‘65 Salvatore Lentini ‘79 Margaret Murphy ‘83 Achilles Perry ‘58 Valmira Popinara ‘18 Deepti Sharma ‘04 Michael A. Weiss ‘57 Giselle Williams ‘92 Honorary Director Leonard Riggio ‘58 Student Representatives Samuel Greenberg ‘22 Rommy Sasson ‘23 Lucy Vuong ‘22 Foundation Staff Acting Executive Director Marcel Vaughn-Handy Chief Educational Officer Mathew M. Mandery ‘61 Special Advisor Elizabeth A. Sciabarra Director of Alumni Engagement & Inclusion Carolina Brandao Hojaij Director of Communications Lisa Trollback Administrative Manager Ina Cloonen Graphics Administrator Suzanne Hausman BROOKLYN TECH ALUMNI FOUNDATION 29 Fort Greene Place Brooklyn, NY 11217 718-797-2285 www.bthsalumni.org info@bthsalum.org

Executive Director’s Message THIS PAST YEAR has been one unlike any other in recent history. Our country, communities, and neighborhoods have had to rediscover the world and create a new normal. During this time, we have seen acts of extreme courage and heroism displayed by individuals in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. These feats are illustrated here in the stories of your fellow Technites.

As a newcomer to the Brooklyn Tech family, I am inspired by your stories and excited to learn more about the amazing alumni who have passed through these hallowed halls.

As Brooklyn Tech enters its Centennial Year, the Alumni Foundation looks to continue the legacy of excellence and usher in a new era for future generations of Technites.

Thank you for your continued support of the Foundation’s work. Your generosity has provided for much-needed programming and educational initiatives. We hope that you will join us in taking the Alumni Foundation and Brooklyn Tech to greater heights as we usher in the next 100 years.

Marcel Vaughn-Handy

Acting Executive Director

Before you set this issue aside…

We hope you’ve enjoyed reconnecting with your alma mater through this edition of TechTimes as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Before you go…. Please show your support for Brooklyn Tech and its 6,000 students. Make a taxdeductible contribution using the reply envelope or at www.bthsalumni.org/donate The young people you met in these pages, and their classmates, will be grateful.

BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL David Newman, Principal

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Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, Inc. 29 Fort Greene Place • Brooklyn NY 11217 www.bthsalumni.org

Students Tell Their Pandemic Stories: See page 6

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Brooklyn, NY ???

TBD Permit No, TKTK

ABOUT THE COVER TECHTIMES invited BTHS graduating senior Isabella Blanco to create art that reflected the student reaction to life and school during a pandemic shutdown. Her work graces our front and back covers.

It also opens this issue’s core section on the students who lived through, and learned from, 16 months with a Tech that wasn’t, and yet somehow still was, the Tech we all know and love.

THE ARTIST’S STATEMENT: “The pandemic transformed not just students’ academic lives but personal too. Novel situations became everyday anxieties that piled up, hidden behind glazed eyes and apathy. These pieces were created to convey how much happened under a facade of so little.”

(See Page 6 for more of Isabella’s work and a link to learn more online about her.)