Becoming a public-school teacher wasn’t always Kelli McDermott’s dream job. But when Kelli, a NYSCAS student and Staten Island native was offered a job as a paraprofessional at a Brooklyn junior high school, she fell in love with her new role and quickly realized that teaching was the career path she was going to pursue. We recently caught up with McDermott, who shared why she’s passionate about the education field, explains the many benefits of Touro’s Honors Teacher Preparation Pathway, a joint program between NYSCAS and Touro’s Graduate School of Education (GSE), which will enable her to earn a bachelor’s and master's degree in education as well as prepare for NYSED Certification in only five years, and offers advice for other students dreaming of becoming educators of the future.

New York School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS), a division of Touro University, held its 48^th annual commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 9th at 6:00 p.m. at The Amphitheater at Coney Island.

If you thought pursuing an undergraduate degree at Touro’s New York School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS) was a challenge, now imagine simultaneously serving as the primary caregiver for a chronically ill family member while balancing the daunting requirements of several jobs.

Ever wonder what it takes to be a successful commercial and residential property manager? We recently spoke with Project Manager Andre Gibbs, a current NYSCAS student pursuing his bachelor’s degree in psychology, with an expected graduation date of May ’22. Hear from Gibbs on his dream job, why he decided to head back to the Touro classroom after working in this field for two decades and how his mother inspired him to continue to push forward on his educational journey.

While there are almost four times as many nurses in the U.S. as there are physicians, a career in the nursing field is not for the faint of heart. This critical role requires compassion, empathy, dedication, many hours spent on your feet, and a love for helping people, says New York School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS) alum Anya Khaimova. Khaimova, a ‘17 Summa Cum Laude grad who pursued her bachelor’s degree in biology at Touro, shares her passion for the field, how Touro staff and faculty helped her overcome challenges while she balanced student and family responsibilities, and what a day in her life as a staff nurse at New York City’s Jacobi Medical Center is really like.

Eli Lunzer, a 2002 Touro grad who majored in marketing and management, is a sports and entertainment marketing agent and founder of Eli Lunzer Productions. An observant Jewish Manhattanite in his early 40s, Lunzer manages talent, connects celebrities and pro athletes with brands and sponsors and produces top-tier events. Despite his unusual career choice for an Orthodox Jew, Lunzer is deeply committed to his observance of Shabbat, Kashrut and Jewish holidays. Here, he talks about his career choice, personal passion and the keys to his success.

How do you file your taxes? How do you create a budget and plan for a possible emergency? These are questions that virtually everyone has to face at some point in their life; yet, when confronted with these issues, few feel prepared to face them.

We recently spoke with Alexandra Giannotta, a Touro New York School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS) student pursuing her Associate of Applied Science degree in Radiographic Technology. Expecting to graduate in June ‘22, Giannotta explains why she made the scary but exciting decision to leave her job in the beauty industry to embark on a new journey in the medical field.

Raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, a neighborhood with the dubious distinction of being one of the most dangerous in the borough, 33-year-old Travis Roberson knew that he wanted to play for the NBA from a very young age. After being shot in his early twenties, his dreams of playing professional basketball ended. However, as a New York School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS) student currently pursuing his Associates's degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, he’s still able to embrace his passion for the sport by playing on the college’s basketball team, the Touro Tornadoes.

It’s no secret that writing helps people express emotions during challenging times. With that in mind, Touro NYSCAS student Sharon Coggins put pen to paper to sort out her feelings as she watched her husband suffer from cancer. Many years later, Coggins is enjoying the fruit of her labor with the release of her debut children’s book, Daddy Has Cancer. The book, co-written with her now 10-year-old son Fabian, was created to help him and her three other children process their thoughts surrounding their father’s disease and untimely death.