Entering a New Era of Multimedia - Lehman College

Gabourey Sidibe’s Lehman Connection
You might remember Gabourey Sidibe from her role as Precious
in the recent film by the same name. You might not know, though,
that the Oscar-nominated actress auditioned for her starring role
at Lehman, where she had performed in a number of musicals and
dramas, from The Wiz to The Vagina Monologues.
Sidibe became involved with Lehman through her best friend,
theatre major Crystal Hawthorne (B.A., ‘06), and was urged to
audition for the Precious role by another friend, Henry Ovalles
(B.A., ‘06), assistant director of Lehman Stages. She returned to
Lehman last fall for a profile by Katie Couric that aired November
1 on CBS Sunday Morning (“The Unlikely Journey of Precious”).
“Lehman’s wonderful,” Sidibe said in an interview at that time. “It’s
almost like a family atmosphere. Everyone’s friends, everyone’s so
talented, and everyone loves the talent that other people bring.”
She also was scheduled to return this spring to perform in a
fund-raiser to benefit Lehman Stages.
Where Is the Old Gym Building?
Remember arriving on campus and feeling lost and bewildered?
That may be largely a thing of the past, thanks to a new “wayfinding”
system. Clear, color-coded signs are now installed along
walkways and intersections
throughout the campus,
thirteen of them with
maps and fifteen with
building names and
directional arrows.
Trophy Magic
Students Sioshanna
Arias (left) and Erin
Whitson use the new
“wayfinding” system
to figure out where
they need to go.
Lehman students, faculty, and staff were thrilled to view
the New York Yankees’ 2009 World Series Trophy on
February 16 as it made a stop in the East Dining Room.
The trophy was returning to the Bronx from something of
a whirlwind global tour, after traveling to the Dominican
Republic, Tokyo, Beijing, and Hong Kong. After making
other stops in the Bronx, it went on to the Connecticut
State Capitol and then to the Yankees’ training camp in
Tampa, Fla.
Gabourey Sidibe and her friend Henry Ovalles.
Rise and Shine
Students who are part of
Lehman’s Peer Educator
program braved the cold
late last fall to appear on
The Early Show on CBS—
airing at 7 a.m.—and help
promote CUNY Month.
Holding the banner, from
left, are Valerie Verdejo,
Miguelina Rosa, and Katherine Gómez.
Lehman Today/Spring 2010 5