June 2025 Winners

Yessenia Garcia

Inclusive Hiring and Cultural Programming Manager
Office of Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

In the seating area located in the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, there is a mini-Zen sand garden.

“It makes me smile to see people using the rake to create patterns in the sand. Once in a while I’ll do the same, it’s very meditative,” said Yessenia Garcia, who acknowledged that most of the time she bypasses the Zen garden to her office where she starts her busy day, coordinating the next hiring search, meeting with students who need assistance, and orchestrating cultural events.

This past fall was the kick-off for National Hispanic Heritage Month (NHHM), which recognizes the history, culture, and contributions of those who have roots in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico, and Spain. The first event, aptly called ¡Viva La Cultura! or "Long live the culture," was led by the Hispanic/Latinx Faculty and Staff Association.

“As a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), Queensborough integrates this designation into the services and programming we provide,” said Yessenia. “Events like this are funded through the Mosaic Fund, established to provide financial resources for faculty and staff to host college-wide events that explore, uplift, and celebrate specific cultures, groupings of cultures, and gender identities.”

“This past academic year, the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging introduced a new framework for recognizing heritage months at Queensborough, along with launching a series of programs in April designed to foster connection and strengthen our sense of belonging on campus. I had the pleasure of collaborating with Yessenia on crafting messaging and disseminating information for both initiatives,” said Tanisha Mallette, Chief Content Officer and Director of Communications, Division of Strategic Initiatives and Advancement, who nominated Yessenia for the C.A.R.E.S. Award.

“The April initiative was called Pause and Recharge: Community Wellness and Relaxation,” said Yessenia. “We received a lot of positive feedback about the series from folks around campus, so we plan to launch another series of de-stress events that will be spread out through the fall semester 2025. We are in the process of creating a web site for people to learn more about the series and ways to participate in the events.”

Tanisha added, “Yessenia’s dedication was exceptional. In addition to her regular responsibilities, she took on the logistical coordination for every event, consistently going above and beyond to ensure each one was a success. Her ability to seamlessly fill in the gaps, maintain a positive attitude, and offer support to others—even amidst a demanding workload—was awesome. I don’t know where she found the energy, but her unwavering commitment made a significant impact. Her efforts were not only instrumental in the success of these initiatives but also served as a powerful example of what it means to cultivate a caring and inclusive community.”

Yessenia was born and raised in Corona, Queens. She graduated with an associate in liberal arts (A.A.) degree from LaGuardia Community College and earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Queens College in 2018. At LaGuardia, her academic major included a focus on deaf studies. “There were many students who were deaf and hard of hearing, and I felt inspired to learn sign language so that I could communicate with them. I was so honored to be given my sign name, which can only be given by a deaf person. It is the letter Y and a downward, sweeping gesture to indicate my long hair.”

Yessenia was still a student at LaGuardia Community College when she was hired at Queensborough in 2014 as a CUNY Office Assistant in Affirmative Action (now the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging). In 2023, she was promoted to Inclusive Hiring and Cultural Programming Manager.

“My role, which has expanded to focus more on programming activities, allows me to see first-hand the positive results of QCC’s culture of care. During Beautification Day, for example, I handed out bottled water and supplies to the volunteers. It was wonderful to see students engaged and happy, laughing together, working together to make a difference at the College that makes such a difference in their lives.”

Chabenauth (Sanjay) Ramnauth

Information Technology Associate I
Office of Information Technology

By October 2025 over 1,000 computer machines will be replaced across campus.

“It is extremely important that Windows 10 computers are replaced with Windows 11 to be compliant with CUNY’s new regulations. The result is a more secure, faster and smooth-running machine,” said Sanjay Ramnauth, Information Technology Associate I, Office of Information Technology, who noted that since January 2025- when the process began--some 200 new machines have been in operation. “Our team assesses each department’s computer equipment including the applications and programs. Once the machines are delivered, we install new hardware, back up data, restore data to the new hardware, and configure users' profiles. In one day, we schedule and process about four to six computers but sometimes the hard drive doesn’t back up, so we must manually transfer data. This can take up to five hours.”

“Sanjay is one of the most dependable and helpful people on campus,” said Yessenia Garcia, Inclusive Hiring and Cultural Programming Manager, Office of Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, who nominated Sanjay for the C.A.R.E.S. Award. “He’s the go-to person for any tech issue—always ready to assist and incredibly knowledgeable. No matter how busy he is, he’s quick to respond, patient, and makes sure people feel supported. His calm, friendly attitude makes him a pleasure to work with, and you can always count on him to follow through.”

Sanjay’s work ethic and generous nature have been shaped in part by his history at Queensborough which goes back 11 years. A technophile since childhood, Sanjay said, “I was told that QCC offers excellent technology education and seized on the opportunity to enroll and study computer engineering. Through my mentors I discovered my love of learning, which carried over to pride in my work.”

Sanjay was hired at Queensborough in 2012 as a tech fee student in the Office of Information Technology. Four years later he was promoted to part-time Information Technology Support Assistant and promoted full-time in 2023 as Information Technology Assistant I and again in March 2025 as a full-time Information Technology Associate I. Over the years, his responsibilities have expanded from assisting members of the College community with CUNY first and Blackboard (the discussion board website) to remoting into people’s machines and eventually hands-on deployment, patching in networks and servers.

“Accepting the job at QCC was an easy decision. I was very happy here as a student and knew I would be happy here as an employee, doing what I love.”

And those feelings carried him through Covid when the entire Information Technology team worked long and unpredictable hours. “We made sure all staff and faculty had laptops during remote work, moved everyone over to VPN, helped faculty, staff and students upload covid vaccine cards and distributed laptops to students who had no access to technology at home.”

Yessenia added, “Sanjay is known across campus—by faculty, staff, and students—for his positive presence which contributes to a supportive environment where people feel comfortable asking for help. He truly cares about the QCC community and consistently demonstrates excellence, commitment, and accountability in everything he does.”

In 2024 he was named the Inclusion Representative which, he says, “offers an opportunity to interact with new colleagues and learn about the hiring process.”

He expressed deep gratitude for friends and family, especially his parents who he thanked “for their support and faith in me. Like QCC, they helped me build my self-confidence to believe I can do anything I set my heart on.”

“My goal—our whole team’s goal--is to make tech-life easier for the entire College community."