🎓Graduate Spotlight🎓
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 Private 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 School 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.
@flyalbany@schenectadycounty@piedmontairlines_
#classof2026 #SUNYSchenectady
🎓Graduate Spotlight🎓
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.
@suny@sunyempire
#classof2026 #sunyschenectady
A day of celebration for the Schenectady Outreach Center (SOC) in their new home at 201 State Street (Kindl Building)! The SOC has expanded to provide more services to our community!
SOC provides free assistance with the college application process, employment & educational advising, individual cover letter & résumé preparation assistance and on-site hiring and interviews with local employers.
The SOC now includes a SUNY ATTAIN Lab, joining a network of 33 labs across the state that provide users with computer literacy skills to get them started while they are career planning or advancing their education. The GED Testing Center will also reopen.
Thank you SUNY University Center for Academic and Workforce Development (SUNY UCAWD)!
Find out more: Visit our website (sunysccc.edu).
@SUNY
🎓Graduate Spotlight🎓
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 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.
Caitlin has also taken Aviation courses at the College, earning her Private Pilot Certificate. She's working on her Instrument Rating now.
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.
@schenectadycounty@flyalbany
Thinking about taking a class this summer? Join us for a quick, helpful session where you’ll learn what courses are available, how to register & how to make summer classes fit your schedule!
☀️☀️☀️
Summer Courses Information Session
Tuesday, May 19, 5:30 PM – 7 PM
Stockade Building, Room 101
SUNY Schenectady campus
Whether you’re a current student, visiting student, or exploring a course for the first time, this session will help you move forward with confidence and make the most of your summer!
Please register: Link in our bio
🎓Graduate Spotlight🎓
Kaiden Bubenik has been playing the cello since he was nine years old! In addition to performing as a cellist and vocalist, this year Kaiden found another passion within music: making sure that every student has the option to start playing music at an early age, just like he did. He is graduating with his degree in Performing Arts: Music and will transfer this fall to Castleton Vermont State University to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Music Education.
An aspiring elementary school music teacher, Kaiden was inspired by a guest lecturer in his Music in Contemporary Education class this semester who spoke about accommodations in music classes. “I started looking into different accommodations that students with disabilities have with music, and there are not really a lot of options for students with special needs in music, so this made me interested in being a change in music. You don’t really see many people with disabilities performing and I would like to be part of expanding that.”
Kaiden has performed with the Chamber Ensemble, Vocal Chamber Ensemble, and Union College Community Orchestra, been a tutor for music classes, and worked in the School of Music office. He plans to continue playing the cello while pursuing a concentration in Vocal Performance at Castleton.
@sunyschenectadymusic@vermontstate_castleton
🎓Graduate Spotlight🎓
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 items 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.
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 he wrote a professional business plan for “Alex Recycles and Creates” and networked with other Capital Region entrepreneurs.
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.”
@capregchamber@suny
It’s National Nurses Week! We salute all nurses including alumna Allison Miller R.N., Class of 2017, who is a Nurse Educator at a local hospital. She shares strategies with R.N. supervisors to help uplift them to build strong teams of nurses in their areas.
Allison has served as a nurse on a cardiac unit, hospital supervisor, and nurse manager in a neurological care unit. After graduating with her A.S. degree in Human Services from SUNY Schenectady, she earned her A.S., B.S., and M.S. in Nursing. She’s working on her Doctorate of Strategic Leadership now.
Allison’s inspiration to join the nursing field came from two sources: longtime Professor Renee Adamany who “set her heart on fire” during projects she worked on as President of the Student Volunteer Organization and Allison’s sister Katie who experienced health challenges growing up and is now a nurse herself.
What do you love about the nursing profession?
“I love being able to translate complex diagnoses into clear, digestible information so patients can confidently manage their health outside the hospital. I also value being a steady, knowledgeable presence for individuals facing some of the most commonly diagnosed conditions — a source of light and stability when they feel overwhelmed.”
It's #TeacherAppreciationDay! Thank you to all of our professors for the many ways that you educate, mentor, guide, and support students!
#ThankATeacher #ProfessorLife #EducationMatters #thankyou
🌹KENTUCKY DERBY 152 RECAP🌹
Blink and you’ll miss it! #kyderby week 🤠🐎
This year HCAT took over Churchill Downs 💙💛 Lots of laughs, long days, and a whole lot of hustle - we’re SO impressed, extremely grateful, and as always #proud2bsunyschenectady 🙌
Congratulations to Yuliano Camarena, recipient of the 2026 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence! He earned his A.S. degree in Criminal Justice in December 2025 and is at the University at Albany pursuing his bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Legal Studies. He plans to earn his bachelor’s degree by fall 2028, score high on the LSAT, and attend law school at Harvard University.
Yuliano’s advocacy work began when he was a student at Mohonasen High School and he helped to organize a group of fellow students, teachers, and School Board members to advocate for free healthy meals for K-12 students throughout New York by lobbying state leaders which was successful. He even testified during a New York State Joint Legislative Hearing for Elementary & Secondary Education in February 2023.
He decided to get involved in state government and student leadership roles following the death of his uncle, speaking at the March for Our Lives event in Albany in 2022. Yuliano’s work as a community advocate and student leader hasn’t stopped.
While at SUNY Schenectady, Yuliano was Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA), served on the Student Clubs Committee and Budget Committee, chaired the Judicial Committee, and was named to the President’s and Dean’s Lists. He has interned in the offices of Congressman Paul Tonko and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, and was promoted to Legislative Aide in Assemblyman Santabarbara’s office.
@suny@ualbany
