CBT 2021 Student Co-Chairs
Even before she set foot on campus as a Syracuse University undergraduate Cameron Joy Gray ’22 had heard about the University’s epic Coming Back Together (CBT) reunions. “Alumni had told me how amazing it felt to reunite with old classmates up on the Hill,” she says. “I have been looking forward to being a part of such a rich and important tradition.”
The film major from Washington, DC, is thrilled to have been tapped as a student co-chair for CBT 2021—her first—planned for Sept. 9-12. “I am excited to bring fresh new ideas and enthusiasm to the plate,” she says. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic, I am even more grateful that the Black and Latino/a Orange community is adapting and still providing students with opportunities to network and create lasting connections with alumni.”
Gray is an Our Time Has Come (OTHC) Scholar, as is her co-chair, Gabriel Prepetit ’22. Both have benefitted from the generosity of alumni who have donated their time and talents to the program. “It’s been very inspirational to meet people who come from similar backgrounds who have gone on to become very successful,” says Prepetit, a civil engineering major from Northborough, Massachusetts. “I’ve already received valuable life lessons, so helping to support this reunion is a way for me to give back.”
Both students are active on campus. Prepetit is a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, the National Society of Black Engineers and has served as an engineering teaching assistant. Gray is a mentor for Dimensions, a peer mentoring program for students of color, and serves as the chaplain’s assistant to the Historically Black Church Chaplaincy at Hendricks Chapel.
Gray and Prepetit say a primary goal is fundraising for OTHC, a cause that is deeply personal. “We’d love to see the fund grow and be able to support more scholars,” says Prepetit.
Another is encouraging student involvement, a task Gray believes won’t be difficult. “Members of our Orange community—students and alumni—are looking forward to coming back together in the wake of the loss of cultural giants in the Black and Latino community and the midst of continuing racism and xenophobia,” she says. “We look forward to making that happen.”
The film major from Washington, DC, is thrilled to have been tapped as a student co-chair for CBT 2021—her first—planned for Sept. 9-12. “I am excited to bring fresh new ideas and enthusiasm to the plate,” she says. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic, I am even more grateful that the Black and Latino/a Orange community is adapting and still providing students with opportunities to network and create lasting connections with alumni.”
Gray is an Our Time Has Come (OTHC) Scholar, as is her co-chair, Gabriel Prepetit ’22. Both have benefitted from the generosity of alumni who have donated their time and talents to the program. “It’s been very inspirational to meet people who come from similar backgrounds who have gone on to become very successful,” says Prepetit, a civil engineering major from Northborough, Massachusetts. “I’ve already received valuable life lessons, so helping to support this reunion is a way for me to give back.”
Both students are active on campus. Prepetit is a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, the National Society of Black Engineers and has served as an engineering teaching assistant. Gray is a mentor for Dimensions, a peer mentoring program for students of color, and serves as the chaplain’s assistant to the Historically Black Church Chaplaincy at Hendricks Chapel.
Gray and Prepetit say a primary goal is fundraising for OTHC, a cause that is deeply personal. “We’d love to see the fund grow and be able to support more scholars,” says Prepetit.
Another is encouraging student involvement, a task Gray believes won’t be difficult. “Members of our Orange community—students and alumni—are looking forward to coming back together in the wake of the loss of cultural giants in the Black and Latino community and the midst of continuing racism and xenophobia,” she says. “We look forward to making that happen.”
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