By AILEEN BURKE News Editor AND ELIZABETH LIU Staff Writer
The BOLD Women’s Leadership Network, a new program, has officially commenced at the College of Saint Rose with the help of Saint Rose alumni, Michelle Borisenok ‘80, along with her husband, Walt. The $1.2 million gift from by Michelle Borisenok will go directly towards the funding of the renovation of 1020 Madison Ave.
The Michelle Borisenok Alumni ‘80 House will be the new living quarters for the inaugural cohort class for the BOLD leadership network.
Seven College of Saint Rose female students of diverse backgrounds were nominated as the first cohort class of the BOLD Leadership Program: Hellen Jumo; Essence Coxum; Belinda Ligotino; Ariana Paul; Nia Brown; Marissa Isabella; and Janay Salter.
When asked about the BOLD Scholars, Borisenok had a word of advice for the BOLD scholars that were selected for the Spring 2019 semester.
“The BOLD scholars have different areas of study in which they feel passionate about. Through their journey in the Women’s Leadership Institute at The College of Saint Rose, they will be able to develop skills that will enhance their college experience and this will enable them to move throughout college successfully and move forward through their academic journey,” said Borisenok.
These women that were selected to become BOLD scholars will receive scholarship assistance for tuition, room, and board so that they have the ability to live on campus in 1020 Madison Ave, which will be the residency and headquarters for the College’s chapter of the BOLD organization. The women selected are all students at The College of Saint Rose and went through a rather rigorous selection and application process to participate in the program and live in the living-learning facility. The committee involved a BOLD Representative, Yolinda Caldwell who was on the committee in selecting the scholars. The process involved an application as well as an interview by the College of Saint Rose in order to be chosen. The building in which they will be housed in will be entitled the Michelle Borisenok ‘80 House.
President Stefanco was involved heavily in the process for the BOLD Network installation at the College. There were many requirements to receive the grant for the BOLD Network which is a separate process from renovating 1020 Madison Ave. She had some reflection on the “living-learning” environment was chosen for the BOLD Scholars.
“I’m overall very impressed with this year’s cohort of scholars and I am looking forward to getting to know them,” said President Stefanco. “We’re really looking to build a community-like environment for everyone that is involved with the BOLD initiative. In higher education we tend to like this living-learning environment, because this will result in to building a healthy environment. Personally, I am looking to be very involved in the BOLD Leadership program. For example, I’m teaching a non credit course in which the scholars will be taking, and I will also be participating in a retreat with the scholars over the summer.”
The scholars will live in a single-occupancy rooms on the second floor of the Borisenok building, while the first floor will have space to host events, conferences, and different programs for faculty, staff, and administration that desire to support the BOLD Leadership Network. Construction of the headquarters for the Women’s BOLD Leadership Network will begin this spring. Each scholar took on a leadership role within the cohort that they must maintain throughout the rest of their time at The College of Saint Rose. BOLD also wishes to help the scholars prepare for both internships, fellowships, and the rest of their professional career.
“I’m looking forward to everything about the program. I’m looking forward to working with my fellow scholars. Being accepted into BOLD has changed my confidence levels for the better because now I can feel like I can accomplish anything and it has given me better skills to be a better leader not only in the classroom, but for life as well,” said Essence Coxum, one of the recently appointed scholars.
The BOLD Leadership Network plans to involve faculty, administration, and staff of The College of Saint Rose. There will be an advisory board of global leaders that will advise the BOLD Leadership Network with their curriculum. The program will be fully implemented within Saint Rose by the year of 2020.
The purpose of the leadership program on campus is to encourage female leadership through “education, advocacy, and collaboration,” according to the College. Student participants are required to participate in seminars, workshops, retreats over the summer, and other requirements set by the organization while maintaining their necessary grades, all while attending their regularly scheduled courses for their academic major at Saint Rose.
Borisenok, the alumnae who granted the College with the gift to renovate 1020 Madison , graduated from The College of Saint Rose in 1980. She is a first generation college student from Troy, New York. She sits on The College of Saint Rose Board of Trustees in which President Carolyn Stefanco also serves.
There are six other colleges in New York State that belong to the network along Saint Rose; Ithaca College, Middlebury College, Colby-Sawyer College, the University of Connecticut, and the Rutgers University-Newark. There are requirements set by the Pussycat Foundation in which that must be met prior before the institution can be selected to be admitted in the BOLD Leadership Network.
Borisenok had reflected on her time as an undergraduate student at Saint Rose and had advice for the BOLD scholars.
“The world is your oyster,” said Borisenok. “With persistence and perseverance, there is nothing that you can’t achieve. The institute will give them the skills and tools they will need in order to move forward in their professional and personal lives, and we are hoping to gain support from alumni in this initiative. I am overall looking forward to seeing BOLD develop.”
Photos by Caroline Aurigemma
