"As hard as I worked to get where I am today, I would not have been able to do it without my RCC professors' guidance, personal attention and direction. You are unlikely to find such caring faculty at a large university, which is what makes RCC such a nurturing place."

“I initially came to Rockland County so I could be near a riding stable, yet have close proximity to New York City," said Elizabeth Snaider ’00, a Cornell graduate and now Business Technology Relationship Manager at UBS Investment Bank.

Originally from Connecticut, Snaider suffered from Crohn's disease and always considered herself an underachiever. She attended an alternative high school that specialized in the performing arts, and spent a year at "artsy" Bard College studying drama. Realizing she might not be in the right field, or at the right school, she took time off. When she relocated to Rockland, she took one course at the College, International Business. She loved it, and learning about the Sam Draper M/TS Honors Program, she realized she would have a chance to transfer to an Ivy League college. "My ultimate goal was to get into a top university, but I didn't know how to go about getting there."

Snaider attributes her acceptance into Cornell to the help from faculty. "Professors like Deborah Merrigan, William McGregor, and Sam Draper went above and beyond their roles as professors and acted as mentors to me."

Snaider graduated RCC at 22, having won the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence, and transferred to Cornell, where she studied labor economics and achieved honors.

At her current job at UBS, Snaider provides educational services to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the revenue generating staff.

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