Second Fall Open House Held at Vaughn
On November 17, a sunny and crisp fall day, a crowd gathered in the hangar at Vaughn College’s second fall open house to hear about its offerings. College President Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick welcomed students and their families to the event and informed them about the series of academic information sessions and “Ultimate Open House Experiences” that would comprise their day at Vaughn.
Some students at the open house had known about Vaughn for years through family and friends, while others had their interest peaked through the College’s website and advertising in the New York area. Cristian Buleu-Hoza, recently arrived in New York from Romania with an architecture degree. He saw an ad for Vaughn on the subway and came to the open house to learn about opportunities in aviation graphic design.
The Patels drove 24 hours from Daleville, a small town in southern Alabama with a population of under 5,000. Romin Patel wants to pursue a career in electrical engineering and was impressed with what he saw on Vaughn’s website. “After viewing it, I needed to make the trip to see it all in person,” he said. “Moving to New York would be quite a change for me but definitely an exciting one.”
During the academic sessions, the instructors spent time describing the programs offered at Vaughn and the potential for a variety of careers after graduation. In addition, Dr. Raymond Addabbo, an arts and sciences professor, discussed how the faculty work closely together to make all classes relevant for students. “While your program might be focused on math and engineering, we can teach history in terms of the development of physics and how its evolution helped advance this country.”
Another student, Lisa Nguyen who currently attends Atlantic Cape Community College in Atlantic City New Jersey came three hours from an area recently devastated by the effects of hurricane Sandy. She found Vaughn through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website due to its listing as an approved Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) school. “I am very interested in pursuing an airport management degree and really looking forward to seeing the tower at Vaughn.”
A notable highlight of the day for Dr. Fitzpatrick was being able to welcome Victor C. Orsetti, a Vaughn alumni from Hopewell Junction, New York, who graduated in 1964 from the electronics program and landed a job at IBM. Orsetti was at the open house today with his family including his grandson, James who is interested in attending Vaughn College’s Air Traffic Control program.
“I attended Vaughn for four years — instructing during my second two years while attending night school. It was a very tough program, and only a few of those in my class including myself actually finished,” said Orsetti. “It’s great to be back today and see how the College has grown.”
Top: Students and families listened to open house welcome; Professor Mudassar Minhas during a breakout session.
The Orsetti family with Dr. John Fitzpatrick (from left: Marco Orsetti, alumni Victor C. Orsetti, Dr. John Fitzpatrick, and James Orsetti).