For the Love of History

STORY By Emma Denes

When then-high schooler Alex Prizgintas ‘22/‘24M presented a lecture on Orange County’s dairy farms at a 2017 conference for the Association of Public Historians of New York State — the same conference where Marist College’s Hudson River Valley Institute just so happened to be in attendance — he made quite the impression.

“There’s a well-presenting young man with a little microphone, standing behind an array of milk bottles in milk crates, and he’s got the slideshow up behind him; it’s like a TED talk,” recalled Chris Pryslopski, senior program director of HRVI. “It’s not what you expect at the Public Historians of New York State conference; most [in attendance] are in excess of 60 years old.”

The same day of the conference, Prizgintas traveled to Marist to submit his undergraduate admissions application. A few short years later, he graduated from the College, majoring in history and minoring in Hudson River Valley regional studies, giving him abundant historical knowledge.

Equipped with a master’s of public administration from Marist as of January, Prizgintas now finds himself educating others. He taught a course in April on neglected stories of the Hudson River Valley for the Center for Lifetime Study, an educational program run by Marist for those 55 and older. In addition, he presents lectures every year at community centers, libraries and senior centers on topics ranging from the material culture of the former Jewish Borscht Belt vacation region of the Catskills to the history of local New York State railroads. 

Reflected by his 2024 calendar, Prizgintas keeps a busy schedule, with events sprinkled across the tri-state area that engage both academic and popular history. “I always appreciate an academic writing style, especially in terms of citing and source information,” he said. “But I do enjoy writing with a tone and certain vocabulary that attracts the popular reader; in my lectures, I like to merge both worlds.”

His work’s scholastic foundation stemmed from when Prizgintas interned twice with HRVI while at Marist. His first time as an intern in the spring of 2021 saw him study the Ellenville Glass Works, which he would write about a year later in a published article for the Institute’s “Hudson River Valley Review.”

“It doesn’t happen all the time, but I got to nerd out with this student who knew more than me about [the Ellenville Glass Works], and we’re going back and forth between screens and looking at this map and looking at that map and grabbing something from the Library of Congress that’s 200 years old,” said Pryslopski.

During his second internship in the fall of 2021, Prizgintas researched Frederick Law Olmsted — the 19th-century landscape architect who designed the U.S. Capitol Grounds and Central Park — and produced a video podcast episode about Olmsted’s influences in the Hudson Valley. 

But above all else, Prizgintas is perhaps best known for his inclination towards the history of dairy farms and the milk bottles that tell their stories. His curiosity for this specialized subject began early on when a neighbor up the street, Herman Galberd, introduced him to the Woodbury Historical Society and allowed him to join at just 11 years old. Galberd gave Prizgintas his first milk bottle — and now, years later, Prizgintas serves as the Society’s president.

Illustration by Izzy Nuzzo

It wouldn't be until 2015 when Prizgintas turned his propensity for collecting milk bottles into a full-fledged passion for the history behind them by debuting his lecture on Orange County’s dairy farms and their milk bottles for the Hudson Valley Bottle Club.

“Back then, I had about 200 milk bottles, and I brought them all in these wooden containers, and for the bottle collector-orientated audience, that was perfect,” said Prizgintas. “Later, that started getting featured at local libraries and historical societies, and it became clear that the focus needed to shift. That’s where there was the shift from being a collector to a historian and inquiring behind the different facets of this history.”

His Orange County Milk Bottle Museum, which hosts a public house every summer, boasts a collection of over 800 bottles. Moreover, Pulitzer Prize-finalist and American historian Philip Dray is currently editing Prizgintas’ book manuscript on the history of dairy farming and milk transportation in Orange County, New York.

Prizgintas’ fascination goes beyond the bottles themselves and into the narratives behind these artifacts that connect with people of all ages. “He’s got that ability to meet his audience, wherever they are,” said Chris Pryslopski. “It’s phenomenal — I don’t know too many, myself included, who can do it as well as he does it as often as I’ve seen him do it.

Despite fraternizing with the likes of local history celebrities, Prizgintas keeps his favorite mentors in the family, crediting his parents as his biggest supporters as he navigates unique career interests and a diagnosis with autism spectrum disorder. 

“When I was three-and-a-half years old, my father made sure to have the time to drive me 30 minutes to and from a preschool that addressed my autism. Each day, our trip was an adventure,” he said. “I wasn’t talking yet, so my dad would fill the space with the names of every street and town as we took the trip. Later, he would intentionally make mistakes, and I would correct him. I guess that’s where my curiosity about towns, maps and history began.”

When not lecturing on local history, Prizgintas turns to his passion for playing music in various genres and programs, from British Invasion to Broadway. A pianist and cellist, he performs concerts annually, supported by a community arts grant from the Orange County New York Arts Council he received last year.

With the help of his father, Prizgintas plans to start bridging the gap between his interests by adding historical narrative and other communicative elements. “We’re even developing adding PowerPoints in a way, to add some visuals while I’m performing, and perhaps some historical slides, so we want to keep making the experience unique for our audiences.”

For now, Prizgintas remains committed to his unique passions and continues his volunteer and presentation work. In the meantime, Pryslopski poses an open question about the young historian’s future.

“What’s going to happen if somebody with Alex’s background and diversity of interests steps into a leadership role at a historical site? I look forward to seeing that, as well as what else he does… given the depth and breadth of his interests.”

But no matter what Prizgintas intends to do, his enthusiasm for uncovering the stories of the past will never waver. According to him, developing a love for history can be as simple as looking in your own backyard. 

“It’s amazing and almost awe-striking to me how some well-known landmarks and sites, past and present, go quite literally unnoticed today,” said Prizgintas. “I think having even a very rudimentary knowledge of your local history is essential to bonding better with your community and, in turn, helping to benefit and create more relationships and awareness among others.”

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Rebekah Hendricks, James Lanci and Christopher C. Smith

A Global Innovator

STORY By Cora Flynn

From networking with CEOs of public relations firms to launching a global branch of Marist College’s North Road Communications, Alexis Lee ‘24 is making strides as she breaks into the PR industry. 

Lee discovered her interest in PR in the spring of 2020 when she was selected to participate in a campaign for Pandora Jewelry and Sebastian Professional. As a high school senior who lost out on many customary events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was able to have a “virtual prom” with five other girls from across the country. She received PR packages and was interviewed by reporters for PopSugar and News 12 New Jersey.  

“I found it so interesting that that [could be] a career. I had so much fun participating in it that I was like, ‘Wow, I'd love to be [the one who] sets up these types of things,’” Lee said.

Despite the heavy COVID precautions during her first semester at Marist, Lee wasted no time getting involved. Within her first week, she began working at the Center for Career Services as a digital content assistant and for Marist Athletics as a student office manager for the football team. 

“I learned very early on how beneficial hands-on experience is in your career,” shared Lee. “Communications is a very broad degree, and when you're trying to set yourself apart in a job application or interview, they're going to care about what you have actual physical experience with.”

This mindset led her to apply that spring to NRC, Marist’s student-run integrated marketing communications firm that provides pro-bono services for local nonprofits. As the only freshman in the firm at the time, she quickly rose through the ranks. By the fall of her sophomore year, she was the creative director of strategy and operations. At the start of her junior year, she was the firm’s first junior director. In her role, she worked hand-in-hand with fellow firm director Grayce Shuker ‘23, and they developed a close bond over their shared love of NRC.

“Since first being involved in NRC, we cared about the future of the firm, no matter what our title was,” said Shuker. “We really wanted to bring that into our leadership too. So once [Lee and I] started working together, we both poured that passion [for] growth of the firm into our work, and that definitely shines through.”

Illustration by Izzy Nuzzo

As junior director, Lee checked off another major college milestone: going abroad. However, her commitment to the firm wouldn’t be left behind in Poughkeepsie, New York, so she brought NRC with her. Lee launched NRC Global in Florence, Italy, making NRC one of the first student-run global firms. Inspiration for this project came from various places, including NRC advisor Dr. Jennifer Robinette, senior professional lecturer of communication and public relations. 

“[I was sad planning not to be involved with NRC while abroad, so I] said that to Dr. Robinette one day, and she was like, ‘Well, why don't we just take it global then?’ That was something that changed my perspective,” shared Lee. “She has such a can-do attitude that has turned me into the person that I am today.”

Lee faced several obstacles in establishing a global branch, such as recruiting students and navigating cultural differences while finding clients. 

“We struggled to get a client at first, and a huge part of that was just the cultural difference of nonprofit organizations over there,” Lee recalled. “I quickly learned that the nonprofit sector there is not as flashy as it is in America. We eventually found that utilizing and connecting ourselves and word of mouth was the most successful way of obtaining a client.”

Returning to Poughkeepsie afterward, Lee continued to develop NRC Global in new locations. She also focused her senior capping project on the impact of NRC Global and hands-on experience. She is confident in the future of the branch.

“We've been working on expanding, particularly to London, [England,] and then we've also been in the works expanding to Ireland since we do have Dublin Business School there,” said Lee.

As the firm director this year, Lee has worked with her fellow directors to grow NRC and its reach. They had 14 clients and 64 members in the fall of 2022 and have expanded to 25 clients and 135 members by this spring. Looking forward, Lee hopes NRC will continue to provide a fun and fulfilling way for students to develop their interest in PR. 

“I would love to see people develop and give students the opportunity to pursue their passions, pursue hands-on experience and figure out what they want to do at a college level,” said Lee. “I would love for NRC to continue to house those creative minds where people can flourish and make a difference while doing it.”

Lee has expanded her professional development outside of the Marist campus and gained experience in agency life through her internships at Channel V Media, Fortune & Frame and rbb Communications.

Last summer, she decided to explore her interest in music and project management through her internship at Live Nation. There, she worked with project manager Victoria Mulé ‘16 to organize country music festivals around the U.S. Because of all her experiences, Lee has several paths she could explore post-graduation. 

“What I did throughout college was as many internships and hands-on experience opportunities as possible to gauge what I liked and what I didn't like,” Lee recounts. “I still don't exactly know, but I do have an idea of some of my long-term interests. I would love to own my own PR IMC agency down the line.”

Regardless of what she ends up doing, Lee’s coworkers and mentors have the utmost faith in her ability to succeed.

“I think her positivity maybe outweighs everything else. And that will take anyone very far in any work environment,” said Robinette. “The ability to hear and deal with negative questions and say, ‘How can we fix this? How can we improve it? How can we do this better in the future?’ The ability to stay focused on that, instead of getting mired down in the negatives, is the key to success in many ways.”

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Rose Mayer and Christopher C. Smith

Big Sis Ava and the book you never knew you needed

STORY By Laratee VanNieuwenhuyze

For Ava Kaloz ‘25, middle school and high school were defined as times of confinement and struggle, physically and emotionally.

A time of stark physical change and mental drain; that stage of her life was very different from her cathartic time at Marist College. The primary issue that plagued Kaloz throughout those middle and high school years was something most teenagers don’t have to think about. Kaloz was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis and dealt with the numerous challenges that came with reversing it.

Now, she looks back on those moments, knowing her experiences can help others in similar situations - even if they were tough to relive at first - in the form of a self-help and advice book she has been writing during her time here at Marist.

But let’s back up and learn more about Kaloz first.

She grew up in Campbell Hall, New York - more commonly referred to by her in passing conversation as “Legoland.” It’s a small hamlet in central Orange County, where the first factory dedicated to producing butter in America was located. In Kaloz’s experience, few people have heard of it, leading her to “Legoland.”

Kaloz was first diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis during seventh grade, amidst adolescent-turning-teenage angst and the early stages of puberty. The condition refers to the curvature in one’s spine that can worsen in degrees over time to the point where one needs to wear a brace to help slow the curve or reverse it. In the worst case, a spinal fusion surgery where rods are placed in your spine is recommended.

For Kaloz, wearing a brace was suddenly a necessity.

“I was told, ‘Your curve is 31 degrees on the top and 27 on the bottom,’ like a little ‘S,’” Kaloz recalled. “So they said, ‘We’re going to have to recommend that you get a back brace.’”

At the time, she was excited - until she found out what kind of brace it was and how long she would have to wear it each day.

Illustration by Francine Wooley

The back brace that most may think of is likely a standard compression belt brace that can be bought somewhere similar to CVS or Rite Aid - this is not that brace. Instead, Kaloz had to wear one made of heavy fiberglass that was incredibly hard to twist and turn in, and she would have to wear it for 18 hours every day.

“They dropped the bomb on me saying, ‘You’re going to have to wear this for 18 hours a day’… as an eighth grader,” recounted Kaloz. “18 hours is a lot, and that thing is hot because it’s fiberglass. I felt like a burrito.”

Kaloz’s relationship with the brace was strenuous from the moment she put it on. Not only because she was dealing with the pain it caused her but because a life change of this degree would be difficult for any young teenage girl going through puberty. To keep attention away from it, she wore the brace underneath sweatshirts and long-sleeve shirts and on top of tank tops that were always at risk of ripping. Fear of her peers finding out about it constantly plagued her.

Aside from all the support from her family, her solace was her love and passion for art, leading her to create her high school’s art club, which still exists today. She found herself doodling images of braces and spines in her notebook. 

“When I got the brace, I was like, ‘Maybe I should just try to use this as an inspiration point.’ So I would draw braces a lot in my notebooks and think, ‘Maybe one day I’ll do something with this; [use it to] raise awareness,’” Kaloz said.

Fast forward, and Kaloz is studying fine arts at Marist with a concentration in studio art as a junior in the Honors Program. Much of her artwork has focused on female empowerment, complex emotions and, now, scoliosis. Her artwork is included in the book she recently wrote in an honors nonfiction writing class with Dr. Kevin Lerner about growing up with idiopathic scoliosis.

This book has always been something that Kaloz has wanted to write. Currently, there aren’t many books for kids and others who struggle with scoliosis to pick up and relate to, something Kaloz feels would have been an immense help growing up.

So, ‘Big Sis Ava’ comes to the rescue.

“When I had the brace, I very much wanted to talk about it, but I didn’t want to talk about it too much because it was personal and very in the moment,” Kaloz recalled. “I wanted to share [my experiences] with people, but I knew I would only really want to do it after the fact.”

The angle of the book was under construction for a while as she decided how to frame it. Should she use it to rant and vent about her experiences and struggles? Or would giving advice and sharing her experiences work better?

Eventually, she settled on giving advice; “In the past three years, I kind of came up with the idea of, ‘What if I try to make this an advice book? I will be your ‘big sis,’ and you can come to me for whatever issue you have; open the book, and I will try to tell you whatever I know.’” 

Kaloz’s book has been completed and is awaiting word from agents and publishers. She hopes to get the book published and her artwork displayed in galleries where her proceeds would go towards helping the American Scoliosis Foundation.

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Max Hochberg and Christopher C. Smith

Bushes and Butterflies

STORY By Laratee Vannieuwenhuyze

Spending time outside surrounded by gorgeous plants and flowers continuously in bloom while doing homework sounds like the perfect pastime for college students. But what nature are students here at Marist College meant to enjoy on a campus with isolated, interspersed trees in a vast ocean of too-frequently cut grass?

Cecelia Campbell ‘27 may have the answer to such a problem.

Only a freshman, the Maryland native started making her mark on the Marist community during her first semester, thanks to an interest she researched and pursued in her first-year seminar class on environmental studies.

Her interest: How can Marist College add native pollinator gardens to the campus’ grounds?

“I've noticed that on campus, there is a lot of flat grass and just flat lawn space. And I wanted to find a way to reduce that,” shared Campbell, recounting how the lack of biodiversity on campus shocked her upon arrival. She had never toured the campus before applying and attending orientation and classes.

Her decision to base her term project on the issue was solidified by the appearance of Robin Wall Kimmerer, scientist and author of Marist’s 2023-2024 Common Read, “Braiding Sweetgrass.”

“When [Kimmerer] came to this school and did her presentation, she mentioned how there was a lot of open space here, so I thought, ‘I’m doing that. I noticed that.’”

Native pollinator gardens like the ones Campbell is researching to implement on campus are designed to use native species of flora to attract and support pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Simply put, they are a perfect way to restore a lively, biodiverse ecosystem to an otherwise lacking area.

Campbell’s thorough research and heartfelt dedication to the project allowed her to continue her research after her first semester. She worked alongside Dr. Richard S. Feldman, her first-year seminar professor and chair of the environmental science & policy department. 

Dr. Feldman has acted as her mentor and advisor through this process, meeting weekly to discuss the research done between meetings and acting as a guide throughout the process for Campbell’s needs.

“It feels nice to know that [Dr. Feldman] believes in me and that I can actually make Marist a better place,” said Campbell.

Illustration by Francine Wooley

Her desire to bring more biodiversity stems from her love of gardening, a trait and hobby that her parents and grandmother fostered. Ever since she was a child, Campbell has been surrounded by gardens and a love for what nature holds, whether it is pretty flowers or vegetables to eat for dinner.

“When I was about 16, my dad expanded the garden, so I had my own section all to myself; that was really nice for just experimenting with what I could grow there, finding new foods and ending up with way too much Swiss chard,” recounted Campbell.

Contrary to what one may believe, Campbell did not come to Marist to focus her studies and research efforts on environmental studies. Instead, she chose to set herself on the communications path with a dual concentration in advertising and journalism, backed up by a minor in theatre. 

“I knew I wanted to be a communications major because I like talking… that's kind of my thing,” said Campbell.

But her path has wavered after incorporating her love of science into her daily life at Marist.

“I waffled over changing my major entirely. But after talking to Dr. Feldman again, he told me that next semester, they're going to be tweaking their environmental studies major to make it way easier for someone to double major,” shared Campbell. “So [there’s a chance] I'll do that.”

She always had an inkling that communications would be part of her future since middle school, but by putting her efforts into another area she truly cares about, Campbell sees as another door opening for her future.

“I would love to do science communications as a career path,” said Campbell. “It's a very relevant field right now with climate change.”

The work that Campbell has been doing alongside her regular coursework has been a distraction for her since researching a topic that is a personal passion is much more fulfilling than essay after essay, no matter if it can be overwhelming.

“Honestly, the way that I work, I will latch onto the project and just…knock it out in like, one long session rather than a lot of little sessions…But I guess the plants' list did take a little longer because it was a lot of cross-referencing different databases,” Campbell said.

Once she’s down a rabbit hole on a topic she enjoys, like finding the perfect flowers and plants for these potential native pollinator gardens, the distractions of the project become far more interesting than an essay for a random class - even if it means turning her known world upside down.

“I’ll go down rabbit holes and get distracted. Like, there’s a plant that I know as Mountain Laurel, but what’s actually more commonly known as Mountain Laurel is a completely different plant. So I kind of had a culture shock-kind of a moment.”

She hopes to one day see the fruits of her labor and native pollinator gardens implemented across Marist’s campus, regardless of how overwhelming her research may become because, for Campbell, “It's probably the most important thing I'm doing right now.”

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Max Hochberg, Rose Mayer and Christopher C. Smith

producing his “Magnum Opus”

STORY By Erin Holton

Self-proclaimed “sports junkie” Jimmy Tsiantoulas ‘25 might have started his time at Marist College wanting to be in front of a camera, but he found his true love in production and behind-the-scenes work. 

As a die-hard New England Patriots and Boston Celtics fan growing up in Massachusetts, sports always seemed like something to watch and be passionate about. It wasn’t until a conversation with his mom that he realized he could pursue sports communications as a career. 

“[She] asked me over the counter, ‘Hey Jimmy, did you ever think about going into sports communication?’ I was just kind of sold on it to begin with,” said Tsiantoulas. “After that, I applied to all the schools declaring as a sports communication major. So when I came here, I immediately had my [path] set in stone, and I’ve never once regretted it.” 

When Tsiantoulas got to Marist, he, like many other sports communications students, had a desire to be on camera. 

“I feel like a lot of people, when they come to schools like this, their immediate want is to go in front of the camera, be that play-by-play guy, color analyst or whatnot – and I'm no different,” he said. “I wanted to be the guy being the announcer for my hometown sports teams because I was so ingrained in them as a kid.”

During his freshman and sophomore years, Tsiantoulas slowly got acclimated to the offerings at the College. He started editing and operating cameras, finding a passion for the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a show.

Tsiantoulas discovered his love of production through involvement in the Red Fox Report, a halftime show airing on ESPN+ and YouTube, where he was its lead producer during his junior year. As captain of the ship, he creates ideas for segments and manages his team, guiding them toward his vision. He has created several segments and expanded on the debate format of Halftime on the Hudson. This show on MCTV, the College’s in-house television station, was his entry into production at Marist, and he knew he wanted to make some changes.

Illustration by Izzy Nuzzo

“We've revitalized Halftime on the Hudson to be something that I'm very proud of,” said Tsiantoulas. “We still have discussions between the two co-hosts, but the debates used to be pretty stale.” 

Tsiantoulas and Eugene Barbieri ‘26, his friend and co-producer of Halftime on the Hudson, worked together to create the show’s electric atmosphere. Leaning into the popular format of “hot-takes” and fun, intense discussions seen in the industry, Tsiantoulas swapped mundane debates for something fresh and engaging. Participants now get fired up and enthralled by the topics, something that Tsiantoulas believes makes Halftime on the Hudson more enjoyable to watch and produce.

Tsiantoulas has a knack for being a leader on the production side, a position he’s grown into. Through mentors and a lot of self-teaching, he acquired the skills needed to be an influential part of production teams.

He credits his friend and peer, Matt Spirio ‘23, the inaugural lead producer of Red Fox Report, and Chris Riviezzo, former interim director for the Center of Sports Communication, for giving him mentorship and leading him to where he is today. Friends of his gave him tips on editing and creating highlights, while others helped him with his writing abilities; he consistently acknowledged how he got to where he is now through his own merit and with the help of others along the way.

“As much as everything [I know] is self-taught and as much as I take pride in that, I will never not give people credit where credit is due because they have laid the groundwork for me, and I'm just building off that,” he said.

Tsiantoulas is paying forward the experience and lessons he was taught, becoming a mentor for those who will come after him. Barbieri, the incoming lead producer, credits Tsiantoulas with teaching him precious skills. Halftime on the Hudson was the first model production that Barbieri had been involved in, and he says that Tsiantoulas helped him learn throughout the process of production. 

“[Jimmy] being a year older than me, it was kind of like [having] a mentor. This was the first thing I was involved in,” said Barbieri. “So I've really learned a lot from him, considering that was the first sports production I worked on, and he showed me the ropes.”

Even though Tsiantoulas loves what he does, there have been times when he had internal doubts about the field he was pursuing. However, his passion, knowledge and love for sports production propelled him forward and made him even more driven. 

“There have been times where I'm sitting in my room, and I'm like, ‘Wow, I like taking in so much sports media. Is this what life’s going to be like?’ But at the end of the day, I am doing something that I 1,000% love and will never not love,” he said. “I just can’t see myself in any other field.”

Mentoring Barbieri is one of the steps Tsiantoulas has taken to prepare for graduation, but throughout the years, he has set himself up for success in many ways. His drive to learn and teach himself skills has made him extremely valuable to Red Fox Report and Halftime on the Hudson; he knows that his experiences at Marist will make him a stand-out candidate for jobs after college.

“If I didn't get involved with any of this stuff, I wouldn't know where my left shoe was from my right shoe. [But because I got involved,] I have a fully fleshed-out plan for what I want to do post-graduation,” said Tsiantoulas. “I'm going to apply for jobs as soon as possible. Having all this experience on my resume already, people will see that I have that, and then maybe [I could be] a better candidate than someone else.” 

As someone who benefited from strong advice and mentoring, what does Tsiantoulas tell those in the spot he was in just a few years ago? Getting involved is the most important thing to do.

“Take that leap of faith. You need to put yourself out there because you're going to put yourself in the right position.”

With one semester left of producing, Tsiantoulas will continue learning and is excited about all of the things ahead of him. In his own words, “My magnum opus is yet to come.”

Photography by Rebekah Hendricks

Video by Lizzie Baumgardner, Rebekah Hendricks and Christopher C. Smith

A public servant through and through

STORY By Cora Flynn

Content Advisory: This story mentions homophobia and self-harm 

Growing up in a home with domestic violence, Keon Lee ‘24 always knew if things got bad, he could call the cops. The one time police needed to come to their Bronx apartment, Lee vividly remembers the wave of relief and security he and his twin brother felt. 

“I remember like it was yesterday; [the officer] just said, ‘You guys are good.’ And that, right there, changed my life,” Lee said. “The connection I had with those police officers is the reason why I want to go into the criminal justice system.” 

Twelve years later, Lee credits this moment for shaping the trajectory of his life and pushing him toward a path of public service. Though his family’s domestic violence issues ended soon after, this experience motivated Lee to pursue a degree in criminal justice. He aspires to become a local police officer despite the challenges he may face due to being a gay Black man. 

“I want to humanize the badge in any and every way possible. Going into it as a Black male now is hard, and going into it as a gay male is 10 times harder. But it's not deterring me from doing it. It makes me want to do even more,” Lee said. “People like me absolutely need to be inside the system, and it needs to change.”

After his family moved from the Bronx to Yonkers when he was 14, Lee explored his interest in public service and law enforcement. Lee joined the Yonkers Police Department’s cadet program and eventually became the lead juror for the Yonkers Youth Court. 

While attending Saunders Trades and Technical High School, he eventually became the president of their chapter of My Brother’s Keeper. President Obama started the organization to create supportive communities for young men of color. Lee brought the group together to raise $16,000 for Breast Cancer Awareness. 

These experiences inspired Lee to join the Marist chapter of Zeta Psi in spring 2022. He was drawn to the fraternity’s emphasis on community service and brotherhood over partying. Now, as fraternity president, Keon has helped run NARCAN and CPR training, food collections and self-harm prevention events. He is currently working on a variety of initiatives around mental health.

Lee’s commitment to empathy and kindness was shaped by his own experiences. Despite having a supportive family, Lee struggled to come to terms with his sexuality growing up. He only started coming out to more of his friends and family when he was a sophomore in college. 

“It was very hard for me to say ‘I'm gay.’ I think senior year is when I'm now comfortable saying it,” Lee reflected. “I never thought I would be able to say it. And people don't realize that’s such a hard thing to do because you hid it for so long.”

Illustration by Francine Wooley

Music and theater were important for Lee to explore his identity growing up. He and his brother, Klanell, were heavily involved with the Stuttering Association for the Young – an organization that supports youth who stutter. SAY’s celebrity connections led to opportunities for Lee, as a member of the SAY choir, to perform in a Bill Withers tribute concert at Carnegie Hall with Ed Sheeran and a John Lennon tribute concert at Madison Square Garden in 2015.

The organization’s focus on the performing arts helped Lee dive into songwriting. With SAY, he worked on a one-act musical that would be produced off-Broadway until COVID hit. The musical, “Masked,” explored themes of hiding one’s truth and coming to terms with it. 

“My identity was through my art. It was through my songs; it was through my lyrics from my poems; through the little skits I've made, I was allowed to be me on stage,” Lee said. “The feminine parts of me that I wanted to show were absolutely justified, and no one questioned it on stage.”

With the help of SAY, Lee published 30 copies of his book, which incorporates the script of his musical at the end. Lee launched his partial memoir in the spring of 2023, discussing his identity journey. He hopes to one day fully publish the book to help people through the journey he went on.

“It's like you're just reading my life; it's very candid,” Lee said. “I hope someone who reads this feels comfortable enough to put themselves in positions in which they can live their truth, and they can be who they are.” 

Although Lee is confident in his sexuality, he has considered hiding it while in the police academy due to the systemic homophobia in the law enforcement industry.

“I still think it's very important to live in your truth, but I think that there are certain things where we have to code-switch to get that advantage,” Lee said. “For me, it happens that my gay identity is something that I might have to hold back sometimes. Which isn't good to say, but in my head, I know that I'm always living in my truth.” 

After the academy, Lee plans on being more open about his identity. His summer job as a seasonal park ranger in Westchester County and internship at Hyde Park Police Department showed him there is space for LGBTQ+ people in law enforcement. 

“I interned in Hyde Park, and the sergeant there, Michael Stallone, is openly gay. He's absolutely my mentor. He showed me that I could absolutely be gay and be a cop,” Lee said.

It’s possible but not simple, as Lee has already experienced. He faces criticism from all sides of the aisle, including fellow LGBTQ+ people. 

“The LGBTQ+ community might not even accept me for being a cop,” Lee said. “They kind of place you inside of a bubble [as a member of law enforcement]. But I'm the complete opposite of that bubble.”

Undeterred by these obstacles, Lee’s aspirations for service stretch beyond the badge. He dreams of one day running a nonprofit to connect young adults with the performing arts while he and his brother are police officers. 

“As much as I'm getting into law enforcement, I still want to fight for change, and I still want to advocate like I've been doing here [at Marist],” Lee said, “I want there to be services for people to feel like they can be in rooms, no matter your race, no matter your ethnicity, your background, or your experiences.”

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Lizzie Baumgardner, Rebekah Hendricks and Christopher C. Smith

The Passion of the “Borderless Nomad”

STORY By Erin Holton

When you’re 11, the world is small, and changes can seem so far away. All you really have to worry about is going into middle school. Now imagine, at 11 years old, leaving everything and everyone you know behind and moving to the other side of the world. For Malik Sy ‘24, that was a reality.

Sy was born in Rockville, Maryland, and at that evolving point in his life, he moved to Thailand. His mother, who worked for the United Nations, was given a field position abroad, and the family had to relocate.

“Honestly, at first, I was very scared. I remember my mom came home and randomly was like, ‘Hey, guys, we're moving to Asia,’” Sy said. 

Understandably, Sy was nervous about moving and leaving his friends and everything he knew behind. However, when he got to Asia, it “opened his eyes,” and there was definitely a culture shock. 

“It was like a whole new world; I felt like I was in a video game or something. At first, it was sad leaving friends, but going on a new journey at such a young age and traveling and visiting the world was exciting.”

Sy went to school in Thailand from sixth to ninth grade, and then during ninth grade, he moved to Vietnam and finished high school there.

While in high school, he became passionate about international affairs, business, humanitarian work and social work. Economics and international business became his majors when he came to Marist College, but the college process was much more unique for Sy compared to domestically based students. 

“It was different compared to the traditional student. As an international student, I didn't have the luxury of coming to America and having a campus tour or talking to people [who went to the school]. However, I had a counselor who recommended a lot of schools in the upstate area of New York. Thanks to having friends and my counselor as well, who was familiar with the area, it made it pretty easy,” Sy said.

While the story of Sy’s travel-filled childhood is certainly unique, another thing about him stands out among your average student: he has his own clothing brand.

Illustration by Izzy Nuzzo

While in high school in Vietnam, Sy met Mattias, who became an incredibly close friend and, later, his business partner. When they were 17, Mattias shared with him his dream of having his own brand, and together, they worked to make that dream a reality, resulting in the creation of Foreign Resource. 

“The way it started, at first, was to cater towards the international kids, so Foreign Resource, when people ask about the brand, is the embodiment of the borderless nomad, so people who are Third Culture kids who lived all around the world,” Sy said.

Foreign Resource started making clothes in January 2021, when Sy was just 19. Sy credits his high school environment for giving him the passion and drive to create a brand while he was young, as he was surrounded by a lot of high-achieving and passionate young people. 

“I would very much give homage to [my high school environment]; just being around like-minded people who just want better for themselves and have high career goals just influenced our decision,” Sy said. 

Since 2021, the brand has grown and caters heavily to the international market while also having roots here in the U.S. In 2022, Foreign Resource had a popup in Amsterdam, which Sy credits as one of the brand’s biggest successes. 

Sy said, “It was kind of a surreal moment because you see all the work and dedication being put together, and then having everyone come to the event showed that, if you really just stick to what you want, you can kind of change people's lives through the work that you do.”

In addition to the popup in Amsterdam, Foreign Resource has had popups in Boston, as well as here on Marist’s campus. They have partnered with the Ethical Fashion Initiative in the past, as well as the general fashion community on campus.

Looking forward after graduation, Sy plans to shift focus and move the business back to Vietnam for a while to market the brand out of Southeast Asia. 

When asked where Sy would see himself in five to 10 years, he said he would love to be a guest speaker at Marist. 

“I see myself hopefully coming back here to Marist having a nice talk to the fashion community and young people like me that were in my position five years ago who were like, either on the forefront of pushing with their dreams or just having a mental cloud of ‘okay, what should I do?’, just providing reassurance, hopefully being an inspiration, through my success in life, life journeys and being able to inspire people,” he said. 

The biggest thing that Sy has learned in his eventful life? He says that it’s all day by day.

“Day by day. Just those few words, day by day. You can’t bring yesterday today; you can’t bring tomorrow right now. That's the mindset that my parents taught me, and my friends helped me with as well. It's just being patient and really appreciating the journey,” he said.

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Max Hochberg and Christopher C. Smith

Taking the road less traveled

STORY By Erin-Leigh Hoffman

Sierra Mason ‘26 remembers a poignant moment during her first-year ROTC orientation on a clear fall day while climbing Bear Mountain. 

“These people are walking down the trail, and they see we're all in our army fitness uniform. It's very obvious who we are,” Mason explains, “So they stop us.” 

Being stopped by strangers at that moment, Mason didn’t know what to expect, but what transpired has stuck with her. “They thanked every single one of us that walked by, and there were a lot of us there,” Mason explains with a somber tone.

At the top of Bear Mountain’s Thorne Hill trail is a monument of painted rocks and American flags memorializing soldiers who’ve been killed in recent conflicts – a fitting hike for ROTC orientation. Moments like these remind Mason that ROTC is bigger than herself, a fact she embraces wholeheartedly. 

Mason grew up with her family in New Hampshire, where they moved to from Wyoming. Since a young age, she recalls always having a strong personality she sees in herself now. “I knew from the get-go that I was outspoken and a leadership-based person. I notice that it’s carried with me to who I am today,” Mason describes.

As a kid, her varied interests in several sports, music and language meant she was always taking on new challenges while also paving a path for herself; “I want to be different. I want to do something challenging,” as Mason puts it.

This determination to fill her time with new endeavors seems intrinsic – her modus operandi. Even when the end of high school brought some uncertainty, she knew she wanted to continue a college degree, and Mason had criteria for where she’d end up.

It had to have ROTC, Chinese had to be a course offering and it had to be outside of New Hampshire. When she came to Marist College for the first time, she said she just knew this was the place for her.

Illustration by Izzy Nuzzo

“I wanted to go somewhere new and New York was new for me,” Mason recalls. “I wanted it to be smaller, so Marist encompasses all of that.” 

Since coming to Marist, Mason has been a leader amongst her peers in several areas across campus, in addition to her time with ROTC. In the music department, she is a member of the Marist College Band. She has a double major in criminal justice and global studies, she hosts a HIIT class and she spent a summer in Taiwan with the ROTC.

With a schedule like this and the weight of expectations, Mason has found times when managing is difficult. She describes it as a “balance” between holding oneself accountable to the standards set while also not burning out. “Finding that balance is still very challenging for me, and I'm constantly playing with it, seeing where that line is.”

To hold herself accountable for this balancing act, she has prioritized less screen time, meal prepping, affirmations, and reading to cope with quiet moments.

“It's accountability for yourself and showing up after the things that I've gone through,” said Mason.

To remind herself of this commitment to accountability, Mason had a dragon tattoo done after spending time in Taiwan learning more about the symbolism of the dragon. 

“It represents perseverance and strength. I've had things in my life I've needed to overcome, and I think of it as my battle armor,” Mason says. She wonders if it may be “a little cheesy, but it genuinely is. It's a daily reminder of things that I've overcome and reminds me of who I am. I'm a strong, outspoken, strong-headed person, and that is what has pushed me through some of the hardest things in my life.”

The dragon flows down her arm with red petunias contrasted with a strong creature, a representation of her grace and strength.

Photography by Christopher C. Smith

Video by Rose Mayer and Christopher C. Smith