Meet Members of the Class of 2026!
On Thursday, May 21, SUNY Schenectady will hold its 56th Commencement! Meet some members of the Class of 2026.
Realizing A Dream
Caitlin Carr remembers taking a family vacation to Disney World when she was a child. Her favorite part? The plane ride. Growing up she used to park at the airport to watch planes take off and land. She has an app on her phone that tracks planes that are flying all over the world. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Writing and Rhetoric, she “couldn’t stop thinking about aviation” so she decided to return to college. She will be graduating with her associate degree in Air Traffic Control.
Caitlin has been working as a full-time Airport Operations Supervisor at Albany International Airport, inspecting the runway, making sure the it’s safe for planes to land. This semester she interned in the tower at the Schenectady County Airport. Under the supervision of an air traffic manager, she has been clearing planes to taxi, take off, and land. She is making sure all of the planes coming into the airport are spaced out correctly and that they are aware of one another. Before her internship, Caitlin completed ground control and local control classes. “We get trained every step of the way before we move on. With my internship I love that you actually get to be in a control tower controlling live airplanes,” she explained.
After she graduates, Cailtin will begin her career as a full-time air traffic controller at the Schenectady County Airport, hired as a result of her internship there.
Growing A Business
When Alex Graziano looks at discarded shampoo bottles and plastic jugs, he sees something “old that can become something new.” He started a business recycling used plastic products and turning them into soap dishes, planters, key chains, and coasters. He will be graduating with his Entrepreneurship certificate and plans to keep growing his business.
Alex takes used milk jugs and plastic bottle caps, puts them through a shedder that he built, uses a panini press to melt the plastic which is then placed into a wooden mold and a bottle jack press for compression. A plate made of recycled plastic comes out and goes into a CNC router to make his products.
While taking the BUS 252: Business Plan Development course, he participated in the 12-week Entrepreneur Boot Camp at the Capital Region Chamber. That’s where his business idea became solid after he wrote a professional business plan and networked with other Capital Region entrepreneurs. He sells his creations throughout the Capital Region and is looking to begin selling his products online.
In addition to the business side of things, Alex likes the impact he’s having on the environment saying, “It really helps protect the environment. It takes less energy to recycle plastic than it does to make more plastic.”
Inspiring Future Mathematicians
Rayshawn Floyd is on a mission to become a math teacher so that he can “bring out a skill in middle school and high school students that they may not know they have.” As someone who has always enjoyed math, Rayshawn wants to inspire teenagers to embrace numbers as well. A returning adult student who has balanced going to school full time with working full time, Rayshawn will be graduating with his associate degree in Teacher Education Transfer degree.
He shared the inspiration behind wanting to pursue a career in teaching saying, “Middle school and high school years are when some students stop enjoying math including algebra, trigonometry, and calculus which are more complicated. That’s why I want to help out with students at those ages. They may not think they can do it, but they can. It’s interesting to watch them develop in their math skills, that’s great to watch firsthand.”
Rayshawn is in the SUNY Reconnect Program, which offers New York adults between the ages of 25-55 who do not have a college degree the opportunity to earn their associate degree in select programs for free. He describes the program as a “great blessing,” allowing him to continue going to school and move one step closer to his goal. This fall, he will be transferring to SUNY Empire State University to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and then go on for his master’s degree in Education to become a Math teacher.
Buidling a Foundation to Become a Physician
Dylan Slater has become a student leader on campus as President of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Treasurer of the Student Government Association, all while he was still in high school. A student in the Early College Program, Dylan began taking college courses when he was entering ninth grade and spent his junior and seniors years fully on the SUNY Schenectady campus. With a passion for science and the desire to one day practice family medicine, Dylan will graduate with both his associate degree in Mathematics and Science and his diploma from Schenectady High School.
A participant in the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), Dylan decided to start taking college courses so that he could save money on his college education and focus his attention on science courses. “This has been an amazing opportunity that I hope other students will be afforded in the future,” he said. “I hope to use the extra time and money I now have to specialize even more when I go for my bachelor’s degree. I’ll be taking masters level courses sooner – my third year out of high school.” But Science isn’t his only love. He has played the saxophone in the Jazz Ensemble for two years, has played in the Empire State Youth Orchestra for six years, and recently spoke at a conference in Houston, Texas, about his experience as a youth ambassador for El Sistema, a worldwide organization offering music training to children.
Dylan recently found out that he was named Valedictorian of the Schenectady High School Class of 2026. He will be transferring to the University at Albany this fall to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and then it’s on to medical school to fulfill his dream of becoming a family medicine physician.
Making Their Mark in the Culinary World and Graduating Together
Cousins Haleliya Wilson and Montany “Monty” Belfort were born six months apart. They’re quick to finish each other’s sentences and in the School of Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism, they’re known as “the twins.” They both traveled to Italy last summer for study abroad, learning from chefs, vintners, and farmers there, and for two years in a row, they worked alongside chefs and hospitality professionals from all over the world at the Kentucky Derby. Now, they are both graduating with their A.O.S. degrees in Culinary Arts.
Haleliya got a taste for the culinary business early on, helping her Mom who was a baker, sell her gluten free and dairy free cupcakes at farmer’s markets. She became even more interested in baking during the pandemic when she spent time making muffins, pound cakes, and cookies to share with her family. She has worked at Mrs. London’s Bakery in Saratoga for the past five years. Haleliya has set her sights on returning to Italy this fall for a three-month program in Asti to learn more about pastry-making. She intends on living in Europe after that to work in bakeries there. “My favorite thing about studying at SUNY Schenectady has been my professors. Instead of the Culinary Arts program being like a boot camp, the faculty chefs they were always very supportive and trying to help you grow.”
For Monty, early memories of his grandfather cooking traditional meals from Trinidad inspired his love for cooking and food. He has worked on the Pomme De Terre food truck at equestrian events in Saratoga, at a local catering company, and currently works at Jack’s Oyster House in Albany, on the “cold line” making salads and desserts and preparing oysters. Monty plans to continue working at Jack’s, begin working at Izakaya Kinko (also in Albany), and possibly at Saratoga Race Course this summer. “I love getting to see people’s faces after they try my cooking. I feel proud. I love just being able to see the food in its most perfect form.”
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Taking Flight
Living close to an airport and watching planes fly overhead on a daily basis had its advantages for Kyle Barkevich, who developed a love for aviation when he was a child. Listening to his father and uncle, who both earned their Prive Pilot Certificates, talk about flying also made a big impression on him growing up. Now he too has his Private Pilot Certificate, in addition to his Instrument Rating, and Commercial Pilot Certificate, part of his A.S. degree in Aviation Science.
In addition to going to school full time, Kyle has worked part time as a ramp agent for Piedmont Airlines at Albany International Airport. He has also been accumulating flight hours to become a Certified Flight Instructor at Five Star Flight Academy at the Schenectady County Airport, the same flight school he has trained with as a college student. He’s looking forward to sitting in the cockpit alongside student pilots. “I love airplanes and to be able to teach other people how to fly and share that excitement with new students will be a pretty great thing.”
When he has 500 hours of flight time, Kyle plans to apply to a cadet program run by Piedmont, a subsidiary of American Airlines in the future, to achieve his ultimate dream of flying for a major commercial airline.
Writing Her Future
Grace Van Baaren likes the fact that she has had “a little more freedom” during her high school years, spending her junior and senior years on the SUNY Schenectady campus, taking classes toward her college degree. An aspiring writer, Grace will be graduating with both her associate degree in Liberal Arts: Humanities and Social Sciences and her diploma from Schenectady High School.
Grace has been taking college courses since the summer before she entered ninth grade through the Early College Program and has found a supportive community at the College. “College was something that I wanted for myself and this was a great way to start. I have loved taking classes here with all of my peers. All of my professors have been amazing and I have had my own personal space, but still have had support when I needed it. I love having a little more freedom which opens you up to the real world.”
Grace is Vice President of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Secretary of the Student Government Association. She is also a competitive softball player who has played catcher and shortstop on Schenectady High School’s Varsity Softball Team as well as the Rotterdam Regulators travel team. An aspiring writer, Grace will be transferring to Binghamton University this fall for her bachelor’s degree in English.