’96 Plaza Graduate Alice Seda: A Master Class in Success

By Seasons staff

Since 1996, Plaza College Graduate Alice Seda has been on quite a metaphorical roller coaster through life; however, she has never lost her focus, and is about to begin pursuing her Master’s Degree in either Business Administration or Patient Advocacy.

“I encountered many challenges after graduation; my life took a 180 degree turn. I have had to face many challenges that I never expected, and I have to say they have not been easy to overcome,” Ms. Seda said.

Upon graduation, Ms. Seda moved to upstate New York with her family. A few years later, she began pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Iona College. Suddenly, in 2005, her husband was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which left him unable to work. Ms. Seda, the sole provider for her family, then had to work three jobs, while attending college. Then, in 2008, Ms. Seda’s son was diagnosed with epilepsy.

“For the past 1 ½ years, while I was attending Iona College, my son was hospitalized multiple times. So, I had to do reports for school and paper work for my three jobs from the hospital room,” Ms. Seda said.

In spite of such seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Ms. Seda graduated, with honors, this past May from Iona College. Currently, she is working as a Sr. Collection Biller in the Patient Accounts Department at Northern Westchester Hospital, where she has been for the past six years. In the fall, she will begin pursuing her Master’s Degree.

Looking back on her time at Plaza College, Ms. Seda is filled with vivid memories. She remembers a Business Math course, in which she struggled from the first day of class. However, as is the case with Ms. Seda, she didn’t give up, thanks to the help of her professor. Ms. Seda remembers the final as if it were yesterday.

“I felt I did not do well, and I was so upset with myself that my fellow students had to console me. While we were on break, the professor had graded the test, and later he approached me, and I panicked, thinking ‘Oh my God, I failed.’ Lo and behold, he came to tell me that I passed the test with a 100,”  Ms. Seda said.

To those students currently attending Plaza College, and to those thinking about attending, Ms. Seda says, “My life completely changed the minute I set my foot through the doors of Plaza. I met so many wonderful people and made quite a few friends to this day with whom I am still in contact. The professors at Plaza were very attentive to me and were always helpful and available to assist whenever I needed.”

Thankfully, Ms. Seda has also recently experienced some extraordinary triumphs with her son. This past March, Ms. Seda’s son was chosen to be an ambassador for the NY Epilepsy Foundation, as a part of the “Kids Speak Up” program. Seda and her family went to Capitol Hill, where her son spoke before the U.S. Senate about Epilepsy and the need for more funding for research. He is also a Boy Scout and recently obtained his Ad Altare Dei and the Pope Pius award, the highest Catholic Religious awards in the Boy Scouts. He is now ready to prepare for his Eagle Scout project. His project is an Epilepsy Awareness Project in Ms. Seda’s community.

As she celebrates her recent graduation and her son’s achievements, and prepares to embark on her Master’s Degree, Ms. Seda’s philosophy is very clear.

“President Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst you can do is nothing. You have to believe in yourself in order to make your dreams come true. However, my degree does not belong to me only; it belongs to my family because without them I could not have achieved my dreams.”