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| Eric Gioia (CAS '95) with wife Lisa Hernandez Gioia at the Student Leaders Dinner |
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On January 27, 150 NYU students and alumni gathered at the W Hotel in Union Square for the annual Student Leaders Dinner. The dinner celebrated the achievements of student council members and club leaders and gave them the opportunity to network with alumni who have established themselves in a variety of professional fields.
Students were welcomed by Michael J. Rosenberg (STERN ’55), president of the NYU Alumni Association, and Ronald Rapatalo (CAS ’97), co-chair of the Recent Alumni & Student Programs Committee. Rapatalo, who used to attend the dinner as a student, now takes pride in returning as an alumnus. “The pulse of the University lies in what the students are doing,” says Rapatalo, and the Student Leaders Dinner is a “great way to meet students who are making things happen.” He also sees the dinner as an opportunity to introduce students to the Alumni Association, allowing them to see the impact they can have as alumni when they stay involved with the University.
The evening’s featured speaker was NYU graduate Eric Gioia (CAS ‘95), New York City’s youngest city council member. Gioia grew up in Queens and told students that growing up, he seldom had the chance to visit Manhattan. Coming to NYU let him “see the world with new eyes.” His years at NYU “were the most formative four years of my life,” he said.
Following advice given to him his freshman year by former NYU President L. Jay Oliva, Gioia didn’t limit his educational experience to the four walls of the lecture hall. He used the city as his classroom and learned from both fellow students and his professors. Gioia reminded the students gathered at the dinner that NYU offers a tremendous education and that they are empowered, even obligated, to use that education to work for a better world.
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