News Brief: NYIT Cheers on the Bronx Bombers

On September 15, NYIT students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends came together on a beautiful, sunny day to watch the New York Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. “This event is a wonderful way to bring the NYIT community together to socialize, meet old and new acquaintances—all while enjoying a day together beyond the NYIT campuses,” said Robert J. Koenig, Ed.D., associate dean of NYIT School of Management and executive director for the Debra A. Vogel Student Advancement Program. Koenig and Patthara Chandaragga (B.P.S. ’11, M.A. ’13), student advisement specialist for the hospitality management program, organized the outing with Ian Rubin (B.P.S. ’14), who works with the Yankees as a retention sales specialist.

Executive M.B.A. student Chengyi Wang talked about how Yankees hats are a popular fashion item in her home country of China, even though many people do not know what the Yankees or baseball are. “After I came to New York, I learned that baseball is a common sport in the United States. I really wanted to attend the game to embrace this kind of American culture,” she said.

“Meeting international students in a social setting and explaining the game to them is something that you can’t get from a classroom,” said M.B.A. student Tomislav Vucetic.

The Yankees game is one of many initiatives of the Debra A. Vogel Student Advancement Program, which offers activities to help students develop professional and social skills that will be beneficial in their careers. Debra A. Vogel (A.A.S. ’85) said that she supports the program because “it adds to the student experience. Education is not just books. People from many different cultures and countries can learn from each other and learn the business world.”

While the Student Advancement Program has organized previous outings to Yankees games for management students, this event was the first one open to the entire NYIT community. “There were a lot of different people, alumni from the 1970s to current students. People were able to get together and network, meet likeminded individuals, and just enjoy the Yankees together,” Rubin said.