Rosa Puleo Napoleone, SAS '75 was the CNR Legacy Award recipient at the Mercy College Trustees’ Scholarship Gala in May 2022. As she accepted her award, Rosa movingly described the lasting impact of her four years as an undergraduate at the College of New Rochelle. 

“CNR was indeed a special place, affording me with an excellent, well-rounded education, invaluable life lessons, and many dear friends.  Principles such as maintaining a sense of integrity, life-long learning and Serviam – ‘I will serve’- became ingrained and provided me with a compass for the years that followed commencement.”

What brought Christine LaSala to the College of New Rochelle was an advertisement in Time magazine in 1967 that read, as best if she can recall, "If a college does not ask you for money, it is because it wants your daughter." Chris was intrigued by that ad and, as a result became interested in CNR. 

Chris attended a public high school in Aliquippa in western Pennsylvania and had never heard of CNR. Being the oldest of seven children, Chris applied to several state colleges and universities, the University of Pennsylvania and the College of New Rochelle.

Smash holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from CNR.

For the past 15 years, Wilkins has worked with nonprofits in roles ranging from grassroots community organizer, to marriage equality advocate, to event planner for large-scale LGBTQIA+ community events. While working for VCS Inc.—a mental health counseling and advocacy organization in Rockland County, New York—Wilkins organized the annual “Rockland Pride Sunday.” During her time at the Center for Safety & Change, she developed LGBTQIA+ programming and worked directly with domestic violence and sexual trauma victims.