Joselin Carvajal

2009 Plaza College Graduate, B.B.A. Program
Where is she now: Eligibility Specialist at Elmhurst Hospital

One Family – three graduates

Having one graduation in the family is enough for a huge celebration. However, this past June, Plaza College alum, Joselin Carvajal, had three reasons to celebrate.

Ms. Carvajal earned her B.B.A. from Plaza College during the third week of June, 2009. One week earlier, her daughter, Ashley, graduated with high honors from Long Island City High School in Astoria; one week later, her son, Matthew, graduated from I.S. 145 in Queens.

“I am a single mother, and have been divorced for 13 years. Life in general has been a struggle in every way. My children have experienced these conflicts by my side. Together, we have overcome many obstacles. This, in result, has made us more united,” Ms. Carvajal said.

In fact, it was Ms. Carvajal’s daughter, Ashley, who came up with the idea to take a professional portrait of the three of them in their caps and gowns. Ms. Carvajal recollects, “It was an amazing feeling, walking down the street, the three of us in cap and gown. People stared at us in amazement, and it felt so good.”

To celebrate their achievements, Ms. Carvajal took her kids to Atlantic City and stayed three nights at the Trump Plaza. They enjoyed fine dining, shows, theaters, arcades, and the amusement parks. Of that trip she says, “It was expensive, but worth it!”

Ms. Carvajal’s story also caught the attention of her union representative, Ms. Pilar Oquendo, who decided to feature Ms. Carvajal in the January 2010 issue of the DC 37 Public Employee Press Newspaper. “I had the same picture on my desk. It caught her attention, for she had never seen such a beautiful moment. She was so amazed by our accomplishments that she honored me in the January edition,” Ms. Carvajal said.

Currently, Ms. Carvajal is a Medicaid Eligibility Specialist at Elmhurst Hospital. In this position, she calls upon many of the life lessons and skills she learned as a student at Plaza College. She said, “Earning my B.B.A. changed who I am completely. I have learned that in life one must struggle before one can achieve goals. Most of all, it is never too late to learn and fulfill one’s desire, whatever it may be. In order to do so, you must learn to have discipline and be determined in order to be successful. I am constantly applying the many supervisory and management skills I learned at Plaza, and they are helping me grow within my career.”

Ms. Carvajal’s daughter, Ashley, is currently attending Borough Manhattan Community College, and her son attends Newtown High School. Both are doing very well. Ms. Carvajal plans to return to school in the near future to pursue her Master’s Degree.

Ultimately, throughout this golden period in the life of her family, one moment really remains the highlight for Ms. Carvajal.

“What brought tears to my eyes was when the kids told me how much they love me and that they were proud of me. They said they consider me, ‘the perfect role model.’ That was an emotional moment for me.”