Through the years of classes, student events and late-night study sessions, it may be difficult to remember the little moments of one’s time at NYU. But Corey Blay, a master’s student pursuing degrees in the Stern School of Business and the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, embodies self-reflection and learning through first-hand experiences in education. Blay will speak at the Yankee Stadium commencement ceremony on May 21.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies and urban policy from the University of Chicago, Blay went directly into the field of education at age 23, teaching seventh-grade history at a private middle school in New York City. He was the youngest teacher at the school in addition to being the only African-American teacher. The school had a strong commitment to social justice and, following suit, Blay was an activist in the community, taking part in political organization and starting a nonprofit.
Blay taught at this middle school for six years before deciding to come to NYU.
“I came to school looking to become a better leader in education,” Blay said. “This was never about coming to NYU to be the top in anything. It was always about taking a little time out for me and just being able to reflect.”
But his humble mission of self-growth and contribution to the community ended up greatly impacting the university. During his first year, he began organizing events to benefit the community’s interests, such as creating a panel to discuss the Occupy Wall Street movement as it developed. His panel initiative brought together 250 students, faculty and staff at Stern, with notable speakers such as former Gov. of New York David Patterson and then-managing editor of Fortune Magazine Andrew Serwer.
Blay was also a part of the University Space Priorities Working Group, giving a student voice to the analysis of the university’s expansion plan. In addition to being a part of the committee, Blay was also a student senator on the Students Senator Council.
Although Blay was able to find his role in the community, as he leaves NYU he voices a concern for students’ complaint about the lack of a campus.
“It wasn’t until I found the right community that I was able to see myself as a part of a larger whole,” Blay said. “I think for students, unfortunately the reality is that you have to know yourself very well before you come here. Students need to reflect on why they want to be a part of a place.”
Blay encourages his former middle school students and his peers at NYU to remember to focus on their self-growth and taking time for themselves.
“In the absence of community, everything becomes super important,” he said. “And then it’s the fear of saying no … you never realize you can say no, and it’s not the end of the world. You can take time for yourself, and you’re not going to fall behind. You can do something that’s outside your life dream.”
After graduation, Blay plans to build a private middle school for boys of color in Harlem. He hopes his school will solve the area’s student dropout rate and will positively affect the other private schools in Harlem.
“Ideally, what we do as students is self-realize and find the things that are important to us,” Blay said. “My kids are most important to me. They inspire me, and there’s absolutely a guarantee I’ll be thanking [them] in my speech.”
Hannah Treasure is deputy features editor. Email her at [email protected].
glen broemer • May 17, 2014 at 8:41 am
The Washington Post ran an article a while back re an ongoing argument between NYPD and the FBI… There isn’t any shortage of sting opportunities, given the unending string of lawbreaking in the intelligence community, including their vast corrupt network in Los Angeles and Ventura, stretching into many businesses here, and obviously involving some government employees.
I defended a Tax Suit a while back by noting that the entertainment industry had stolen dozens of phrases and ideas from my copyrighted work–many poem titles and lines, and other creative expressions converted directly to film titles. The list of intellectual property violations numbers in the hundreds or thousands, including naming the following from my poems, without my consent or prior knowledge: Vantage Point (2007), Idiocracy (2006), The Aura (Spanish: El Aura) (2005), Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Sky High (2005 film), The Perfect Score (2004); The Score, Wake of Death (2004), Torque (2004), You Wish! (2003), (2003), Big Fish ( 2003), The Ring (2002 ), I Am Sam (2001), The Sixth Sense(1999), Beowulf (2007), Gryphon (2007), Stomp the Yard (2007), Made of Honor (2008) Felon (2008), Box Elder (2008) and Fata Morgana (2007) Avatar (2008/2009) Daybreak (2008) Vantage Point (2008). All these words and titles come from Plaintiff’s copyrighted work Tribute Anthology (2007), unmarketed, meaning the information was actually taken directly from my computer or discs.
I’ve filed several federal suits, one of which was in litigation for a decade before the community–through extensive battery and fraud–made false accusations and created new issues to prevent a just public condemnation of the community for eviscerating my rights over the course of decades. The worst liars, and the worst of these criminals–they are actually violating criminal codes daily–are on the right. A good thing to note when you’re dealing with the manipulative self-impressed chess player sociopaths in the right wing intelligentsia, never accept the explanation they give you, always go back a step or two in time, and dig a little deeper. They’re invariably lying.
The FBI would be quite content to use a citizen as bait in FBI stings over the course of a lifetime. There isn’t any shortage of sting opportunities, given the unending string of lawbreaking in the intelligence community, including their vast corrupt network in Los Angeles and Ventura, stretching into many businesses here, and obviously involving some government employees.These parties are all violating RICO , careful lies they believe are legally protected, with an obvious motive to attack an informant. Examine my federal cases, Central District of California Case Numbers, 01-4340, 03-9097, 08-5515, , 10-5193, US Tax Court 12000-07L –though I think you want to view my US Tax Court Appeal to the 9th Circuit for a good account of the day to day assaults, over the course of years.
The intelligence community has framed me and given fraudulent psych profiles to the judiciary over the course of decades 2) the entertainment industry knew it, and quietly reaped the benefits of my creativity, fraudulently sold by the government (something like restitution or illegally seized property), and in fact colluded with the federal government, RICO 3) government and industry have killed my pets and physically attacked me for a decade in an effort to slow my investigation, and to intimidate, RICO II violation 4) government inspectors and FBI–those who were not complicitous, anyway– have ruthlessly used me in stings against the community and industry, in many cases ensuring i would be harmed by putting me in harm’s way against known, repeat offenders–often, I believe, as their own retaliation against me, RICO III 5) all of the above have curtailed my other options and interfered with my relationships in an effort to further their own schemes
6) i’ve lost a vast amount of intellectual property. my closest relationships, including a few engagements, were destroyed by the manipulations of the above individuals. i haven’t been truly free a day in my entire adult life, either manipulation of my options or direct interference with my cognition, usually both..7) some in the judiciary knew, and some should have known, that the allegations against me were contrived and fraudulent, and some have participated in harming me 8) while there is little political support for prosecuting criminal actions that involve half of government, two presidents, Obama and to an extent Clinton, tried to do what is right, right a very corrupt situation. you don’t need to be a genius to figure the politics involved, the problems they’ve faced so doing.9) you probably won’t get a denial of any of this if you ask US Senators, and can in fact find letters of support from them as exhibits in my case filings. 10) yet the press has not covered this because? 11) the right has been physically attacking me or harming my pets in connection with every public criticism i’ve made.
These parties are all engaged in RICO conduct, careful lies they believe are legally protected, with an obvious motive to attack an informant. Examine my federal cases,
Central District of California Case Numbers, 01-4340, 03-9097, 08-5515, , 10-5193, US Tax Court 12000-07L –though I think you want to view my US Tax Court Appeal to the 9th Circuit for a good account of the day to day assaults, over the course of years.
Those in government who support this sort of llegal persecution are invariably lying. Invariably–and that’s from someone who spent a decade documenting four decades of lies.