Jessica graduated from The College of Westchester Multimedia Management and Development program in 2001.  She excelled while at CW and was immediately hired by the Partnership for a Drug Free America, where she had been doing an internship that had been arranged by our Office of Career Services.  She also went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in graphic design from The School of Visual

Arts.  After graduating SVA, Jessica left her full-time job to start her own company – Jessica Perilla Design, http://jpdstudio.com/ – an award-winning venture which has grown to over 100 clients, some very well known, such as Real Simple Magazine, Aeropostale, and Wiley Publishing. 

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Nobel Prize-winning biologist Dr. Gerald M. Edelman has accepted an invitation from the School of Visual Arts to speak at the 2011 commencement exercises. The event will take place on Thursday, May 12, 2011, 10am and 2pm, at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York City. The ceremony is a ticketed event and open to students and invited guests only. A live webcast will be streamed at www.sva.edu/commencement.

Dr. Edelman is director of The Neurosciences Institute and President of Neurosciences Research Foundation, a publicly supported not-for-profit organization that is the Institute’s parent. Separately, he is professor at The Scripps Research Institute and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at that institution. His early studies focused on the structure, diversity, and function of antibodies. In 1972, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on antibodies, which transformed our understanding of the immune response. His subsequent work led to the discovery of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), which have been found to guide the fundamental processes by which an animal achieves its shape and form and by which nervous systems are built. To understand higher brain functions, Dr. Edelman and his colleagues designed and constructed a series of mobile devices with simulated brains. These brain-based devices (BBDs) were shown to be capable of learning, operant conditioning, and episodic memory. Dr. Edelman has also formulated a detailed theory to explain the development and organization of higher brain functions. This theory was presented in his volume Neural Darwinism (Basic Books, 1987). More recently, he described a theory of consciousness in his book Wider Than The Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness (Yale University Press, 2004). His latest book, Second Nature: Brain Science and Human Knowledge (Yale University Press), appeared in October 2006.

Dr. Edelman will join a distinguished group of leaders in the arts, humanities and public service who have spoken at SVA’s commencement exercises in past years, including playwrights Edward Albee and Tony Kushner, historian

(L-R): Dale Smith, Vice President of Marketing; Jessica Perilla, CW Alumni & Award Recipient; and Karen Smith, President

At The College of Westchester’s (CW) June 3, 2010 Commencement Ceremony, Jessica Perilla, a 2001 graduate of the Multimedia Management and Development program, was awarded with CW’s First Annual Alumni Achievement Award.  She excelled while at CW and was immediately hired by the Partnership for a Drug Free America, where she had been doing an internship that had been arranged by our Office of Career Services.  She also went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in graphic design from The School of Visual Arts.  After graduating SVA, Jessica left her full-time job to start her own company – Jessica Perilla Design – an award-winning venture which has grown to over 100 clients, some very well known, such as Real Simple Magazine, Aeropostale, and Wiley Publishing.  Jessica is a member of several professional design and entrepreneurial organizations, started the Mural Project through which artists donate their skills to create murals in hospitals, including Montefiore in the Bronx, and founded an online network dedicated to women entrepreneurs called “Web2Fem.”   Jessica has remained a loyal CW alumnus, continuing to interact with faculty, attending events, and currently assisting the CW Online Division in website design.  It is for all of these fine accomplishments that Jessica was presented with this prestigious award.

Bryant & Stratton College graduates will receive their degrees where they earned them – online. In what is the first live Second Life graduation, 150 year old Bryant & Stratton College will host a fully online, “virtual” graduation ceremony in June. Approximately 40 graduates from Bryant & Stratton’s online degree programs have committed to receive their hard earned degrees, in avatar form, on the college’s virtual campus. The Bryant & Stratton ceremony will be the first time a graduation will be fully hosted on Second Life, including the procession, the commencement speaker and the conferring of degrees to students who are even draped in their digital caps and gowns.

The Bryant & Stratton Second Life graduation will be held June 10, 2009. While only graduates and their families will be in attendance, those interested in learning more can either join Second Life (below), or request more information on the schools online degree programs.

Founder and Chairman of Second Life to Speak at Graduation

Upon hearing about this historic and innovative event Philip Rosedale, Founder and Chairman of Second Life expressed interest and agreed to be the commencement speaker for the approximately 40 graduates. He will address the students during the June 10th, 2009 ceremony in avatar form.

Explore the Bryant & Stratton “Virtual” Campus

Come visit us for yourself. The Bryant & Stratton campus in Second Life is open to the public 24/7. Visit the Student Recreation Pavilion where students come to meet and socialize and get to know each other. Visit the Outdoor Amphitheater where we host a series of educational guest speakers that address degree specific industry topics. Or, check out the Open House building where we let prospective students come in and meet with staff from admissions, financial aid, and even current students to get a better feel for the college. In fact, we enrolled a new student at our very first open house event.